Taking professionalism into account???? Wow! Why hasn't it been done all along?
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I just want to know where to eat good interesting food. After all these people aren't running for congress.
Please spend this energy on getting rid of the criminals running our country and let the artists alone. Its easy to get a restaurant job so if you don't like the bosses behavior just sue them and or leave.
I say this as a women who worked in places where men yelled at me to go home and stop taking jobs from men and yes tried to do worse, Hey we didn't have any legal rights then and we took care of this stuff ourselves .Maybe we (women) were just tougher then!
2
Excuse me, but these are business people as well...or should act like them.
I worked in the hotel/restaurant industry for 15 years as a bartender, but I also had my time in the kitchen as well. Sexual harassment was pervasive back then, and it most certainly is now, most assuredly. I've walked away from more jobs than I can count due to sexual harassment, and always found myself in a better gig each time. I finally walked away from it when I got married because:
A). We were going to be stationed overseas for two years.
B). The divorce rate in this industry was, and probably is, abysmally high.
You may not care what is going on in the back of the house, but the women who earn a living in this industry do and so do their families. Eventually, this corruption rots the establishment out from the inside to the point that quality falls off and customers notice. A chef is only as good as his staff and the front of the house who deliver the goods and the ambiance. Continual turnover and the deterioration of quality is the poisoned fruit of sexual harassment.
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Look, industry awards are a terrible barometer of quality, from the Oscars all the way down to the ads for 'NYC's best steakhouses' in in-flight magazines.
As a rule, we should all pay less attention to what the restaurant industry (including sites like Eater and groups like the James Beard Foundation) says about itself, and more attention to the food.
The current state of affairs is one big endless hype-train that has chefs and restauranteurs more worried about the media than their customers.
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"Amanda Kludt, the editor in chief of Eater, is taking a harder line." Surely what you mean to say is that she's taking a brighter line. If there's been no investigation, Eater can and will promote the restaurateur. Whether that is in fact a harder line remains to be seen.
As a proud recipient of the James Beard Foundation medal I find it impossible to argue with the criteria of "the values of respect, transparency, diversity, sustainability and equality.” These criteria are certainly as important - even more important - than the skills of an individual or the quality of a restaurant. My understanding is that part of the mission of the Beard Foundation is to enhance the professionalism surrounding food and wine, but as part of the larger culture. I am not talking about rumor and innuendo but I am talking about the dishonor that known, and in some cases, self-admitted, sexual predators and serial harassers brings on an entire industry that already battles with an image of institutional and near-endemic abuse. This kind of behavior does not merit awards of any kind, it merits censure. The Beard Foundation is but one important organization that should continue to reward the values that we admire in all people, and never reward monsters who happen to be very good at their work. A thoroughgoing professional is both a good human being and a good practitioner and we should look to those who possess both qualities as our role models.
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As in the #MeToo movement we have a situation where simple accusations that have not been proven are being used to penalize people. It is one thing to react this way to cases where it has been proven, but to do so without a fair hearing is simply vigilantism. The Foundation will be forced to accept the disparaging accusations and delist restuarants or be bullied on social media. What they will not do is mount expensive investigations into the claims. What they will not do is stand by the principle of innocent until proven guilty.
6
Fortunately, professional association recognition is a privilege, not a right. It's very simple. Recognize and avoid behavior that makes you a sexist, power-abusing jerk, and if you're the subject of an allegation and it's untrue, then sue the person for defamation. (Although that didn't work so will for that Mueller guy versus Taylor Swift... )
It shouldn't have to take a jail term or a public, expensive lawsuit to force people to behave respectfully and professionally toward one another. Claiming things are "vigilantism" or "witchhunts" is missing the point of the pervasive culture of sexism, harassment, and objectification women have gone through. Men who don't get it are proof, not disproof.
8
Unfortunately Men who have behaved appropriately are being accused because perhaps a relationship didn't end the way the woman wanted it to or because they see a big pay day. These accusations require no proof at all and destroy someones life. We never see or allowed to see the actions on the accusers part because they are "victims' and protected. It is one sided justice and the Salem Witch Trials all over again. Guess we have to keep our jails full. I vote for return to the RULE OF LAW and EVIDENCE. NOT finger pointing. Dangerous for us all. I vote for INNOCENT until proven guilty. Our jails are filled with people who are serving sentences for crimes they did not committed. EVIDENCE not finger pointing or trial in the press. This so-called criteria is a step backwards for women who need to ALSO be held accountable for their actions and today are not. I personally pledge to go to every restaurant they deem not worthy. Enough of the witch hunt and intimidation tactics and outrageous civil lawsuits that are ruining our country
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It's a disgrace and shame that "contenders must also possess the values of respect, transparency, diversity, sustainability and equality" in addition to "what’s on the plate and how a dining room executes service." Whether the venue be that of the food service industry, the political arena, the entertainment field and/or everything in between, "respect, transparency, diversity, sustainability and equality" should be a given on all levels by all individuals rather than another layer of criteria to be vetted, verified and checked off on some morality code list prior to being bestowed the James Beard Award or any award for that matter.
"Respect, transparency, diversity, sustainability and equality" should come from the heart, the mind and the soul rather than some "new yardstick" standard of conduct being reviewed and endorsed by the court of public opinion.
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@ Marge Keller Midwest
Wholly agree with your excellent criticism. It is bad, when gastronomy is mixed with politics -- in this case, driven by the so-called political correctness of leftist radicals and other militants attached to their coat-tails. It is a black mark on the James Beard Foundation, even if it is not a stalwart of haute cuisine in a nation addicted to hamburgers with ketchup and tasteless vegetables.
1
Sounds like you had better organize a competing private professional association rather than argue with one that has a right to select its own selection criteria.
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WWD - I wasn't necessarily criticizing the selection criteria, but rather disappointed that positive, appropriate and professional behavior in any work place is not longer a given. I may not like a co-worker or respect a superior, but I would NEVER do, say or act inappropriately. I believe behaving in that fashion is simply rude, mean, unprofessional and crass behavior.
1