The Sauce — Volume 3

Mothersauce
Nov 5 · 3 min read

Culinary culture isn’t limited to the kitchen or the restaurant. Rather, culinary culture intersects with just about every aspect of broader culture. We spend our time embedded in these intersections and aim to shed light on the most compelling stories monthly through our newsletter, The Sauce.

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The co-founder of Munchery, Tri Tran, proposes that the biggest opportunity in the food delivery space may not be consumer facing. Instead, he suggests that using technology to solve thecomplex problem of food and ingredient delivery to businesses is key. Tran imagines a platform for foodservice distribution that “hosts a catalog of products from distributors, with updatable availability, pricing and inventory”. Now that we know the opportunity, the only the question is who will build it first.


The culinary world faced a necessary reckoning over the past year, with many of the most lauded chefs accused of harassment and discrimination. The question on many minds since has been, how will the traditionally white-male dominated industry respond? If the 2018 James Beard Awards were any indication, the answer is swiftly. With little mention of the accused men, women and minority chefs were celebrated and finally given the attention they so justly deserve. With more than half of the twenty-three categories won by women or people of color, the industry truly does seem to be shifting to reflect reality.


How will we eat in the future? As climate changes and sea levels rise, will we eat differently than we do now? These are the sorts of questions that artist and designer Allie Wist set out to explore with her research project and cookbook, Flooded. With a focus on photography, the project examines what eating could look like in the future, and how it can be more sustainable than it is today. One change: more seaweed.


Fast food restaurants are facing a serious problem: a drought of inexpensive, part-time, teenage workers. In part, the fast-food industry is reckoning with this issue due to it’s success. Fast food restaurants have seen explosive growth over the past 25 years, greatly outpacing thegrowth of the teenage population. At the same time, fewer teenagers are entering the workforce than they were 25 years ago. This crisis in employment has led fast food chains to innovate their employee offerings in order to better recruit, and has led to more adult workers in positions previously held by teenagers.


Tea is no longer coffee’s boring cousin. Driven by product innovations like crème brûlée and cream cheese toppings, heightened awareness of functional and heath benefits, and Insta-branding; tea is finally being given the attention it deserves. JWT explores this trend in depth and points to the brands to watch.

Mothersauce

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An LA-based agency shaping the intersection of culinary and culture.

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