The Knowledge Project Podcast
Mac & Cheese Millionaire: Quitting Law, Getting Rich & Enjoying It
Best-selling author and chef Erin Wade has built a mac & cheese empire with her restaurant, Homeroom. Erin's number one goal was to create a happy, safe and inspiring workplace and in the process of doing so she came up with a ground-breaking system for tackling sexual harassment in the workplace which has been adopted world-wide.
THE NEW YORK TIMES
NYT: “Spurred by #MeToo, a Harassment Task Force Reconvenes”
While surveying Chicago hotel and casino workers about their experiences with sexual harassment on the job, Kasey Nalls had a conversation she said she would never forget.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
How This Lawyer-Turned-CEO Utilizes ‘Restorative Justice’
When it comes to wrongdoing, shifting the focus from punishment to accountability creates a more cohesive and supportive work environment.
FORTUNE
I quit my lawyer job to start a restaurant. Now I’m a mac and cheese millionaire
I am the world’s leading expert on macaroni and cheese. A bold claim, I realize—but it’s the God’s honest truth.
FORBES
Erin Wade Wants To Revolutionize The Restaurant Industry. Here’s How She Already Has.
Erin Wade was already an innovator when eight years ago, she opened her dedicated mac and cheese restaurant, Homeroom in Oakland, California...
THE WASHINGTON POST
I’m a female chef. Here’s how my restaurant dealt with harassment from customers.
Erin Wade is a chef, restaurateur and co-author of “The Mac + Cheese Cookbook.”
As a female chef, I am disheartened to open the paper and see the latest news of male chefs behaving badly...
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Mac and Cheese, Customized
Lines regularly snake out of the eatery, which specializes in serving 10 varieties of macaroni and cheese, each with its own quirky name, such as Gilroy Mac (roasted-garlic-filled mac-and-cheese) and Mac the Goat (chevre-infused mac-and-cheese).
Authors and Innovators
Authors and Innovators 2024 - featuring Erin Wade
Wade demonstrates how blending passion, innovation, and a bit of culinary magic can lead to unparalleled success.
PROBLEM SOLVERS
Creating A Workplace People Actually Love
Erin Wade hated her job. So she created a mac & cheese restaurant called Homeroom, then rethought how every other employee should be treated.
YELP BUSINESS
6 ways a mac and cheese millionaire created a priceless workplace culture
Before Erin Wade was a dissatisfied lawyer who decided to open a restaurant, she was a dissatisfied restaurant employee.
ENTREPRENEUR
She Was Unhappy in Her Job as a Lawyer, So She Started a Business Serving a Comfort Food Staple — And Made Millions
Erin Wade transformed from a dissatisfied attorney to a celebrated chef, author and entrepreneur.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL
Why small moments are the key to building a big culture at work
Organizational culture can be mysterious. It can also be powerful. Because of that power, leaders are sensitive to its importance. But the mystery - of how exactly to build or change a culture - usually keep them as observers, or complainers when it feels wrong, rather than cultural champions.
BLOOMBERG PURSUITS
Can a Restaurant Do Well and Do Good?
Restaurants have enough trouble making money. But some operators are betting on nonprofit dining rooms to do it while making change.
OAKLANDSIDE
Homeroom founder shares secrets behind Oakland restaurant’s success
Erin Wade, founder of the popular mac and cheese spot, shares her strategies for designing a successful and safe workplace in a new book.
MODERN RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT
The Mac & Cheese Millionaire: Encouraging Open Communication to Bridge Thorny Conflicts
How do you build a company that people will love working for?
THE MILLIONAIRE WOMAN SHOW
Better Business Building with the Mac ‘n Cheese Millionaire
Debra Kasowski interviews Erin Wade, a lawyer turned entrepreneur who became the Mac 'n Cheese Millionaire. She believes in creating and leveraging a competitive advantage through communication, collaboration, and collective success.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
How This Lawyer-Turned-CEO Utilizes ‘Restorative Justice’
When it comes to wrongdoing, shifting the focus from punishment to accountability creates a more cohesive and supportive work environment.
