Many employees have been with John for over 20 years, some left then came back with John always finding a place for them. It wasn’t unusual to have them share very personal stories about their working relationships and just how much they had gained and were sharing with their families, many times their eyes would tear up, causing ours to do the same. We always left asking ourselves how we might make changes in our lives to be a bit more aware and involved with those around us.

Here is one of those stories from Cathy Lalley, Director of Marketing for John’s restaurants.

The role of charitable giving — one of my many hats — is by far the most challenging, and yet it’s the most rewarding aspect of my employment with John Howie. You see, I write certificates out by hand to each and every person who asks. We are donating to as many as 600 charities a year now. Multiply that by 3 or 4, depending on the package, record it in your books and again on Excel, then package it up in a marketing packet and get it off in time. There is a great need, however, so we make the time.

On the other hand, the greatest reward is the gift I have been given by Chef Howie’s philosophy on giving. He has given me instructions to NEVER SAY NO. That is right! I never say no. It does not matter if it’s for art, theater, education, government, thank-yous for city workers, animal rights, environmental concerns, immigration law, medical issues, etc. These are ALL worthy causes, all very important and all deserving.

When a volunteer picks up the phone and makes an “ask” call to me, I am quick to pick up their spirits and say YES and I CARE and Thanks for including us! That is awesome.

My mother, although never a gourmet cook, was a great cook, as evidenced by some of her recipes that grace the book. I believe that between them, she and my grandmother Grace Howie built the foundation of my passion and my palate for great food. From simple fresh foods to amazing ethnic dishes, the development of my palate came in large part from the great home cooking of the ladies in my life during my early years.

- John Howie

Download the PDF flyer

Edit: The event was great! We met lots of food-loving folks and everyone seemed really plugged into what John was saying. A big thanks to Larry Liang, manager of the Traveling Chef Series at Microsoft, and Amanda Tilley, the Microsoft Commons Marketing Manager!

I told the story of the Cash Mob to my wife this morning. I could be totally off-base on this one (I’m not going to research it and pretend like I knew this time) but here’s how it goes…

One day, a group of friends in NY found out that a local convenience store, Hercules Fancy Grocery, was going out of business. It was just one of those local corner markets you might see on any corner. It was family owned and the owner was distraught that his store was going under.

This group of friends, determined to help in any way possible (or, at least, make themselves feel better), pooled their money (and credit cards) and literally bought out the whole store. They also recorded the whole thing:

If this wasn’t the invention of the cash mob then it was for me. Several months after seeing that video, I started reading about these groups of people in neighborhoods who would come to a local store and everyone would spend a certain amount of money, around $20 or so. These were small, single-door locations that really felt the effect of 100 or more people spending $20 each throughout the day.

There’s two reasons I love this idea so much:

First, I get giddy about the whole “Lotto” effect, like there was this group of people who schemed and planned to make my day/week/month a great one. If I was already having a good day, this would make it epic and I would believe that my positive attitude had brought this great thing upon me. If I was having a crappy day, I’d feel like maybe, just maybe, things could turn around. No matter what the situation, it’s great.

Second, I’ve become more and more aware of the importance of local, small businesses. I shop at Costco, order from Amazon, and can be found in Whole Foods from time to time but I make a point of frequenting businesses in my area. I don’t just do it to be nice, I really love the connection I feel there and hate the distance I feel at large chains.

I buy my bike parts from Free Range Cycles and they know me there now. Their parts cost a little more but they frequently just install them without asking and are always an important course of knowledge. I buy all of my coffee and related items at Milstead & Co. In edition to ridiculously good coffee, these guys and gals really help you learn how to brew on your own and will always spend a couple of minutes describing what you’re about to drink. You just don’t get that at Starbucks.

So, cash mobs, now you know, one of the best ideas ever!

The theme of the blog surrounds the inspiration and premise behind TENDER: farmers, cooks, eaters. This book, by Tamara Murphy of course, is a very special book about food from a giving, thoughtful chef here in Seattle. All of us at ShinShinChez are fascinated by food, where it comes from, and how it makes us feel. This made it easy to produce a book about some of the best things in life: shopping at a farmer’s market, enjoying varied and fresh ingredients, and cooking the kind of food you can be proud of.

One of the things we like to do on farmers, cooks, eaters is publish what we call “link love” posts. These are groups of blog posts, recipes, and videos we find online and want to share with everyone. They’re also “thank yous” to folks that have mentioned us or our projects.

• Food education, calorie count problems, Bastyr, and more
• Changing restaurants, eating locally all year, and composting
• Farming, Butchers, Spices, Money, and Gardening
• A few great recipes, Chef Tom French, and food waste in Seattle

A warning: if you’re into food then these will be a time suck so give yourself an hour or more to get through everything.

Marlen gave us a thought-provoking post on conservation and how the obvious choice might not be the best one. “On first read, this announcement triggered the feeling that this is a good thing; that mass-market grocers are becoming more aware and action-oriented toward environmental issues including overfishing. However with further reflection, it also posed the question is this truly a supportive solution to preventing overfishing and harm to marine life and habitats?”

Josh confronts his vegetable demons in this “gutsy” (objective review) piece. “Is there a more polarizing set of words in the English language than ‘veggie sandwich?’ What comes to mind when you read those two, seemingly innocent little words? … For the rest, something altogether different registered. The first word that came to mind might have been ‘yuck’ or ‘ugh’ or, possibly, nothing because just the idea of a veggie sandwich put you quickly to sleep with boredom. It could be the lack of substance that’s the problem or maybe it’s the mishmash of too many different flavors at once. Maybe it’s the texture, both crunchy and soft at the same time. Whatever it is, you’d rather go hungry than even think about eating a veggie sandwich.”

There comes a time in the life of every business where a corner is turned. It’s the time when that business turns deeply inward, furrows its collective brow, and asks the hardest question it possibly can…

“Should we be blogging?”

I write blogs, build blogs, read blogs, and talk to people about blogs and, still, it’s near impossibly hard to start a blog and write that first post. What do you say? Do you just jump right in and write the first thing on your mind? What if you make commitments you can’t fulfill? The anticipation and the pressure is almost too much to take. Almost.

So, here’s our first post. I could tell you what we’re going to write about (the community of people we’re involved with, stories from small businesses getting it right, our motivation and inspiration, what we’ve done and what we’re planning) or what we’ve got just around the corner (we are putting together a very cool series of known people talking about moments that shaped how they see the world) or how you can get involved (at this point, the best thing to do is to give us your trust and your email address with a promise that we’ll never abuse it).

In the end, the folks that will see this most likely know who we are, know what we do, and already think we’re pretty swell. And, really, that’s who we’re writing for. We’re excited to share our experiences, talk about what keeps us ticking, and showing all sides of ourselves.

Because we love saying it, thank you so much for being here, reading this, and being a part of what we do.