Found out about your writing through a Twitter post on the mortar and pestle.
Really excited to go through your archives and read more. I resonate with your point about stewardship. It's a helpful reframing.
My dad grew up in Malaysia even though I was born in the States. (Your points on mediocre Malaysian spots in Chinatown as first aid to Southeast Asians made me chuckle. It's so true!)
I'm currently working in food prep and taking sociology & farming classes, after studying Earth science years ago.
It's nice to find critical food writing at the intersection of these things I find so interesting.
Thanks for your writing! Looking forward to more insights and discussions :)
Thank you for reaching out! I'm delighted that you enjoy the newsletter, and it means even more because you're currently working in food. What kind of food prep are you working on?
Oh wow, that's some serious planning you need to do! A big part of why I write is that I want to change the narrative that cooking (or really any form of labor) can really be called unskilled, and what you're doing is a case in point.
I had staged in various restaurants, in some cases for quite extended periods, and worked on a farm, so yes, I was entirely aware of both the physical and mental intensity of the work.
Yes! I wonder where that narrative comes from, cooking and labor being "unskilled." There are many who make 6 figures + who don't know how to cook or grow a vegetable. And yet they are "skilled." Definitely strikes a nerve for me.
Oh, that's awesome. What farm did you work on, if you don't mind me asking? And what made you want to continue, given your full knowledge of the intensity of the labor?
I started cooking out of necessity around 14 years old - eldest kid of 4, to help my parents. I also really liked food shows. Eventually, I ended up helping with food events at school, then large community meals for my first job out of college.
My Grandpa said that if you know how to cook, you'll never be out of a job. He was right; this current meal prep job was born from necessity - I needed to make rent, and I found a family looking for meal help.
How did you begin cooking, and what compelled you to do restaurants (vs private chef vs franchise vs food truck, etc)?
Yes to all this! I have it on my list to explore this topic explicitly in an issue someday. If you're on twitter, the United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) account beats this drum very well.
I worked at Bobolink Dairy (https://www.cowsoutside.com). Wonderful, wonderful people and a real education. I knew it was unlikely that I'd go into farming permanently, but having grown up in Singapore I really wanted to see up close how we turn sunlight into food.
Thank you for sharing your story! My grandpa actually was a cook too, the only other professional cook in the family before I came along. The answer to your question is long - too long to share here, but maybe one day it will become a post. I've been reluctant to do so thus far because I try to make the pieces here personal but not about me personally. Maybe one day.
Found out about your writing through a Twitter post on the mortar and pestle.
Really excited to go through your archives and read more. I resonate with your point about stewardship. It's a helpful reframing.
My dad grew up in Malaysia even though I was born in the States. (Your points on mediocre Malaysian spots in Chinatown as first aid to Southeast Asians made me chuckle. It's so true!)
I'm currently working in food prep and taking sociology & farming classes, after studying Earth science years ago.
It's nice to find critical food writing at the intersection of these things I find so interesting.
Thanks for your writing! Looking forward to more insights and discussions :)
Thank you for reaching out! I'm delighted that you enjoy the newsletter, and it means even more because you're currently working in food. What kind of food prep are you working on?
I'm cooking for a family who has 2 immunocompromised members. Meal prep for lunch and dinner, for the whole week.
It's my first time taking on a client, but I've cooked for my family & sick grandmother extensively.
What's tricky is that
1) this client's family has a ton of allergies (egg, wheat, nut, and keto requirements)
2) their partner needs their macros precisely calculated. Each portion of food needs to be weighed and cooked individually.
I've been exhausted optimizing for all these requirements 😅
It's shedding further light on the immense labor of food service.
Were you aware of how exhausting / taxing food is before opening your restaurants? What has kept you going all these years?
Oh wow, that's some serious planning you need to do! A big part of why I write is that I want to change the narrative that cooking (or really any form of labor) can really be called unskilled, and what you're doing is a case in point.
I had staged in various restaurants, in some cases for quite extended periods, and worked on a farm, so yes, I was entirely aware of both the physical and mental intensity of the work.
How did you start cooking?
Yes! I wonder where that narrative comes from, cooking and labor being "unskilled." There are many who make 6 figures + who don't know how to cook or grow a vegetable. And yet they are "skilled." Definitely strikes a nerve for me.
Oh, that's awesome. What farm did you work on, if you don't mind me asking? And what made you want to continue, given your full knowledge of the intensity of the labor?
I started cooking out of necessity around 14 years old - eldest kid of 4, to help my parents. I also really liked food shows. Eventually, I ended up helping with food events at school, then large community meals for my first job out of college.
My Grandpa said that if you know how to cook, you'll never be out of a job. He was right; this current meal prep job was born from necessity - I needed to make rent, and I found a family looking for meal help.
How did you begin cooking, and what compelled you to do restaurants (vs private chef vs franchise vs food truck, etc)?
Yes to all this! I have it on my list to explore this topic explicitly in an issue someday. If you're on twitter, the United Farm Workers (@UFWupdates) account beats this drum very well.
I worked at Bobolink Dairy (https://www.cowsoutside.com). Wonderful, wonderful people and a real education. I knew it was unlikely that I'd go into farming permanently, but having grown up in Singapore I really wanted to see up close how we turn sunlight into food.
Thank you for sharing your story! My grandpa actually was a cook too, the only other professional cook in the family before I came along. The answer to your question is long - too long to share here, but maybe one day it will become a post. I've been reluctant to do so thus far because I try to make the pieces here personal but not about me personally. Maybe one day.