Copper & Heat Radio

We’re taking a brief break from our second season to introduce you to the other project that the Copper & Heat team has been working on. It’s called The Makers - a four part mini-series brought to you by ChefsFeed in paid partnership with Maker’s Mark bourbon. In each episode of The Makers, we talk with chefs about their one-of-a-kind approaches to their craft. In this episode, Chefs Gabe Erales, Rico Torres, and Diego Galicia discuss how they are challenging their diners’ expectations of Mexican food at their restaurants in Texas. Check out more at chefsfeed.com/makers. We’ll be back in a couple weeks with the next episode in Season 2: Overhead!

In the second episode on tipping, Katy digs deeper into a different question: if the money coming into the restaurant industry is a pie, who has access to that pie and who is controlling how that pie is drawn? Turns out, there’s a lot of money being spent every year to keep wages low and to keep the tipped minimum wage at $2.13.Surprise! The tipping system is incredibly complicated and contentious. So we want to hear how it affects you! FOH, BOH, good or bad, all stories are welcome. Send them on over to [email protected] are so grateful for our first ever season sponsors: Pared! They find vetted hospitality professionals to fill your shifts. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Use the code COPPER when booking. If you want to go down the same rabbit hole Katy did in researching for this episode, here are a few links: National Restaurant Association Profile - SourceWatchDo You Know Where Your Tip Money Is Going? - Eater“After Years of Litigation, Tip Regulations Begin to Line up with the FLSA” - Press Release via National Restaurant AssociationNational Restaurant Association Opposes H.R. 582, “Raise the Wage Act” - Press ReleaseNational Restaurant Association Influence and Lobbying Profile - OpenSecrets.orgNational Restaurant Association Organization Profile and 990 tax forms - CauseIQRestaurant Opportunities Center United

Why do servers and food runners in the front of the house make so much more money than the cooks? Why do they get to keep all the tips? When Katy was working in fine dining kitchens, the cooks were asking these questions a lot. It just did not seem fair that servers were making as much as 3x more than cooks because of the tips they were bringing in. And it sent her down a long path. Turns out, these are the wrong questions to be asking. In the first episode of the two-part series on tipping, Katy talks with the owners at Le Pigeon, a fine-dining French restaurant in Portland, Oregon, about an experiment they did in 2016 where they eliminated tipping altogether. In talking with them and her friend Lee, a former dishwasher at Le Pigeon, and Katy uncovers the racist history of the tipping system, the ways it perpetuates sexual harassment culture in the industry, and the much bigger and more complicated issues behind trying to get rid of tipping. We are so grateful for our first ever season sponsors: Pared! They find vetted hospitality professionals to fill your shifts. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Use the code COPPER when booking. An upcoming episode is about staging and we want to hear some of your stories! Send them (and any other thoughts you may have) to [email protected]. We can’t wait to hear from you. More info:Le Pigeon to Eliminate Tipping in June - Eater PDXLe Pigeon and Little Bird Bistro Bring Back Tipping - Eater PDXThe Glass Floor: Sexual Harassment in the Restaurant Industry - ROC United Report

Fernay McPherson is the chef and owner of Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement in Emeryville, California. In this episode, she shows me around the Fillmore District of San Francisco - her home and the place her family has lived for three generations. She’s been trying for years, with the help of the business incubator La Cocina, to open a restaurant in the neighborhood that was once a cultural hub for African Americans, but she's run up against so many barriers. Fernay is a graduate of La Cocina, a nonprofit in San Francisco whose mission is to cultivate low-income food entrepreneurs as they formalize and grow their businesses. Learn more about their program here. There are over 30 brick-and-mortar restaurants and cafes in the Bay Area that are graduates of the La Cocina program. If you ever need a place to eat, check out their business map to support excellent business owned by women and people of color!The LEE Initiative is still accepting applications for their awards until February 1st! More information and application is here. We are so grateful for our first ever season sponsors: Pared! They find vetted hospitality professionals to fill your shifts. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Use the code COPPER when booking. An upcoming episode is about staging and we want to hear some of your stories! Send them (and another other thoughts you may have) to [email protected]. We can’t wait to hear from you. Some Other Resources: Minnie Bell’s Soul Movement videoHow Urban Renewal Destroyed The Fillmore In Order to Save ItThe Fillmore from PBSSad chapter in Western Addition history endingGorgeous photos from the ‘Harlem of the West’ show the glory days of the San Francisco jazz sceneSan Francisco continues destruction of its black community

