Paula Deen will be in town tomorrow at the Florida Aquarium, brimming with "aw' shucks" and butter. I could have devoted an entire blog post to the fact that this cooking demonstration, hosted by Publix's Aprons Cooking School, costs $150, they had to limit the tickets to two per person and the the thing has been sold out for a while. She's popular, no doubt.
Instead, though, I'll just slap up a bunch of links documenting her ties to an oppressive organization known for intimidation, abuse and hogs. Yep, she's the public face of Smithfield Ham.
Sure, Smithfield's not the Khmer Rouge or Wal-Mart, but they apparently aren't too nice to the fine workers in their North Carolina plant. And Deen, though confronted by information and questions about her ties to Smithfield numerous times, just brushes it off as the price of having a job. She even told Larry King that she'd meet with Smithfield worker organizers and discuss their concerns. She hasn't, except under Smithfield's aegis at their plant.
My favorite part of the whole controversy, though, is that chefs have been travelling around the country to her appearances and organizing picket lines. Do they hate Smithfield's practices, or do they just hate Deen? Hard to tell.
For the record, I sort of like Deen, except for her ties to Smithfield. And her new show on the Food Network. She's been rumored to chain smoke and swear like a sailor, so it'd likely be a blast to catch a beer and some hot wings with the ol' union bustin' lady.
Open invitation Paula, you hear? I'll buy.
This article appears in Jun 4-10, 2008.
