Take Back the Tray

Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions

By: Joshna Maharaj

Narrated by: Joshna Maharaj

A beloved chef takes on institutional food and sparks a revolution with this manifesto, memoir from the trenches, and blueprint for reclaiming control from corporations and brutal bottom lines.

“With hard-won insights and deep commitment, Joshna Maharaj takes us on a mouthwatering tour of what our collective food future might be.” (Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System)

Good food generally doesn’t arrive on a tray, but Chef Joshna Maharaj knows that institutional kitchens have the ability to produce good, nourishing food, because she’s been making it happen over the past 14 years. She’s served meals to people who’d otherwise go hungry, baked fresh scones for maternity ward mothers, and dished out wholesome, scratch-made soups to stressed-out undergrads. She’s determined to bring health, humanity, and hospitality back to institutional food while also building sustainability, supporting the local economy, and reinvigorating the work of frontline staff.

Maharaj reconnects food with health, wellness, education, and rehabilitation in a way that serves people, not just budgets, and proves change is possible with honest, sustained commitment on all levels, from government right down to the person sorting the trash. The need is clear, the time is now, and this revolution is delicious.

©2020 Joshna Maharaj (P)2020 ECW Press

Critic reviews

“The author is an engaging and dedicated advocate for those she's feeding. This is tremendous food for thought for a new decade.” (Quill & Quire)

“Many of us have been appalled by the loveless fare being offered at institutions here in Canada. We all know better. Thank you, Joshna Maharaj for stepping into the fray and challenging this sad state of affairs. In Take Back the Tray we savour a passionate and insightful analysis born of many years on the ground working in the institutional food service reality. The writing is an inspiring call to action to restore dignity and deliciousness coupled with a large dose of hospitality to our institutional dining experience. I'll be doing my bit.” (Jamie Kennedy, chef)

“Why is institutional food so bad when it could, and should, be so good? With hard-won insights and deep commitment, Joshna Maharaj takes us on a mouthwatering tour of what our collective food future might be. Her vision points the way to how we can put the hospitality back in hospital food and the generosity into a new generation of socially produced acts of care.” (Raj Patel, author of Stuffed and Starved: The Hidden Battle for the World Food System)