Jenny Goodman and Alex McCrery founded Tilit, a chef and restaurant industry workwear brand, in 2012, and they’re killing it. But before they had a successful workwear brand they opened a restaurant in Brooklyn called Goods - and it closed in 6 months. We talk with Jenny and Alex in this episode about what happened to Goods, what they learned through the experience, and how they’ve used that experience to help others learn how to better open and run a restaurant. Check out their podcast: Opening SoonWe are so grateful for our first ever season sponsors: Pared! They find vetted hospitality professionals to fill your shifts. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Use the code COPPER when booking. On upcoming episode is about staging and we want to hear some of your stories! Send them (and another other thoughts you may have) to [email protected]. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Katy spends some time reflecting on the last year - and shares some of our favorite podcasts for you to listen to. We share a few clips from those shows in this episode and the links to the full episodes (plus some extras) are below. Long Distance Radio is a documentary podcast about stories in the Filipino diaspora. Hosted and produced by Paola Mardo and Patrick Epino. Featured in this episode: Long Distance S2, E1: CendrillonAnother recommended episode:Long Distance S1, E6: Filipino Tiki Bar Long Distance TV: Cendrillon Fish Sinigag with Amy Besa & Romy DorotanRacist Sandwich - Hosts Stephanie Kuo and Juan Ramirez interview chefs and purveyors of color and tackle food’s relationship to race, gender, and class in their bi-weekly podcast. Featured in this episode: Episode 71: Nourishing the Soul (w/ Karla T. Vasquez) Another recommended episode: Episode 58: Erasing Black Barbecue (w/ Johnny Walker, Adrian Miller, Daniel Vaughn, and Brent & Juan Reaves)Salt & Spine is the podcast focused exclusively on the art and craft of the cookbook: the compelling stories behind their creation, evolution, and lasting legacy. Created and hosted by Brian Hogan Stewart. Featured in this episode: Ivan Orkin + Chris Ying // The Gaijin CookbookOther recommended episodes: Leticia Landa, Nite Yun & Nafy Flatley // We Are La CocinaEast Bay Cooks LIVEWe are so grateful for our first ever season sponsors: Pared! They find vetted hospitality professionals to fill your shifts. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Use the code COPPER when booking. Send your thoughts, feelings, and stories to [email protected]. We can’t wait to hear from you.

What happens when tech startups backed by venture capital create food delivery apps, and a whole new system, that is relied on by restaurant folks across the U.S.? We chat with the folks at Homeroom To Go - the takeout-only location of the popular Oakland, CA mac and cheese restaurant - about how these apps have affected their business. David Yaffe-Bellany, business reporter from the New York Times, joins us again to talk about some of the larger national trends. More info:The Rise of the Virtual Restaurant by MIke Isaac and David Yaffe-BellanyThe Cloud Kitchen Concept: An Addition to the Restaurant Delivery Marketplace by Allie TetreaultCustard’s Last Stand: Mission Pie vs. the gig economy by Joe Eskenazi This season is sponsored by Pared. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Use the code COPPER when booking. Send your thoughts, feelings, and stories to [email protected]!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this Family Meal we hear from Luis Aldana, kitchen manager at Homeroom in Oakland, California. Luis talks about being proud of his team on a day when they were short-staffed and very busy. Share your thoughts and stories at copperandheat.com/share-your-storyCan't wait to hear from you!

