My first chef always said he didn’t talk about “sports, religion, or politics” at work because it could become too volatile. I’ve taken this with me since and never paid any mind to it. I don’t concern myself with these things and other people, when it comes to work. I don’t mind talking about current events, but typically I steer clear of any sort of friction because.. well I’m there to work. I don’t care about those things when I’m focused on cooking. Plus I’m not getting paid for my opinions as a cook. However I’ve found myself in a kitchen of people who, while share similar or differing views, typically they all talk trash about the new administration and typically have very left views. And regardless about how I feel about the subject, I’ve made it clear that I just don’t talk about these things at work. lol this has raised some eyebrows since they think I support Trump now. This might be a weird place to drop this post, but I wanted to see how everyone else feels about it? Image is unrelated, just some of my focaccia.
by Visible-Lion-1757
40 Comments
Love the focaccia.
Bro it’s okay I guess to feel however you feel but *in my opinion* you gotta say fuck trump if you don’t want to get your ass kicked after the immigration raids pick up steam
Poolish or sourdough?
A political argument, like your bread, has a lot of holes in it.
If you’re willing to just silently accept a nationalist takeover that kinda makes you complicit to it… In their minds
Whole lotta words about how you’re not a Trumpist without any indicator otherwise. What prompted you to post this dog.
If you work in a kitchen the new administration is not your friend. You have to accept your coworkers are scared as hell right now. Between ICE raids and a war on social services most of them are in danger. Shame on you for thinking this is the time to put your head in the sand. That’s worse than being an outright Trump supporter imo.
Come back in 6 months and see what being complacent has got you. Politics 100% need to be discussed and Trump voters need to be shamed
Your first chef came up during a simpler time and without the spectrum of sociopolitical issues we’re currently dealing with.
It’s fine not to talk about politics–but given the current state of affairs, people *will* assume things.
It’s kind of funny. One of the few ways left of tracking the bird flu epidemic now that Trump is shutting your various public health agencies is people on this sub complaining about egg prices. Once the prices go down it’s over, the higher they go the worse it is. Everything is political so it’s not always sensible to duck out of difficult conversations.
Most cooks at my last job were part of the occult. Two worshiped satan. So they all essentially had the same general idea about politics.
Regardless of where I’ve work those topics have always been a no-no. Sometimes sports too, especially if “their” teams clashed. There’s just too much drama and it’s distracting.
It leaves little left to chat about, but there are always recipes, local farms and what’s your favorite herb?
i don’t see the issue with stating your opinion on this dog shit administration , ESPECIALLY when it directs many of our coworkers directly
Given our industry and the folks we are friends and family and coworkers with, not being vocally opposed to the new regime is suspect as fuck–almost complicit in nature.
This is no time to stick your head in the sand and just wait until there is no one to defend you either. There’s a whole poem about it called “First They Came…”
We’re approaching the third line, metaphorically.
These times are scary, but in the face of ICE raids and deteriorating relationships with countries we rely on for us to run our businesses you can either be vocally opposed or silently implicit.
There is no in between.
Nice focaccia. I’d slather that with pesto and fuck up some fresh mozzarella for sure.
Because your co-workers likely don’t have the luxury of not carrying constant worry brought on by current events. And it’s nice knowing your co-workers aren’t your enemy.
ITs no longer about “politics”. Its whos a nazi and who isnt.
I entered this post in excitement cause i thought there would be some political debate over focaccia
It’s beyond politics now- people are fucking terrified and rightly so. I don’t think you should *have* to discuss with people, but you need to accept that people will think you’re on the dark side if you don’t tell them otherwise.
It’s an actual fight for survival now and if I find out someone is a supporter of the current cunts in office’ I’m instantly done and I don’t trust or respect them anymore. Zero tolerance, fuck you very much.
First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.
So you gonna say fuck trump at work tmrw or what
Feel like if you agree with them you could just say that and move on rather than saying I don’t want to talk about it. I mean there’s a guy where I work who is a hard core republican and he rants and raves and I just nod my head and keep working, last week he said the UN was going to come and make us all eat bugs and there would be no more meat.
There’s a difference between not initiating political talk and stonewalling any discussions about it – your coworkers are human, they want to talk about what’s going on in their lives, and politics permeate through every part of that, especially in the food industry where people have friends and family facing deportation
If your coworker is talking about their shitty day, it’s well within your rights to say you don’t wanna talk about that either, but don’t expect them to like you afterwards, you know?
Do you find it’s possible to not engage in the politics but to still show empathy and support for situations your workmates find themselves in? There’s a guy here who is waiting for both his scheduled asylum hearing in court or ICE. He’s not sure which will arrive first. He’s really scared, all day, all night. He’s got an actual card to work (a red card) while waiting for the hearing, but ICE doesn’t care, apparently. He hates what Trump is doing and how reckless ICE is. So, without getting political, it’s possible to empathize, talk about it, and support the guy. See if that’s possible in your situation.
