In a time when anti-immigrant sentiments are spreading through the western world, we don’t often get hear about good news. But here’s some: Ali Sonko is a Gambian immigrant who spent 14 years working as a dishwasher in the Michelin-starred restaurant Noma in Copenhagen, and he was just named co-owner. He will take on new duties as a host and own stakes in the company; he will share 10 percent with two other managers. The star chef and co-owner René Redzepi owns about 20 percent and the rest is divided over four business partners. But Sonko says he will still spend time by the sink and wash plates, like he is used to. “I am so happy,” he said.

Heartwarming #Gambia story as dishwasher, and Gambian immigrant, becomes part owner of Michelin star restaurant. https://t.co/zxjQ8unv9u

— Jim Wormington (@jwormington) March 3, 2017

Redzepi said he had a special connection with Sonko, as he shares a first name with Redzepi’s father, who also was a Muslim immigrant–an Albanian born in Yugoslavia. He also worked as a dishwasher when he came to Denmark in the 1970s. Of Sonko, Redzepi said: “He has spent every hour of his life at that restaurant, works hard and hardly takes a day off. He is a great example of an immigrant done good.” The restaurant recently closed its original location and is rebranding itself as an urban farm. It plans to open again in December.

Sonko is 62, has 12 children, and used to be a farmer in Gambia. He fell in love with a Danish woman when on vacation in Denmark, and moved there 34 years ago. When asked about immigration in Denmark, he said, “Everybody does their best.”

Denmark, along with many other countries in Europe, has seen a rise in far-right ideology.  The right-wing Danish People’s Party has seen new success. In the middle of February, the party was criticized for handing out flyers with fake one-way tickets for immigrants to go “home,” to a destination that translates to “far away-istan.”

Ali takes down the sign pic.twitter.com/VRyL77yV0q

— Rene Redzepi (@ReneRedzepiNoma) February 26, 2017

Denmark recently passed a law that requires immigrants to hand over any jewelry or expensive personal belongings as they enter the country, to help pay for their stay. Earlier this week, right-wing politician Inger Stojberg published an opinion piece in a newspaper in which she called a Syrian immigrant family “greedy” and accused them of abusing the Danish welfare system.

When the Noma staff traveled to Britain in 2010 to receive a prize for being the world’s best restaurant, Sonko couldn’t join the team since he couldn’t go to Britain without a visa, despite having lived in Denmark for 34 years. So to show their appreciation of him, everyone from the restaurant wore a t-shirt with his portrait during the ceremony. And by the time Noma received that prize for the third time in 2012, Sonko could come along.

“Ali is the heart and soul of Noma. I don’t think people appreciate what it means to have a person like Ali in the house. He is all smiles, no matter how his 12 children fare,” Redzepi said in a recent speech to his staff.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Noma: Famous Restaurant Just Named its Immigrant Dishwasher a Co-Owner appeared first on Law Street.

Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce

Special orders don’t upset us.

All we ask is that you let you let us

Serve it your way.*

Courtesy of memecenter.

(*Unless your way involves hot onion rings. In which case, all bets are off.)

I hate when I order food and don’t get exactly what I want. When my order gets messed up, though, I will complain about it relentlessly to everyone I am with and possibly later that night to people I call for the sole purpose of complaining, but I rarely actually go back and say something to the waitress or server. People get onto me for this, and tell me to ‘just say something; you’re paying to get what you want, not what they serve you; it’s not a big deal to let them know; they don’t care; it won’t upset them, etc.’ Previously, I had no excuses for my cowardly behavior, but previously, I had not heard the story of the cold onion rings. And that story justifies every time I’ve ever not complained about my order. Which makes it a pretty good story.

One day, Robert Deyapp walked into a New Mexico Burger King for what, I assume, he assumed was a normal trip to a fast food chain. He placed his order and excitedly went to eat his lunch. To his horror, he quickly discovered that his onion rings were cold. This was unacceptable! He did what anybody unhappy with their purchase would do (except, of course, for me) and went to the counter to ask for hot onion rings.

At the counter things did get heated, but unfortunately for Deyapp, none of those things were the onion rings. When he complained to manager Francisco Berrera and asked for a refund, instead of a simple “I’m sorry, sir, let us take care of that for you,” Berrera took a different approach. He lunged across the counter and attacked Deyapp with a stungun and switchblade.

As you probably know, BK’s motto used to be “Have it your way.” That has since been changed, most recently to “Be your way,” which is perhaps Berrera’s best defense: he was trying to be a solid example of the Burger King message, and since he seems to be a quick-tempered, violent man, he was “being his way” when he beat up a customer. Surely BK would have to respect that, right?

Despite his solitary pursuit to be a good BK representative, Berrera later pled no contest to aggravated assault, and Deyapp is currently suing the burger franchise. Because it is pending litigation, Burger King has not publicly responded to any questions on this matter; however, I have a couple of theories as to what happened in New Mexico that fated day that would show the burger franchise was not breaking any of its promises.

Courtesy of Giphy.

1. Going back to that same jingle at the top that BK was known for, it is pretty clear that the lyrics say “special orders don’t upset us.” Hot onion rings are a regular order. Burger King never suggests that regular orders don’t upset them. If you place a regular order, then, it is fair to say that by doing so, you are leaving yourself open to an attack.
2. Have you heard about secret menus? They are all the rage. You can order specials that aren’t on the menu by finding out about them online. At McDonalds, you could order a McGangbang: a double cheeseburger and a spicy chicken sandwich, which you would then combine with the chicken in between the two patties, a.k.a., the McGangbang. Perhaps at Burger King a secret menu item just happens to be called the “My onion rings are cold,” and is code for “please attak me with a stun gun and switchblade.” In which case, Deyapp was literally asking for it. That’s the problem with those secret menus, though, you always risk the chance that somebody might order something on accident and then you’ll get sued because they were attacked without consent. Trends today!

Whatever the reason for the attack, I am using it as proof to my loved ones that you should never complain about your food. Unless, of course, Deyapp wins a whole lot. In which case, I will complain so much at so many restaurants that people will be dying to hit me. I can take a punch for a big cash payout.

—

Ashley Shaw (@Smoldering_Ashes) is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time.

Featured image courtesy of [Phillip Wong via Flckr]

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is an Alabama native and current New Jersey resident. A graduate of both Kennesaw State University and Thomas Goode Jones School of Law, she spends her free time reading, writing, boxing, horseback riding, playing trivia, flying helicopters, playing sports, and a whole lot else. So maybe she has too much spare time. Contact Ashley at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Spar Broiled: Cold Burger King Onion Rings Lead to Attack and Lawsuit appeared first on Law Street.