In the third and final episode of The Cult of Chef, producer Hannah Chouinard turns to those trying to reform food service, and those trying to keep it the same. She makes the case that the media’s failure to cover reform organizations and workers’ rights has hampered efforts to improve working conditions, and strengthened the position of actors who benefit from the status quo. In conversation with Reem Assil and Stephanie Luce, she urges journalists and writers to reflect on whose perspectives they prioritize, and consider who they want to align themselves with as we move into an unpredictable political future.

The Cult of Chef is written, produced, and edited by Hannah Chouinard. It is hosted by the one and only Taylor Early.

Cover art for The Cult of Chef is designed by the incredible Michael Hampton. For more art, comedy, and silliness, you can find him here.

Listen to Reem Assil’s full interview on Why Food? Here.

To find out more about Reem Assil, you can check out her website, here.

Read her op-ed on the toxicity of chef culture here.

You can read about Stephanie Luce and find her work here.

Check out her podcast on organizing and activism here.

If you’re interested in learning more about the National Restaurant Association, check out an article from the New York Times here.

You can find more information on their funders here.

To learn more about the NRA’s efforts to weaken child labor laws, you can check a report from One Fair Wage here, and an article from the NRA’s website here.

You can read about their lobbying contributions here.

To explore the NRA’s legal efforts, you can find a list here. Their suit arguing low wage employees should be exempt from overtime pay is especially interesting – you can read it here.

You can find a UCSF study that discusses line cook COVID mortality here.

The Hill published a great rundown here. 

The Michelin Guide’s assessment criteria are listed here.

The James Beard Foundation’s are here, and information about their code of ethics is here.

Read about some of the JBF scandals here and here.

The New York Times investigation of JBF’s ethics enforcement is here.

Their sponsors are listed here and here.

You can find fiery critiques of the Michelin Guide’s effect on dining culture here and here.

For a more nuanced critique, you can find a report on the relative impact of financial capital and chef skill on awards here.

More information on One Fair Wage lives here.

You can read about the impacts of ending subminimum-tipped wages here and here.

If you want to get into the political theory weeds, you can check out Carl Boggs’ 1977 essay on prefigurative politics here.

Read about Southern Smoke, a nonprofit focused on connecting food and beverage workers with healthcare and emergency financial assistance, here.

To learn more about FIG, an organization of food service workers dedicated to pursuing collective liberation, check out their website here.

You can find more information about the Chicago Hospitality Accountability and Advocacy Database (CHAAD), here.

Learn more about Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, the nonprofit behind the HRN series Shiftwork, at their website, here.

You can read about Los Deliveristas Unidos, a nonprofit dedicated to organizing and advocating for delivery drivers, here.

For information about restaurant unions, you can read about UniteHere!, the New York and New Jersey restaurant union local, here.

You can also read about Restaurant Workers United, a worker-led restaurant union, here.

Find more about the Chipotle Workers Union here, and Starbucks Workers United here.

If you’re looking to get inspired to organize your workplace, you can find Kevin Bruce’s book on the history of NYC food service organizing here.

An extra special thank you to Joey Freeman, Roan Shea, Safieh Moshir-Fatemi, Sarah Gabrielli, and Alex Groher-Jick for all their help on this arc.