New Books in Anthropology

Ellen T. Meiser, "Making It: Success in the Commercial Kitchen" (Rutgers UP, 2024)

Sep 27, 2024

Ellen T. Meiser, a sociologist, dives into the competitive world of the restaurant industry, revealing how workers from lower-class backgrounds can rise to chef positions through a concept she calls 'kitchen capital.' She shares insights from her 120 hours in kitchen environments and interviews with 50 chefs, discussing the different strategies for success, emotional control, and workplace dynamics. Meiser also tackles challenges faced during the pandemic and the divide between front-of-house and back-of-house operations, all while highlighting the unique camaraderie in the culinary world.

46:54

Episode guests

Ellen T. Meiser

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Success within the culinary industry is shaped by individual backgrounds and experiences, impacting how kitchen workers perceive their achievements.

The episode highlights the challenges of high turnover rates and burnout in the restaurant sector, exacerbated by physical demands and inadequate wages.

Deep dives

The Concept of Success in Culinary Professions

The podcast discusses the complex and varied definitions of success within the culinary industry, particularly among kitchen workers. Many individuals perceive success differently, influenced by their backgrounds and experiences in the kitchen. Interestingly, the notion of being 'ordinary' is deeply examined, revealing how people in the culinary field often resist being labeled as average despite their commonality. This contrast suggests that while the industry celebrates extraordinary achievements, there exists a significant number of workers navigating their careers in more mundane, yet equally valid, ways.

Intro

4min

Exploring the Role of Chefs in the Culinary Landscape

11min

Pandemic Pressure on Restaurants

6min

Behind the Scenes: The Restaurant Divide

6min

Culinary Camaraderie: Reflections on Restaurant Life

2min

Culinary Capital and Social Dynamics

15min

The restaurant industry is one of the few places in America where workers from lower-class backgrounds can rise to positions of power and prestige. Yet with over four million cooks and food-preparation workers employed in America’s restaurants, not everyone makes it to the high-status position of chef. What factors determine who rises the ranks in this fiercely competitive pressure-cooker environment?

In Making It: Success in the Commercial Kitchen (Rutgers University Press, 2024), Ellen T. Meiser explores how the career path of restaurant workers depends on their accumulation of kitchen capital, a cultural asset based not only on their ability to cook but also on how well they can fit into the workplace culture and negotiate its hierarchical structures. After spending 120 hours working in a restaurant kitchen and interviewing fifty chefs and cooks from fine-dining establishments and greasy-spoon diners across the country, sociologist Ellen Meiser discovers many strategies for accumulating kitchen capital. For some, it involves education and the performance of expertise; others climb the ranks by controlling their own emotions or exerting control over coworkers. Making It offers a close and personal look at how knowledge, power, and interpersonal skills come together to determine who succeeds and who fails in the high-pressure world of the restaurant kitchen.

Michael O. Johnston, Ph.D. is a Assistant Professor of Sociology at William Penn University. He is the author of The Social Construction of a Cultural Spectacle: Floatzilla (Lexington Books, 2023) and Community Media Representations of Place and Identity at Tug Fest: Reconstructing the Mississippi River (Lexington Books, 2022). His general area of study is at the intersection of built-environment, experience, identity, and place. He is currently conducting research on how architectural designers, builders, and community planners negotiate a sense of identity and place for residents of newly constructed neighborhoods. To learn more about Michael O. Johnston you can go to his website, Google Scholar, Twitter @ProfessorJohnst, or by email at johnstonmo@wmpenn.edu.

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