Chick-fil-A puts out a 'woke' cookbook

The fast-food chain hopes to foster a new conversation.

Oct 19, 2023 - 19:30

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As the company that regularly tops rankings of fast food chains with the highest customer loyalty, fried chicken and sandwich chain Chick-fil-A has a base of fans who see it as the alternative to all things "woke."

As Chick-fil-A was founded by and remains run by a family of Southern Baptists, all of its 2,600-plus locations across the U.S. remain shuttered on Sundays. The chain also became the subject of a national firestorm when, in 2012, then-CEO Dan T. Cathy made a number of comments against LGBTQ people and some customers dug up that the chain regularly donated to Christian charities campaigning against same-sex marriage.

While sales from its conservative fans soared in response and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee even declared Aug. 1 to be "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day," much has changed in the following decade. The chain committed to fully divesting from organizations opposing same-sex marriage in 2019 and, most recently in May 2023, hired a VP of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to ensure that its staff can "combine [...] unique backgrounds and experiences with a culture of belonging."

Chain says more can be done

And now, according to at some of Chick-fil-A's most vocal customers, it has released a new seemingly left-leaning cookbook. On Oct. 16, the fast-food chain announced that it was releasing a free digital cookbook meant to draw attention to "food insecurity and the importance of reducing food waste."

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The Extra Helpings: Inspiring Stories and Imaginative Recipes from Chick-fil-A Shared Table features 26 recipes for breakfasts, main meals and desserts from some of the charities the chain partners with for its food donations program.

"Our goal for ‘Extra Helpings’ is not only to inspire individuals to reimagine their extra food into new, delicious recipes, but also spark conversations about the important issues of food insecurity and food waste," Brent Fielder, senior director of corporate social responsibility for Chick-fil-A, said in a statement. "[...] While we're pleased with this milestone, we know there is more work to be done, which is why we're spotlighting this important issue."

Here is why some food chains attract right-wing outrage online

While the cookbook has not attracted nearly as much attention as the new DEI exec (several prominent far-right personalities called for boycotts), there were some rumblings on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter about how this was one more sign that the company was "going woke."

Any talk around plant-based foods or shifting toward an eco-friendlier way of eating also tends to set off certain cohorts. One such controversy occurred in August 2022 when Southern-style restaurant chain Cracker Barrel (CBRL) - Get Free Report announced that it was adding plant-based sausage made by Impossible Foods to its breakfast menu as one among many other options.

The Facebook post announcing the new menu offering blew up with thousands of comments about how the customer had "lost respect for a once great Tennessee company" and how the company would "go woke and go broke."

In a recent earnings call that missed analyst expectations, Cracker Barrel admitted that some of its messaging over the past year "failed to deliver."

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