Andrew Talks to Chefs

SPECIAL REPORT #39: Jesse Cool on Having a Heart

Episode Summary

Bay area legend Jesse Cool describes the new "Heart of House" labor & compensation model she's been developing at her Menlo Park restaurant Flea Street Cafe during the pandemic & lockdown.

Episode Notes

Jesse Cool has been operating her Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park, California, for 40 years, and has seen it all during that time. Except for a pandemic. She's used this opportunity for reflection and reevaluation to start developing a program she calls "Heart of House," eliminating front- and back-of-house designations in favor of a model where everyone pitches in on all fronts, and all employees share equally in supplemental "gratitude" contributions from customers. 

(Note: This episode was originally to air on Monday; apologies if it confuses the current date for any listeners! It is actually launching on Tuesday.)

Our great thanks to S.Pellegrino for making these special reports possible.

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If you enjoy this episode, you might enjoy these vintage Andrew Talks to Chefs conversations:

Jesse Cool: The Toqueland Interview (blog post)

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