In this episode, we’re headed to Los Angeles to talk with Chef Teresa Montano about her experience opening two restaurants and trying to find staff in a time when there aren't enough cooks and there's a crackdown at the border - two overwhelming issues that overlap and make life hard for chefs and restaurant owners. David Yaffey-Bellany, reporter for the New York Times business desk, joins us to break down the complicated context on a national level. More info: “Hiring Is Very Hard for Restaurants These Days. Now They May Have to Fire.” by David Yaffey-BellanyNational Immigration Law Center“What To Do If Immigration Comes to Your Workplace”“What to Do If ICE Raids Your Workplace” by Leila Ettachfini on VICE“Restaurant Owners Grapple With Hiring Undocumented Immigrants” - Morning Edition This season is sponsored by Pared. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Use the code COPPER when booking. Send your thoughts, feelings, and stories to [email protected]!

In this episode of Family Meal, we hear from Ray Delucci, a cook and host of the podcast Line Cook Thoughts. He shares his experiences with making financial decisions in his cook career and thoughts on staging. Plus, Katy was on Line Cook Thoughts this last week and she and Ray have a great conversations. Check out that interview on the Line Cook Thoughts feed.

In this first episode of our second season, we’re going to Boise, Idaho, to talk with the team at Kin Restaurant. In a small city that’s growing and changing rapidly, what does a small, fine-dining, tasting menu restaurant do to not only educate diners on the value of good food, but also educate their employees about the value of themselves as restaurant workers. More info: Kin Restaurant: http://instagram.com/kin_boise This season is sponsored by Pared. Copper & Heat listeners get 30% off their first gig. Visit pared.com/copper to get started and use the code COPPER when booking.

The business of running a restaurant is incredibly complicated. There are systems in place that owners, chefs, and cooks have to learn to navigate, often while operating on razor-thin profit margins. From questioning long-standing traditions like the tipping system, to adapting to new trends like the explosion of food delivery apps, each episode of Overhead tells the story of a restaurant approaching their business in a way that is different than the norm. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In this episode of Copper & Heat Family Meal we hear from Meagan Stout, Chef de Cuisine at Madeready Libations & Liberations in Nashville. In this Family Meal, she talks about her experiences as a black woman navigating wage negotiation and confronting HR about making less than an inferior. Thank you so much for sharing your stories Meagan! It’s your turn to share your stories about money and finances! Take out your phone, record a voice memo, and send it over to [email protected]. And please don’t forget to take our listener survey here! See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Welcome to the first ever Copper & Heat Family Meal, the mini episodes for you, our listeners, to share your stories. Help us as we ramp up for season 2 by taking our listener survey here. Take out your phone, record a voice memo and send it to [email protected]. For season 2, we want to hear about your experiences with money. Here’s a couple ideas, but feel free to tell us any wild story you have. Was there a time you were scared shitless to negotiate a raise? How about your first experience staging and how you figured out how to pay for it, or figured out you couldn’t? What was the first time you experienced the divide between FOH and BOH? Or maybe you have a time (or several times) where you weren’t paid what you thought you were going to be paid. Can’t wait to hear from you!

It’s been a wild few months for us at Copper & Heat! Back in April we won a James Beard Broadcast Media Award and we’re still reeling. In this episode, Katy talks to Geraldine DeRuiter, another James Beard Media winner, about some of the complicated feelings that come along with winning an award, being in the spotlight, and how we keep creating. There’s a couple of Geraldine’s blog posts that we talk about in the episode, here they are! “I Made The Cinnamon Rolls From Mario Batali’s Sexual Misconduct Apology Letter” “I Won A James Beard Award and I Think You Are So Great” For more info on this year’s James Beard Media Awards: View the full list of winners here View the full Media Awards Ceremony here Geraldine and I talk about some of the issues with representation and recognition in awards, but there’s so much more to the topic. Here are a couple other articles about what’s happening (or not happening) to improve representation in food media: Five Major Takeaways From the 2019 James Beard Awards by Hillary Dixler Canavan A Critic for All Seasons by Korsha Wilson For Our Food Culture To Diversify, Our Restaurant Criticism Needs To, Too by Irene Li See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is the last episode in the Be A Girl season. Over the last 7 episodes, we’ve talked about a lot of the challenges facing women working in restaurant kitchens - from the hierarchical structure of the kitchen, to the stereotypical view of women’s cooking. Though there aren’t any clear-cut solutions we ask: What has changed? How are those changes affecting people in the industry? Where do we go from here?

