A gadget aimed at facilitating communication between English-speaking restaurant owners and the Spanish-speaking workers they pay under the table is now on the market. And, boy, does it ever sound like a wondrous marvel from the future!:

GigaChef.com announces the first “Kitchen Spanish” dictionary with audio, containing approximately 500 essential words and terms, from kitchen equipment and ingredients, to Human Resources and scheduling phrases. The restaurant industry employs 13.1 million people, of which approximately 17% are Hispanic. Language barriers have long been problematic for the industry.

Funny, we always thought “Kitchen Spanish” was shouting at us to stop snacking before dinner + holding a frying pan above our head.

We’ve worked in a restaurant before and had to act as the unofficial liaison with the predominantly Mexican kitchen staff so we know how useful this tool could potentially be and how much tension it can alleviate between co-workers. And we love that the fact that this tool exists show English-speakers are willing to learn a new language and make an effort to communicate with others but, still. We can’t help but feel that the implication of this is that people who hire kitchen staff would rather consult an online translator than hire people they would have to pay at least minimum wage, the assumption being that those who have not been in this country long enough to master English are probably undocumented (unlike our grandmother, who’s just never had to use English given she lives in Westchester, Miami). Plus, it takes away the immediacy of learning English — and using this knowledge to have a better quality of life — away from Spanish-speaking workers.

The Library [GigaChef, registration required]