Welcome to Deep Dish, a weekly roundup of food and entertainment news. Last week we discussed the reissue of Martha Stewart’s first cookbook.
The Starbucks union fight has been a long and arduous one. Bon Appétit covered strikes in 2023 and the vicious union battles the year before that. Now workers are threatening to strike again—this time during Red Cup Day, a big earner for the chain. The strike comes just months after Starbucks underwent major restructuring and many store closures. When will the union fight finally end? Only time will tell.
Also this week, a new bombshell has entered the food critic villa: Former Bon Appétit restaurant editor Elazar Sontag has taken the mantle as food critic at The Washington Post following Tom Sietsema’s 25-year tenure. Your favorite slop bowl shop is slinging merch—could that be a bad sign? And finally, Padma is back! Then again, did she ever leave?
Starbucks Workers Strike on Red Cup Day
Red Cup Day at Starbucks perennially rings in the holiday season for fanatics of the behemoth coffee chain. The premise is quite simple: Order a festive beverage, get a festive and reusable red cup in exchange. It’s a foot-traffic peak and a promotional boon for the company. Starbucks’ union, in turn, strategically chose Red Cup Day to strike this Thursday, protesting allegedly illegal labor practices and a delayed union contract, the latest version of which lies in management’s court, the union says.
According to ABC News, over 600 days have passed “since Starbucks and the union announced a mutual commitment to reach an agreement,” much longer than average union negotiations. “If Starbucks keeps stonewalling a fair contract and refusing to end union busting, they’ll see their business grind to a halt,” said Michelle Eisen, Starbucks Workers United spokesperson and 15-year veteran barista, in a press release. “We are disappointed that Workers United, who only represents around 4% of our partners, has voted to authorize a strike instead of returning to the bargaining table,” Starbucks spokesperson Jaci Anderson wrote in a statement to Bon Appétit. “When they’re ready to come back, we’re ready to talk.”
The Starbucks strike is part of a growing movement of unionized coffee shops, as Bon Appétit recently reported. Starbucks’ efforts have inspired and laid the groundwork for those of smaller shops. “People are seeing us go up against this behemoth of an employer,” Noah Dixon, a Starbucks worker from Philadelphia, told Bon Appétit. “They’re seeing us winning.” —Li Goldstein, associate newsletter editor
Slop Bowl Merch is Here
If you’ve ever found yourself craving a subtle, sartorial way to share with others that you enjoy Cava’s Mediterranean-style bowl lunches, you’re in luck. The company announced on Thursday that it’s launching a line of merch—a hot harissa baby tee, hats that say “Feta” on them—in partnership with a handful of food influencers.
Cava isn’t the first slop bowl spot to sell branded clothing; it now joins competitors Chipotle and Sweetgreen who launched their own wares a few years ago. So why now? Could it have something to do with the decline in diners aged 25 to 35 visiting this genre of restaurant stores? “We’re not losing them to the competition,” said Chipotle CEO Scott Boatright in a late October earnings call. “We’re losing them to grocery and food at home.” Perhaps we’re nearing the end of the age of the slop bowl. On that note, dear reader, may I direct you to Bon Appétit’s vast and delicious recipe archive? —Sam Stone, staff writer
It’s Padma’s World. We’re Just Living in it.
When Padma hits a press cycle, she hits it hard. Over the past few weeks, you’ve likely seen her all over the internet while promoting her latest cookbook, Padma’s All American, which went on sale November 4.
Bon Appétit writer Khushbu Shah caught up with Lakshmi to discuss the author’s favorite New York City spots, and, of course, to get a sneak peak at the new book. “Some of it’s personal, some of it’s from Top Chef, but all the photographs that you see in the book—other than the beauties of the recipes—were all shot on the road,” Lakshmi says of her cookbook. Read more about her new book, and the irresistible offer that got her to commit to hosting a competition show again, even after she swore she never would. —S.S.
Food Critics Continue to Shed Anonymity
About a month ago in this column, Sam posited that Tom Sietsema’s retirement from his post as food critic at The Washington Post—and subsequent reveal of his long-masked identity—marked a turning point for restaurant reviewing. A critic’s public persona, in our contemporary digital age of restaurant critique, is an asset rather than a liability. Bon Appetit’s very own Elazar Sontag announced this week that he’ll succeed Sietsema as the Post’s new critic, foregrounding in his first column the practical and philosophical importance of displaying his identity, much like his contemporaries (like fellow Bon Appétit alum and San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Mackenzie Chung-Fegan): “Forgoing anonymity gives me the freedom to speak openly with restaurant staff and other diners, to hear these stories and share them with you.” —L.G.
