20 Examples of Cultural Appropriation in the Food World



20 Examples of Cultural Appropriation in the Food WorldWhen it comes to food, the lines of cultural appropriation can get blurry. Not to be confused with cultural exchange or appreciation, cultural appropriation highlights the power dynamic that remains when members of a dominant culture adopt aspects from a culture of people they have systematically oppressed. When cultural appropriation occurs, the culture of a less privileged group is often exploited with little understanding of its history, experience, and traditions. Traditions, artwork, fashion, and foods are altered to make them pleasing to the new market, disconnecting these elements from the cultures that created them and the cultural importance they once carried. So how can we walk the line between culinary exchange and cultural appropriation in the world of food? Eating, cooking, and enjoying food from other cultures isn’t in itself problematic -- in fact, food often represents cultural exchange at its finest. Things become tricky, however, when someone from a dominant culture profits from exotifying and commercializing the cuisine of a marginalized community. Or misrepresents a recipe while touting their version as superior. Or leverages their privilege to overshadow chefs born into those cuisines. To try to better understand this very complex issue, this article examines 19 recent incidents when chefs, restauranteurs, and food critics were accused of cultural appropriation. Rick Bayless and Frontera Grill A self-described “unapologetically white guy from Oklahoma City”, Rick Bayless may not seem like an obvious candidate for America’s ambassador of Mexican food. But it was Bayless who was asked to cook when then-Mexican President Felipe Calderon visited the White House in 2010, and Bayless who has grown a business empire out of “Mexican” restaurants like Frontera Grill and Tortas Frontera in the O’Hare International Airport. An NPR story questioned the accusations of cultural appropriation lobbed at Bayless, asking “If you're financially benefiting from selling the cuisine of others, is that always wrong?” and “What is lost, if anything, when you eat a cuisine without connecting to the culture behind it?”Bayless, for his part, believes he is qualified to sell Mexican food for huge profits in the U.S. because he has traveled throughout Mexico, learned Spanish, and loves the flavors. Bayless fans agree. “I'm betting dollars to donuts that Bayless has actually traveled far more extensively throughout Mexico, and speaks better Spanish, than most of the bratty, 3rd, 4th, 5th generation Mexican-American hipsters who talk shit about him,” fumed one particularly passionate Mexican-American fan. Gordon Ramsay and Lucky CatGordon Ramsay’s latest London restaurant, Lucky Cat, was embroiled in controversy over cultural appropriation before it even launched. Lucky Cat, promoted as “an authentic Asian eating house and vibrant late-night lounge, inspired by the drinking dens of 1930s Tokyo and the Far East” was slammed in a review of a preview event. In the review, East Asian food writer Anglea Hui described the restaurant’s approach as “Japanese? Chinese? It’s all Asian, who cares.” Chef and restaurateur George Chen agreed with Hui, tweeting: “Is the famous chef going to curse at his white cooks in Asian or what? Every chef has a right to interpret another cuisine but the integrity and culture (read authenticity –albeit I hate that term) need to be studied in-depth and not whitewashed for marketing purposes.”Arielle Haspel and Lucky Lee’s Not long after Lucky Cat came under fire, another restaurant created by a white restauranteur drew backlash over cultural appropriation. Chef and health coach Arielle Haspel opened what she called a clean” Chinese restaurant, insinuating in an Instagram post that the dishes served in more traditional Chinese restaurants make diners feel “bloated and icky” after eating them.Her comments sparked an angry, viral discussion over cultural appropriation and insensitivity. Critics labeled Haspel as yet another white chef who touted their Asian cuisine as superior to food made by Asians. Haspel apologized in an interview with The New York Times, asserting that she never intended to perpetuate stereotypes against Chinese cuisine. “We thought we were complementing an incredibly important cuisine, in a way that would cater to people that had certain dietary requirements,” she said. “We have been listening and learning, and we have been making changes and we will continue. Shame on us for not being smarter about cultural sensitivities.” Andrew Zimmerman and Lucky Cricket In yet another incident involving an Asian restaurant with the word “Lucky” in its name, travel television star Andrew Zimmerman was criticized for claiming his restaurant, Lucky Cricket, would save the midwest from bad Chinese food. “I think I’m saving the souls of all the people from having to dine at these horseshit restaurants masquerading as Chinese food that are in the Midwest,” Zimmerman said