For all its talk of organic foods and sustainability, the restaurant industry pays little mind to the health and welfare of its own low-wage employees.
In "Behind the Kitchen Door," Saru Jayaraman draws attention to servers,
bussers, runners, cooks and dishwashers across the country "struggling to
support themselves and their families under the shockingly exploitative
conditions that exist behind most restaurant kitchen doors."
Jayaraman,
co-founder and co-director with Fekkak Mamdouh of
the advocacy group Restaurant Opportunities Center United, recalls instances where wait staff at eateries in Washington, D.C., for
example, or New York City handled food when they were sick.
One woman had pink
eye; another man had contracted H1N1. Neither had sick days to use or medical
insurance. Not only did they prolong their illnesses by working, they put their
customers' health at risk.
Though the author cites studies and statistics
aplenty, it is stories like these that effectively illustrate her points.
She
also addresses racism in restaurants, where "workers got darker –
literally! – as you walked from the front door to the kitchen, and the darker
the workers' skins, the less money they were likely to earn."
In this
persuasive volume, Jayaraman
champions employee causes and argues fervently against discrimination, giving
restaurant owners, diners and readers considerable food for thought.
(A version of this review appeared originally at Publishers Weekly.)
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