A Second Look At The Staff

 Workers of all kinds  are really the backbone of the restaurant industry. How they're treated and in return treat us is crucial to an eatery's life and future. The mass close downs illuminated the fact that chefs waiters and busboys have hard lives , in and out of a restaurant.

Cookbook, author , chef and regular contributor Tejal Rao wrote about the industry in today' New York Times Food section. Hospitality is really an intangible concept. A diner might have it. A fancy restaurant may just miss at it.It all depends on how well the staff , from the busboys up to the chefs are treated and treat not only the customers but themselves as well. Danny Meyer, a New York restauranteur has talked about measuring the hospitality or HQ of his staff. It's a way of measuring aspects of a worker's emotional intelligence as well as his or her kindness, optimism, curiosity and empathy as well as self awareness and integrity. It makes for a feel good atmosphere, one of relentless positivity.This has been the heart of the American restaurant for over one hundred years.people who serve and cook for us as well as clean up after  should approach the table with a kind of joy. After all that's what we're paying for.An attitude from any restaurant worker could ruin a place's reputation which will lead to less diners and less money made.

However the pandemic made it extremely tough to maintain any kind of positive attitude. Chef Minh Phan, owner of Los Angeles' Porridge and Puff  saw her staff crumble during the pandemic. There was staff burnout, who were worn down by the physical and emotional labor  of cooking and serving during lockdown.She blames herself for pushing them so hard. Then there was the mask enforcing when some restrictions were lifted.  Diners didn;t want to wear them and even resorted to chilling threats upon restaurant owners. Pico's a family owned Mexican restaurant  in Houston enforced the mask regulation only to be met with  being threats of calling in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport workers. The incident points to the deep dysfunction at the heart of this industry. Cooks are constantly at risk thanks to the nature and they can't really leave. Their health benefits are often tied to their jobs. Many dish washers and busboys are illegal immigrants who need a job that exposes them to customers finding out about their status. Some eateries are being equal. Be U,a tiny Vietnamese restaurant in LA has the workers start at eighteen dollars an hour and everyone shares in the tip jar, from cooks to servers Uyen Le, the chef and owners feels American workers are ridiculously underpaid and wants to do something about it. Another restauranteur , Adrian LIpscombe  gave free food certificates to her restaurant Uptowne Cafe and Bakery, which bolstered the morale for her staff.

This pandemic has exposed the disparities of many restaurant workers. It's hard for everyone to be happy and in sync when their lives are being threatened on all levels. Hopefully it will all change as we all get vaccinated and then hospitality comes back.