The Daily Dish: Danny Meyer Creates Landmark Parental Leave Policy For His Restaurants

Danny Meyer Creates Landmark Parental Leave Policy for His Restaurants

Danny Meyer — owner of such noted restaurants as Shake Shack, Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke Grill, and The Modern — just announced a groundbreaking new parental leave policy that is almost unheard of in the industry, as first reported by Eater. Beginning in 2017, he will offer every employee who has been on the job for at least a year — male or female — four weeks of paid maternal or paternal leave. In America, businesses right now are only required to offer 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave, and paid parental leave within the hospitality industry is extremely rare, according to Eater. 

Pennsylvania-Based Distillery Creates a Spirit Made from Beets

The Lansdale, Pennsylvania-based distillery Boardroom Spirits has added a spirit made entirely from beets to its lineup. The new product was developed by its "mad scientist-of-a-master distiller," Attila Kovács, Philly Beer Scene reported. The Boardroom team describes its new product as "earthy, fragrant and surprisingly strong." Brandy distilled from vegetables is so rare in the U.S., adds Boardroom, "that government classifications haven't caught up yet."

You Can Rent an Inflatable Irish Pub for Your Next Gathering

Boston-based Paddy Wagon Inflatable Pub brings the pub experience to its customers in adult bouncy house form. The blow-up bar is made to look like an Irish tavern, and the company offers optional décor, entertainment, food, and drink, depending on the party package you select. Since the company's inception last year, it has aimed to bring the pub to corporate events, weddings, family gatherings, and everything in between. Customers can augment their experience by choosing from a variety of traditional Irish food and beer, as well as Irish dancers, Irish wolfhounds, and tutorials on pouring the perfect pint.

Modernist Bread Now Available for Preorder

The Modernist Cuisine team is back at it again with the be-all, end-all bread cookbook Modernist Bread: The Art and Science. The 2,438-page tome weighs a whopping 50.2 pounds, and is the culmination of four years of extensive research and experimentation by the Modernist Cuisine team, including Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya. It promises to be "the most in-depth, comprehensive, and largest bread cookbook to date," according to a release. The book will include recipes for home ovens and professional ovens, and it will cover everything from traditional breads to more inventive creations. Modernist Bread: The Art and Science is slated for a May 2017 release.

This Is the 'Greenest' City in the World

Zurich took first place in the 2016 Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index, "which ranked 100 major cities on 32 indicators across three aspects of sustainability: people, planet and profit," The Local reported. Arcadis, a global consultancy firm that focuses on sustainability, carried out the survey in partnership with the Centre for Economic and Business Research. The top five cities also included Singapore, Stockholm, Vienna, and London. Of the top 20 slots, 16 of them were European. Zurich was praised for its "commitment to the environment," citing its focus on energy efficiency and investment in renewable energy. It was deemed a "pioneer" for its goal to "become a 2000-watt society by 2050," or using only 2,000 watts of energy per capita, "the amount globally recognized as a sustainable level of energy use," the survey said.