Line Check 2023
I wanted to do something different to kick the year off at If You Can’t Take the Heat. I wanted to check in with cooks and give some shine to people that have worked so hard through so many challenges the last few years.
A lot of food media focuses on food that is “Grammable”, but less about the culture of culinary work. Who are the people cooking your food? What drives them? The things that make cooks tick and to continue coming back despite how many times they get their ass kicked.
I believe the act of feeding people is the kindest act on this planet. The community of cooks and chefs is one I feel privileged to be a part of. For me, the last few years have shown me there is so much more to being a cook or a chef than just pretty plates. You all inspire me in ways that go far behind the dining room. I want to reiterate how thankful I am for everyone that took the time out of their day to participate in this.
I understand this is a very small sample size, but my hope being to start conversation and to get a quick temp check of where cooks and food as a whole are coming into 2023.
Selasie Dotse (Chef, Bay Area / Charlotte)
Who are you? Where are you from?
Selasie Dotse. Chef and owner of e le aɖe Test Kitchen. Originally from Accra, Ghana but raised in Georgia and North Carolina. Moved to the Bay Area 5 years ago from Charlotte, North Carolina.
What has been your biggest takeaway from the challenges of working in the industry the last few years? Has your viewpoint or goals within food changed? How?
The entire hospitality industry is rooted in slavery and racism, and the main way to start changing things for the better is by addressing this history and how it continues to impact the industry.
My goals or views haven't really changed, but I've definitely become a bit more radical in my viewpoints. Since the industry, especially in the fine dining world, hasn't been welcoming to Black chefs, I think it's time for us (Black chefs) to focus on building on our table. We don't need the approval of white chefs and white food media to showcase what we can do. With that being said, my goal has always been to create a safe space for Black and African folks to be unapologetically Black and African in hospitality. Now, my focus is to also use that space for us to tell our food stories. Black folks are the original hospitality workers and it's our time to tell that story.
What are you most hopeful for in 2023? What would you like to see more of?
I'd love to see more dinner series, events and festivals showcasing more African and Black chefs and other creatives in hospitality telling the stories of Black and African foodways.
Paul Suniga (Chef, Santa Cruz)
Who are you? Where are you from?
My name is Paul Alexis Suniga. I'm originally from San Jose CA, but I currently reside in Santa Cruz. My career as a chef is an unorthodox one. I've worked in kitchens the majority of my life, and have worked for some notable restaurants in my time, but currently I am focused on my small food business "Masarap".
I'm a first generation Filipino American immigrant. I was born in Hong Kong and have lived in the Philippines when I was younger, but I moved to America at a very early age.
Creating the platform that is Masarap has allowed me to explore the realms of my Filipino Identity and has helped shape and redefine what that means for myself.
Being able to express what Filipino food is to me, while at the same time moving outside the boundaries of what it means to be traditional is a perfect representation of my human experience.
What has been your biggest takeaway from the challenges of working in the industry the last few years? Has your viewpoint or goals within food changed? How?
Within the last couple years the industry dynamic has completely shifted and flipped upside down. What it means to be a restaurateur or a chef, or the way you come into those positions are no longer the only options available. Since covid, it's been a free for all to find what is the next step in what it means to dine in a restaurant. I've seen extremely popular spaces close. I've seen multiple spaces struggle to be able to staff. I've seen the push for more affordable wages, and I've seen people who have been in the industry for years completely stop cold turkey and pick up something new. I think the overall name of the game is ADAPT or sink.
My values have definitely changed over the past couple years. For me I was working at such a high calibur right before the first lock down. I felt like I was at the peak of my game working for a place and a chef I held in extremely high regard. I took myself very seriously as a professional, and I lived to be in that restaurant. To suddenly stop and be told that I couldn't work and then be fired was devastating. I felt like I lost part of my identity. After a while of wandering around here and there I realized overtime that my identity doesn't pertain to a space or a moment in my life. And I've been doing a disservice to myself by holding onto the things I couldn't change. With that mindset, it's helped me take myself a little less seriously and be able to move more fluidly around this industry that is constantly changing.
What are you most hopeful for in 2023? What would you like to see more of?
The thing that I'm most hopeful for in 2023 is being able to use my knowledge of food to help me with traveling to places I haven't been before. I feel like for me personally, I will always have a job within the realm of food, but not necessarily always being the one cooking it. I'm also excited to eventually take some time away from my own business to work under someone who I hold in high regard. I want to learn new things and adapt them into my own projects. Constantly learning new things about food is the most important way to stay sharp and to stay fresh, and unfortunately that is where a lot of chefs fall short. When you get to a certain place in your career you are unwilling to budge because you've made it to top dog. Stagnancy will be the death of many chefs, so i'm hoping I can take the leap when it's my turn to
Leland Brown (Cook, Charlotte / Savannah)
My name Is Leland Brown.
I am a 23 year old cook from Charlotte NC. I have been working in kitchens 7 years now cooking for about 5 of them. My experience with this industry has been a interesting one. My first line cook job was at a farm to table restaurant in Delray Beach Florida, I had no clue how to hold a knife or roast a vegetable. I would spend the next couple years striving to be the best cook in the kitchen.
