Photo by Christopher Almeida
Episode 2: Real Talk About the Restaurant Industry with James Mark
No conversation about Providence’s culinary scene would be complete without including chef James Mark, owner of North and Big King. Mark was a finalist for the Best Chef: Northeast James Beard Award this year, and Bon Appetit magazine recently selected Big King as a Top 50 Nominee for its 2019 America’s Best New Restaurants list.
In this candid interview, Mark explains how he got his start working in restaurants as a teenager; talks about what motivated him to open North; discusses why he thinks the industry is built on exploitation; shares why he has mixed feelings about about the James Beard Awards; and more.
Show Notes
Follow James Mark/ North on: Twitter / Facebook/ Instagram
North, 122 Fountain St., Providence, foodbynorth.com
Big King, 3 Luongo Sq., Providence, bigkingpvd.com
Johnson & Wales College of Culinary Arts
“You can drive fifteen minutes outside of the city [Providence] and be at a farm that is large enough to support the kind of produce that a restaurant needs… That was really impressive for me.”
“North, when we first opened, and still today, was a very industry-focused restaurant… With the idea that it would filter through the industry and to everybody else.”
“The food that we do is Rhode Island food. It’s not traditional Rhode Island food. It’s with the idea that if all the ingredients come from Rhode Island, whatever form it ends up taking, it’s Rhode Island food.”
“I made less than $20,000 a year for the first five years … and I work a hundred hours a week.”
“The restaurant industry is built on exploitation, whether that’s exploitation of labor by underpaying people or stealing tips, or a lot of sketchy practices like that. Whether that’s exploitation of the land by using poor product, whether that’s factory farmed meats or produce with heavy pesticide use or certain kinds of fish that contribute to issues with the ocean, or work with big organic farmers that exploit their own labor force, all of these things are ways you make money in the restaurant industry.”
“I know what it’s like to work at a fancy restaurant and not be able to eat at the place that you work at, and I never want to have that restaurant.”
“I don’t think it’s possible to run a restaurant in the longterm with our current systems in place.”
“You’re going to go to a restaurant that exploits people. It’s going to happen, period. Don’t beat yourself up over that.”
The New York Times: “State Investigates Sexual Harassment at the Spotted Pig;” / ”April Bloomfield Breaks Her Silence About Harassment at Her Restaurants.”
Harold McGee’s “On Food and Cooking.”
“There are no manufacturing jobs left … service jobs are going to be the jobs. Considering that’s the case, we need to start treating these jobs with more respect.”
Jen Agg’s “I Hear She's a Real Bitch” (so good!-JP).
Christina Tosi’s “Milk Bar Life”
Monahan’s Clam Shack & Restaurant, 190 Ocean Rd., Narragansett, monahansri.com.
Olneyville New York System, 18 Plainfield Street Providence, www.olneyvillenewyorksystem.com.