Over the past few years, Ashtin Berry has become a nationally recognized name in the food and beverage world. She’s the person restaurant owners call when they want to adjust the culture of their workplace, whether that means preventing harassment, fostering racial inclusion, or reconciling a sensitive issue that’s come up among the staff.
My mom always went to bat for me. She’d come to my school and tell my teachers, “You're not going to crush her spirit or her competence just because you think a little black girl shouldn't be opinionated.” I remember in third grade we had to write about the real Thanksgiving. All the kids are writing their little stories about how the pilgrims and the Indians are friends, and then there’s me with this paper my uncle helped me write after we watched a documentary on the History Channel.
Whiteness can be very insidious in fine dining spaces. One time a woman was like, “Oh, could you grab our server, sweetheart?” I said, “I am your server. I’m your sommelier, actually.” She's like, “Oh, really? Good for you. Your parents must be so proud.” I said, “Actually, they're a little bit disappointed that I'm using my University of Chicago degree for this.” Her face just kind of dropped. And then she goes, “Oh, you’re a smart one.
Then in 2016 a restaurant reached out to me to help them deal with an incident that had occurred. So I helped create a curriculum for their staff, centered around transformative justice mediation, which is about reconciling both the person who has done harm and the person the harm has been done to. From there, more and more restaurants started calling me, asking me to come in and create specialized curriculums.