Home Away From Home Away From Home

In an industrial zone brimming with auto repair shops and small factories, stands a little restaurant. Local workers come here to have lunch, fill their stomachs, and rest a little before returning to their work. 

Behind a central counter there are pots and steaming trays of food. The dishes are generously ladled into shallow bowls, and served with thick slices of bread to mop up any remaining gravy. A fixed menu hangs above the food display and any necessary changes are made by hand. When the pots are empty, the day ends, and the restaurant closes. 

 

This is probably how we imagine a typical workers’ restaurant. Looking at today’s workers’ restaurants, it seems clear their customers are no longer “workers.” They have been replaced by upper-middle class diners, who come for an “authentic” experience with a spoonful of nostalgia. The image of the workers has changed over time: most are no longer Jewish; instead, they are migrant workers and asylum seekers who usually spend their lunch break in the construction site or in the field.

 

For the exhibition, designers were invited to respond to the theme of workers’ restaurants on a plate.

 

Photo Credit – Dor Kedmi.