NYPOST
Want Monday off every week? This firm has been doing just that
Ah, Labor Day. It’s always a great day for the beach, grilling on the barbecue and simply not working on what could otherwise be another manic Monday. But for Gen Z research and strategy firm Dcdx, today is just another regular Monday out of the office.
OAKLANDSIDE
This week in Oakland: Muralists of Oakland screening, Homeroom’s Erin Wade’s book release party
Other events include cleanup of the estuary, Lightz Out auto and moto gathering, and Readings for Dark Times at Clio’s.
FROM THE GREEN NOTEBOOK
Erin Wade- Mac & Cheese, Mental Health, and Managing Teams
Erin Wade, founder and former CEO of Homeroom, a mac-and-cheese restaurant in Oakland, to discuss her latest book: The Mac and Cheese Millionaire: Building a Better Business by Thinking Outside the Box and her journey from being an unfulfilled attorney to a successful entrepreneur. E
LESSONS FROM A QUITTER
How Being Fired as a Lawyer Led Erin Wade to Become a Widely Successful Restauranteur
Erin received her law degree from UC Berkeley in 2008 and worked as a lawyer for one year before she was fired. That turned out to be a blessing in disguise.
TOAST
Erin Wade on Creating a Safe, Inclusive Work Environment
Making the best mac and cheese in the world isn’t enough for Erin Wade. She also wants to create a world-class workplace that’s safe and enjoyable for all.
Copper & Heat Radio
Food Delivery Apps w/ Homeroom
What happens when tech startups backed by venture capital create food delivery apps, and a whole new system, that is relied on by restaurant folks across the U.S.?
EAST BAY EXPRESS
Three Oakland Businesses Creating a New Workplace Culture
How the owners of Homeroom, Bar Dogwood, and Hive, the Place to Bee commit to progressive practices — often without any recognition.
SOCAP
35 World-Changing Women in Conscious Business
Real talk: the first woman ever to grace the list of CEOs of Fortune 500 companies was the late Katherine Graham of The Washington Post Co. in 1972, and as recently as 1995, there were zero
San Francisco Chronicle
Homeroom- Where Servers Draw the Line
Oakland restaurant devises system to combat customers' harassment of workers
THE NEW YORK TIMES
The Tipping Equation
At restaurants across America, servers calculate how far is too far, weighing harassing behavior against the tips they need to make a living wage.
TUGBOAT INSTITUTE SUMMIT
Power of People-Driven Leadership
The food industry is notoriously difficult with thin margins, disappearing trends and a constantly rotating employee base.
WORLD-CHANGING WOMEN PODCAST
Erin Wade of Homeroom Restaurant
Meet Erin Wade. After completing her law degree at Berkeley, Erin was working as a lawyer in the San Francisco Bay area.
EATER
Oakland Restaurant Owner Turns Anti-Harassment Program Into National Movement
Homeroom’s Erin Wade is adapting her “Color Code of Conduct” for restaurants across the country
AUTHORITY MAGAZINE
Big Ideas: “Not On The Menu, a sexual harassment prevention system for restaurant workplaces” With Erin Wade of Homeroom
NOSH
In Her Own Words: An illustrated interview with Erin Wade of Homeroom
We talk about Oakland, creating change in the restaurant world, and politics in food with the owner of the popular mac and cheese restaurant.
US EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPP. COMISSION
Testimony of Erin Wade, Founder and CEO of Homeroom
My name is Erin Wade. I am a lawyer, a policy nerd, and the owner of a restaurant called Homeroom. The staff at my restaurant developed a system for combating harassment from customers, and I am here to tell you why it should become the national standard for solving this epidemic and how you can help.
I WANT HER JOB
Erin Wade: Founder Of Mac-N-Cheese Restaurant Homeroom
Erin is the founder of Homeroom, a mac-n-cheese restaurant with a mission to serve the most delicious and comforting pasta dish in America.