This episode is an excerpt from The View From The Kitchen panel event hosted by the New York Times and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in the summer of 2018. Kim Severson, a New York Times correspondent that was on the team that broke the #MeToo stories in the food industry, has a conversation with Chef Reem Assil, Chef Dominique Crenn and Chef Tanya Holland about issues facing the food industry. Chef Reem Assil https://www.eater.com/2018/4/27/17263640/reem-assil-dyafa-daniel-patterson-oakland-opening https://munchies.vice.com/en_us/article/mbkqvv/the-tenacity-of-chef-reem-assil Chef Tanya Holland https://www.tanyaholland.com/ https://sf.eater.com/2018/1/26/16938936/tanya-holland-bro-culture-top-chef-season-15 Chef Dominique Crenn https://sf.eater.com/2018/11/29/18118124/atelier-crenn-three-stars-dominique-crenn-san-francisco https://www.eater.com/ad/16090818/dominique-crenn-investment-living-wage

In this episode, Katy sits down with Chef David Kinch, the chef-owner of Manresa Restaurant, a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Los Gatos, California. They discuss everything from work-life balance to the media’s role in bringing more equity to fine dining.

What makes a Chef? What’s the difference between a home cook and a professional one? Why is cooking at home seen as work for women and cooking professionally seen as work for men? How do food media and awards reinforce these stereotypes? A segment of the episode focuses on The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list. To learn more about the list and the controversial Best Female Chef award, check out these links: The World’s 50 Best official website (https://www.theworlds50best.com/) World’s Best Female Chef award official website (https://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/best-female-chef) Crenn Says Best Female Chef Award Is 'Stupid,' And This Former Judge Agrees With Her (https://www.forbes.com/sites/clarkwolf/2018/05/07/crenn-says-best-female-chef-award-is-stupid-and-i-agree/#77bd365d2db9) Why we believe The World’s Best Female Chef Award is affirmative feminism in action (https://www.theworlds50best.com/blog/News/why-we-believe-worlds-best-female-chef-award-is-affirmative-feminism-in-action.html)

What kind of pressures do cooks face to always be at work? How do you find balance while working in kitchens? Why is being a mother seen as the biggest barrier for women working in the industry? What options exist for people who want to have a better work-life balance, but still want to work in interesting restaurants?

What kind of strength does it take to make it in a kitchen? Why is it that weakness is gendered as female (“stop being a little girl”)? How does the pressure to be tough affect cooks? How do cooks and chefs deal with that pressure? We talk about stress, anxiety, and depression in this episode. For those struggling, The Chefs With Issues Facebook Community and Website are wonderful and have helped me personally a lot. Remember, you are not alone.

How does traditional masculinity affect the culture of a restaurant kitchen? As a woman, how do you gain respect? Why are women cooks so rare? How do traditional gender roles play out? Why is the burden on women to change to fit into the culture, rather than the other way around? We talk a lot about my experience as a woman in kitchens, but there’s a lot more to the gender conversation. Here are a few articles about gender and sexuality from different perspectives: “I Hid Who I was for So Long Until I Became a Cook” by Andy Baraghani “What It’s Like to be Queer, Trans, Black and a Line Cook” by Charlie Anderle “Queer Food Is Hiding in Plain Sight” by Angie Wang

Why are restaurant kitchens organized the way they are? What is a kitchen brigade? What does a typical day of a cook look like? How does someone move up the ranks? And what do women do to work their way up the ranks in a kitchen? Some of the stats: Women make up a little over 50% of students graduating culinary schools Women make-up over 50% of total foodservice employees Somewhere between 30%-50% of back-of-house employees identify as women 27% of line cooks are ladies 19% of chefs are ladies 7% of head or executive chefs are ladies.

Copper & Heat explores the unspoken rules and traditions of the kitchen. Our first season, Be A Girl, follows host Katy Osuna's experience as a woman working in kitchens of fine dining, Michelin-star, restaurants.