At the beginning of 2020 I moved back Charlotte and worked at fast a casual restaurant where I could be comfortable and complacent with the little to no knowledge I had gained working those couple years. By then Covid had hit and this fast casual restaurant I had worked at for 3 months was reduced to selling Togo food on the side walk, the restaurant began to crumble and myself included. After working here for a little over a year I decided it was time to make a change.
I went to visit a friend working out of a ghost kitchen off freedom drive in Charlotte and found a plethora of people who had adapted to what now is the food industry after the pandemic. I asked a chef named Sam Diminich (owner of Your Farms Your Table) if he needed some help. He practically hired me on the spot. I felt like I was in a place where I didn't know anything once again and it was beautiful I was able to grow and flourish at Your Farms Your table and eventually become the Sous chef.
Most recently I moved to Savannah GA to be a line cook at HUSK.
This industry has changed me as a person. The last few years have taught me a lot about food and who I want to be. I don't want to be the best cook anymore, it doesn't interest me. I have become more interested in the story behind the food, from the farmer to the cook to the Eater. Asking questions and challenging myself to learn about ingredients that the farmers provide, if I put the ingredients first the technique will follow. Passing the farmers story to the Eater is more important. That is my job as a cook. I am just a part of the food ecosystem and I couldn't be more happy in that role.
That has been by biggest takeaway the last few years working in this industry. I can't wait to continue to learn from the food ecosystem I have fell so in love with.
Ayesha Abdullah (Chef, Oakland)
Who are you? Where are you from?
My name is Ayesha Abdullah, I am a Chef and owner of the pop-up 'Round Midnight Dinner in Oakland, CA.
I was born in Champaign, Illinois, but have been in the Bay Area since a young child.
What has been your biggest takeaway from the challenges of working in the industry the last few years?
My biggest takeaway has been to build the change I want to see. The industry looks a lot of ways, but specifically it has been known as a male dominated, predominantly white profession. My take away has been to create a pop-up where my community can feel comfortable dining. I also have created an environment that is inclusive, where cultural differences are celebrated.
Has your viewpoint or goals within food changed? How?
Yes, within the last few years I have looked at how food directly affects the body. At the beginning of the pandemic when most people had to be in the house, I found I was eating pretty much anything I wanted. That attitude, mixed with being sedentary, caused a lot of changes in my body. I have now taken into account what I am feeding people in one sitting as far as carbs, proteins and fats. I try as much as possible to make sure meals are balanced with a good amount of nutrients.
What are you most hopeful for in 2023? What would you like to see more of?
I am most hopeful for continuous growth and creativity. I would like to see more collaboration, and people in the industry sharing information about their journey.
Mona Leena Michael (Chef, San Jose / Berkeley)
Who are you? Where are you from?
I'm Chef Mona Leena! I was born in raised in San Jose, CA and a first generation Palestinian American. I’ve been cooking professionally for 12 years now. Never went to culinary school, but I always refer to Jardiniere (my first job out of university) as my culinary bootcamp. I'm married and have a baby on the way!
What has been your biggest takeaway from the challenges of working in the industry the last few years? Has your viewpoint or goals within food changed? How?
I started in the food industry being 100% certain there would always be a job for me. "People will always need to eat" is what I'd say, "I can literally move anywhere and find a job easily." When the pandemic hit, the restaurant I was working at pretty much shut down immediately, it was a huge mind-fuck. My biggest take away was that anything could happen, to not take your job for granted and to understand that adaptability is the biggest flex a chef has on anybody.
In terms of my food view points, I mean--I wouldn't say my viewpoints changed, but I definitely feel more confident and vocal in my beliefs. With the work force depleted it is (and has always been) important to treat your staff well and be appreciative of the people that bust your ass for you. I have worked in a lot of fine dining and I do bring a lot of the techniques and quality from that environment into my space but with less of a cut-throat, intense setting. Mistakes are ok, and correcting them is necessary, but verbal and emotional abuse is not.
My old boss at Serpentine, Tommy Halvorson, told me something 6 years ago I thought was completely silly at the time. After a particularly frustrating day I vented to him about how everyone in the kitchen was an asshole and didn't care and were driving me crazy, he replied, "I operate my businesses with the belief that my staff is trying to do the best they can every day." (or something along those lines, I'm sure I have paraphrased). And at the time I couldn't help but tell him how silly and delusional that was, "Nobody cares about you or your business, they just want their paycheck." But now, as a business owner, I can't help but play that sentence over and over again in my head every day.
If you walk into your restaurant thinking nobody cares and everyone is an idiot, you will not only drive yourself mad, but you'll also start treating them that way and they will start acting towards you how you treat them. But if you walk in treating them like the stars they are, believing they have your best interest at heart, and are thankful for how hard they work to make your dream a reality every day, the whole environment changes and people want to be there with you to work hard towards that dream and naturally toxic people will see themselves out.
What are you most hopeful for in 2023? What would you like to see more of?
I'm hopeful that the workforce in the food industry grows back to normal especially with the amount of new business owners that are working hard to foster a positive environment for their staff. There are a lot of beautiful people to work for nowadays, and I know a lot of people left to get away from the toxicity of this industry, but I hope people see that things are changing for the better (at least with some businesses).
I want to see more young hungry cooks! Not young cooks trying to fast-track their Instagram fame. I'm so tired of the new generation of cooks that call themselves "chefs" straight out of culinary school, or even straight out of their home kitchen, who have no respect for those who have put decades into their craft and the privilege to be called chef.