Forked

A New Standard for American Dining

Saru Jayaraman

An eloquent, highly researched argument for why restaurant employees' pay and benefits are a vital measure of quality in American dining
Revealing interviews with well-known chefs and restaurateurs (including Craft's Tom Colicchio and Chipotle's Monty Moran) whose work is leading the movement to combine fair wages and restaurant success
Features 14 case studies of "high road" and "low road" employment practices, including McDonald's, Subway, Taco Bell, Chipotle, In-N-Out Burger, Olive Garden, and Denny's
Includes diners' guides to highest—and lowest—scoring restaurants for worker pay and benefits in each sector of the restaurant industry
Offers actionable ways for restaurant owners, employees, and diners to positively effect change in this massive sector of the American economy

Forked

A New Standard for American Dining

Saru Jayaraman

Description

A restaurant critic can tell you about the chef. A menu can tell you about the farm-sourced ingredients. Now who's going to tell you about the people preparing your meal?

From James Beard Leadership Award winner Saru Jayaraman, Forked is an enlightening examination of what we don't talk about when we talk about restaurants: Is the line cook working through a case of stomach flu because he doesn't get paid sick days? Is the busser not being promoted because he speaks with an accent? Is the server tolerating sexual harassment because tips are her only income?

As most corporate restaurants continue to set low standards for worker wages and benefits, a new class of chefs and restaurateurs is working to foster sustainability in their food and their employees. Forked offers an insider's view of the highest—and lowest—scoring restaurants for worker pay and benefits in each sector of the restaurant industry, and with it, a new way of thinking about how and where we eat.

Forked

A New Standard for American Dining

Saru Jayaraman

Acknowledgements
1. Introduction: Why We Are Forked
2. Casual and Family-Style Restaurants: Tipped Over the Edge
The Olive Garden
Vimala's Curryblossom Café
3. Fine Dining: The Great Service Divide
Craft
The Capital Grille
4. Mexican Food: Climbing the Ladder
Taco Bell
Chipotle
5. Burgers, Bills, and No Benefits
McDonald's
In-N-Out Burger
6. A Tale of Two Sandwiches
Zingerman's
Subway
7. The Coffee Café: A Place for Debate?
Starbucks
Manifesto Café
8. Diners: Change Is Possible
Denny's
Florida Avenue Grill
9. Conclusion: The Road from Here
Index

Forked

A New Standard for American Dining

Saru Jayaraman

Author Information

Saru Jayaraman, Co-Founder and Co-Director, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United

Saru Jayaraman is Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Restaurant Opportunities Centers United (ROC United) and a graduate of Yale Law School and the Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She has been named one of Crain's "40 Under 40," CNN's "Ten Visionary Women," New York magazine's "Influential of New York," and a 2014 White House "Champion of Change." Her work has been profiled extensively in the New York Times, and she has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, Bill Moyers Journal, NBC Nightly News, Today, and Real Time with Bill Maher.

Forked

A New Standard for American Dining

Saru Jayaraman

From Our Blog

Disparity in the restaurant industry [infographic]

If someone were to tell you that the restaurant industry is one of the lowest paying sectors in the US economy, the types of jobs that might come to mind include those in the fast food segment. Not surprisingly, workers from all parts of the restaurant industry'tipped and non-tipped'live in poverty.

Posted on February 23, 2016

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Fighting for one fair wage at the launch of Forked

Prominent figures in the restaurant industry came together this past Tuesday, 26 January, at the Ford Foundation in New York City to open discussions on what we can do to improve worker conditions in the restaurant industry.

Posted on January 28, 2016

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The truth behind the restaurant industry [quiz]

While the common image of a "restaurant employee" is the server, there are others in the restaurant industry who also face the hardships of working in the restaurant industry: discrimination, low wages, and lack of benefits. All these contribute to a dark side of the restaurant industry, and some restaurants are fighting to change the status quo. Do you know the truth behind the restaurant industry?

Posted on February 4, 2016

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