Katherine Miller: Guiding Chefs – or Anyone – to Advocacy

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: It wasn’t long ago that the idea of chefs moonlighting as political advocates – and finding a willing audience of elected officials – might have seemed ludicrous. Now, celebrity chefs and a fascination with food culture has changed all that. Many chefs are dedicated activists for causes like hunger relief efforts, supporting local farmers, fighting food waste, confronting racism and sexism in the industry, and more. And, politicians listen.

Katherine Miller has a background in organizing activists throughout the world: she trained thousands of community activists how to work toward change in business practices, social systems, and public policy. Training programs she developed and led are in use around the world including China, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Mali, and Nigeria. When she was first approached about helping chefs find their political voice she scoffed, but seeing them in action made her a believer. Inspired by activist chefs like Sacramento’s own Patrick Mulvaney, she developed a series of impact-focused programs for the James Beard Foundation, served as the founding executive director for the Chef Action Network, and developed the Chefs Boot Camp for Policy and Change.

Miller spoke with us about her new book, At the Table, the chef’s guide to advocacy, and about the intersection of policy, politics and food culture. She will be in Sacramento on Tuesday, October 3rd for a very special dinner and discussion centered around the book and her work. The evening will include a family style dinner provided by Mulvaney’s B&L and an in depth discussion about the creation of the book, what advocacy looks like in Sacramento, and of course the recipes that highlight what it means to be a chef and advocate. Featuring chefs Brad Cecchi, Nina Curtis, Santana Diaz, Marie Mertz, Patrick Mulvaney, Nena Rasul and Patricio Wise. Reservations HERE.

Show Notes

3:10 Sacramento: Food city

5:27 ‘The idea was ludicrous…’

7:51 Chefs have a constituency every politician craves to meet

10:25 Chefs can get the meetings that lobbyists don’t

11:43 Learning to navigate public policy

15:54 Patrick Mulvaney’s mental health advocacy work

20:02 What are the goals?

24:56 Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?