If you were in a kitchen in South Texas they’d accuse you of the opposite for the same statement/actions.
Dude, people are getting deported in mass and entire minority groups feel threatened, and the thing that bothers you is that people are talking about it?
You’re the problem in this situation. People are going to talk about this. Grow up.
I can respect that policy in general, it does create friction at jobs. However I think you should make a one time exception when the majority of the crew is there and just lay it out clearly for them. “Hey, I don’t like the administration, I didn’t vote for him. I was brought up to not talk politics in the kitchen so that’s what I’d like to do in the future. I’m telling you all this now to relieve any misunderstandings about where I stand on the state of the country.”
Ya don’t gotta do anything, but nowadays, if you don’t make your stance clear, people are gonna make assumptions. Shits getting real bad out there for certain segments of the population and folks are scared.
I get it. I’m guilty of talking politics at work but i’ve been making the effort to not put so much energy into everything or to drag on conversations. It’s unproductive.
Sports on the other hand, that’s my escape from the shit in the world. Unfortunately sports are losing their luster.
I will say, I’m like yoy but even i can’t help it as a Canadian. We are all talking about it. People who I’ve never heard be political in my entire life are speaking against it.
I do agree with you but it’s hard with this time around. It’s **different** this time… I didn’t say much about trump in 2016 but come on. Like look at elon other day.
I couldn’t imagine being American though. I hate how I’ve become political, few years ago I didn’t care at all.
Your aversion to even make a single comment denouncing literal Nazis sheds plenty of light. A single sentence would lay it to rest, but this is the hill you wanna die on? I wouldn’t trust working with you because of your silence. What else would you be willing to witness because ‘it’s not your place’ or ‘you’re not getting paid?’
Yeah, you’re there to work. So are your coworkers. But you clearly don’t have the fear of ICE showing up while you’re doing your job. You aren’t afraid of being removed from the country. So many are. Maybe knowing that the folks they work with every day have their backs would bring a little solace.
Ngl I assumed some form of anarchist chef considering the bread I’m somewhat disappointed.
That is fire focaccia. Great shape. Is it a pretty wet dough and do you kinda plop it or pour it down on a sheet pan and let it rise in the pan before baking it?
I’m a pretty fired-up lefty, but outside of the occasional “this fuckin’ guy” comments during a shift when it comes up, I stick to my own policy of “no politics when we’re working with blades and fire.”
Although if someone showed up on the line with a red cap I’d have to fight the urge to slap it off their head.
Even if none of the shit that the scumbags want to do would harm me, it would harm people I care about, and people who are doing nothing other than trying to live their lives in peace. Most of my kitchen supports the current fascist regime, despite three of them having “Birth right citizenship”. Which is one of the things under fire.
I consider it my duty to make sure people are informed as to what they’re supporting, as long as there is still a possibility for them to stand up against it and help fix what’s going wrong. When I go silent, it will only be because there is no longer any reason to speak up, or because the situation can’t be salvaged.
“A good man who does nothing to stop a bad man, is not a good man.”
Or as Edward Burke said, “When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle.”
But if you don’t stand against Trump you’re literally a treasonous traitor who loves fascism and destroying the socio-economic class you belong to. If you don’t talk about it nobody will, and nothing will change, and you’ll be posting this again in four years
Nah, Nazi fucks need to be pushed out of the industry. At least let them know you aren’t calling ICE on the dishy.
Also, just because some chef you had had a rule doesn’t mean it needs to follow you. Grow a pair and speak your mind.
What a lot of people are missing, people do this as a form of trust and building connections. Small talk does this, but people will use hot issues, religion, or politics to do this. They value you based on this baseline. One way to nip this, is say hey man I feel powerless about what’s outside the kitchen I just want to focus on what I can influence and control. The food in this kitchen and it gets overwhelming to think about everything else I don’t have control of.
I feel like politics shouldn’t be taboo, and if your take is taboo it’s probably a bad take.
In this climate you’re an ally or not
Dude, I feel you. Political shit I can ignore but one of the new hires was recently going OFF with some red pill shit and I really struggled not to lay into him. Super tone deaf toxic shit. But I kept my mouth shut. Somehow lol.
I honestly think making subjects like politics, money, and the like taboo is a little responsible for putting us where we are now. There were no balanced discussions, just increasingly siloed news coverage 24/7. And yes, at this point, just being out of the house can be really scary for certain people. We need a litmus test for who we can trust.
Our kitchen is politically and ideologically diverse. We don’t discuss things we know we’ll disagree on. We all get along and get the work done, because *that’s what we are there to do.* None of us have the power to change anything happening outside the kitchen, so there’s no point in riling each other up about that shit.