"There was no sleight of hand; each bite was cut open, pushed back together, then dropped on a table. The goal was to see moist white meat when it bounced."
Inside the world of tabletop directing - the people whose job it is to make food look delicious.
posted by mippy
on Oct 10, 2011 -
46 comments
In November of 2009, the
IWW set up shop in Minneapolis. Similar to their
Starbucks campaign, organizers set up the
Jimmy John's Workers Union, and began attempting to unionize the employees of local franchises of the sandwich chain,
"seeking a pay increase to above minimum wage, consistent scheduling and minimum shift lengths, regularly scheduled breaks, sick days, no-nonsense workers compensation for job-related injuries, an end to sexual harassment at work, and basic fairness on the job.". When local franchise owners MikLin Enterprises refused to meet with employees,
union organizers scheduled a National Labor Relations Board election. As allegations of
dirty tricks came out, the union lost in a
stunningly close vote. The IWW pressed the NLRB to look into the alleged misconduct, and they did.
The earlier vote has been nullified as a part of a settlement between MikLin and the NLRB.
The union is resuming its push for official recognition.
posted by Subcommandante Cheese
on Jan 11, 2011 -
84 comments
"The risk reduction associated with the daily consumption of most statins is more powerful than the risk increase caused by the daily extra fat intake associated with a 7-oz hamburger (Quarter Pounder®) with cheese and a small milkshake...Although no substitute for systematic lifestyle improvements, including
healthy diet, regular exercise, weight loss, and smoking cessation, complimentary statin
packets would add, at little cost, 1 positive choice to a panoply of negative ones."
Is having
free statin drugs at the fast food counter by the napkins and ketchup packets a good idea? Some doctors think the
idea has merit (
original paper .pdf). Hmmm... maybe if they were minty flavored.
posted by cross_impact
on Aug 12, 2010 -
69 comments
Dönermania! While US citizens know the Döner under its Greek name "gyros", Canadians refer to it as
donair. And in its country of birth, Germany, it is much more than late night drunk fodder: it is breakfast, lunch and solid dinner rollled into one. "The döner kebab trade may be worth 2.5 billion euros in Germany, but before last weekend, Germany's favorite fast food had never been honored with its own convention", reports Der Spiegel. " The star of the show? A remote-controlled döner robot."
[more inside]
posted by Omnomnom
on Mar 31, 2010 -
107 comments
Fancy Fast Food. Fast food reconstructed into (something that looks like) fine cuisine. Recipes included, for those who dare.
posted by Silune
on Jul 14, 2009 -
67 comments
My gut reaction was that the story--although a legitimate consumer complaint—seemed to reinforce a cultural stereotype about Black people and chicken. I know for a fact that no one on our staff meant for that to be the point of the story, but the fear that we would be accused of this sounded an alarm to me. It’s sad that I even had to worry about this.
Last week a couple of Popeye's restaurants in Rochester ran out of chicken. And local ABC affiliate WHAM
decided to run a story. Some people
complained, and WHAM
responded.
Warning: Second link contains some idiocy.
posted by hifiparasol
on Apr 26, 2009 -
135 comments
Think those salads at McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, and Taco Bell are a good idea if you want something lighter? Turns out you're actually
better off getting a double cheeseburger instead. For more info on nutritional facts about fast food,
CalorieKing has a good database.
posted by cerebus19
on Jun 1, 2007 -
67 comments
"Typically, fast-food workers who handle drive-through calls are multitasking, wearing headsets to take orders while filling drinks or bagging food. It's a high-pressure job and employees often are more concerned about rushing through orders than trying to sell more food or being polite to customers...
The call-center employees, who earn about $8.50 an hour, are trained to urge customers to add items to their order and are timed on how long each call takes."
posted by reklaw
on Nov 8, 2006 -
55 comments
McDonald's: The Videogame. A scathing critique of lousy corporate and environmental practices, or an entertainingly complex little game about the fast food industry? A little from column A, a little from column B. Torch diseased cows with the flamethrower, corrupt politicians and environmentalists, plant genetically modified soy in what used to be the rain forests of South America, force your employees to smile all the livelong day, and try not to bankrupt the company. Be sure to read the tutorial first. (Flash.)
posted by Gator
on Feb 10, 2006 -
11 comments
The CEO with the biggest head in America (no, not Trump, I'm talking literally) is recruiting
secret agents. (You want spies with that?) Or, if you'd like a slightly less creepy way to get a lot of free really junky food, you can write
sauce packet slogans.
*The term "left-of-center" is NOT meant to be political in any way. Mmm-kay.
posted by wendell
on Jun 8, 2004 -
14 comments
This turns into one of those cases where researching a story gets weirder. The documentary
Super Size Me centers on a documentary filmmaker's 30 day experience eating nothing but McDonalds. The film is doing
amazingly well as a limited release documentary grossing more per screen than high-budget Troy. Here is the weird part, Reuters has
picked up on a distributor press release claiming that MTV is refusing to air advertising for
Super Size Me because the film is "disparaging to fast-food restaurants". The Reuters short seems to have quite a bit of legs. However a Hollywood Reporter
article details MTVs side of the story placing the blame on the film's distributor. Is this really a case of a network getting cold feet? Or is it a case of distributor trying to pull the "too edgy for MTV" moneymaking ploy? And what is with the continually morphing Reuters clip that is just now being tossed onto doorsteps and stuffed into newsboxes across North America? (The film was previously discussed on metafilter
back in January.
posted by KirkJobSluder
on May 27, 2004 -
23 comments
Morgan Spurlock sets about to document what happens when he switches to an all-McDonald's diet for thirty days. Very scary stuff, indeed.
"It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart over the course of 30 days."
posted by moonbird
on Jan 24, 2004 -
6 comments
His mission: To eat three meals a day for 30 days at McDonald's and document the impact on his health. "It was really crazy - my body basically fell apart". Spurlock charted his journey from fit to flab in a tongue-in-cheek documentary which he has taken to the
Sundance Film Festival.
posted by stbalbach
on Jan 23, 2004 -
63 comments
Recently, Rick Bayless has been making some appearances in Burger King ads for some new sandwiches they're trying to sell. If you've ever seen Rick's show, you know that he's a true lover of food. Why would he do an ad for BK? The money, you say?
Many seem to agree.
Here's what Rick Bayless has to say for himself:
"I decided that it’s time for those of us in the healthy food/sustainable food movement to applaud any positive steps we see in the behemoth quick-service restaurant chains." I have noticed that Rick looks like he's in pretty good shape, despite the fact that he occasionally cooks with "a little freshly rendered pork fat". Maybe he's for real.
posted by blakewest
on Oct 27, 2003 -
28 comments