in an interview about the new restaurant with Fast Company. Zimmerman was called out for being “colonizing and condescending” in his comments, and categorizing his mom-and-pop Chinese restaurant competitors as “horseshit”. In a lengthy statement in Star Tribune, Zimmerman apologized for his “cultural elitism”, noting that “the upset that is felt in the Chinese American community is reasonable, legitimate and understandable, and I regret that I have been the one to cause it." Kali Wilgus, Liz Connelly, and Kooks Burritos In the long heated debate over “food Columbusing” in the restaurant world, Kooks Burritos in Portland, Oregon is often cited as an on-the-nose example of cultural appropriation. In an article by Willamette Week, owners Kali Wilgus and Liz "LC" Connelly bragged about taking recipes from reluctant ‘tortilla ladies’ on a trip to Mexico. "I picked the brains of every tortilla lady there in the worst broken Spanish ever, and they showed me a little of what they did,” said Connelly. “...They wouldn't tell us too much about technique, but we were peeking into the windows of every kitchen, totally fascinated by how easy they made it look.” Critics were maddened by Connelly’s flippant language and labeled the pillaging of the generation-old recipes as unjust -- the Mexican women weren’t given anything in return for their recipes that were then sold as pricey delicacies in the U.S. Kooks was defended by an article in Washington Post, however, where the writer argued that the chefs weren’t harming another culture by sharing parts of it. The (Alternatives To) White-Owned Appropriative Restaurants in Portland ListOn the heels of the Kooks controversy, a Google Doc titled “(Alternatives To) White-Owned Appropriative Restaurants in Portland" began circulating the internet. The list, which has since been taken down, included the names of appropriative restaurants and the nearest POC (people of color)-owned alternatives for each. According to the document, the list was intended to raise awareness of cultural appropriation in food. "This is NOT about cooking at home or historical influences on cuisines; it's about profit, ownership, and wealth in a white supremacist culture," the document read. "These white-owned businesses hamper the ability for POC to run successful businesses of their own (cooking their own cuisines) by either consuming market share with their attempt at authenticity or by modifying foods to market to white palates."The list generated its fair share of praise, criticism, and confusion. On Twitter, one conflicted diner wrote, “Help! My favorite restaurant in #Portland is on a cultural appropriation hit list for "culinary cis-white supremacy". A Reddit thread denounced the list as “ridiculous” and having a “complete lack of understanding of human history and food anthropology.” Bon Appétit: “This Is How You Should Be Eating Pho”Food magazine Bon Appétit was met with outrage after publishing a story titled “PSA: This Is How You Should Be Eating Pho”. The piece was accompanied by a video showing Tyler Akin, a white chef, demonstrating how he eats the iconic Vietnamese noodle dish. Soon after publishing, Bon Appétit removed the video and apologized, but not before the internet exploded with criticism and accusations of cultural appropriation. Dr. Bich-Ngoc Turner, lecturer of Vietnamese language and literature at the University of Washington, explained the problem with the video in an interview with The Huffington Post: “The title sounds very authoritative and over-confident ... Food is very much related to race, identity, and cultural pride,” Turner said. “So when you present ethnic food this way by a white man, you offend the Vietnamese community and deprive them of their own right to be authentic and maintain their identity.” Andy Ricker and the Pok Pok RestaurantsThe privileges afforded to white restauranteurs were discussed in great length by the New York Times in a piece called “Cuisines Mastered As Acquired Tastes”. Inthe 2012 article, writer Francis Lam mused over the success of “Thai-cooking superstar” Andy Ricker, the Portland chef behind Pok Pok Wing and Pok Pok NY. Lam acknowledged that Ricker had spent months out of each year cooking in Thailand since 1994, but asked how a white chef from the Pacific Northwest became the one expected to lead New York to the “papaya-salad” promise land in a city with nearly 300 restaurants run by Thais. Lam noted that American-born chefs are more likely to have connections, prestigious educations, and the means to market themselves than immigrant chefs. He also admits that learning a cuisine as a foreigner can be a good thing, as it can give chefs a broader perspective. Marks & Spencer and the Vegan Biryani Wrap Marks & Spencer, a British supermarket chain, was recently criticized for selling its own interpretation of the classic Indian dish, biryani. Critics fumed that M&S’s “biryani” disregarded Indian cooking traditions. Maunika Gowardhan, the author of the cookbook Indian Kitchen, tweeted, “Thanks but I like my Biryani with rice in a bowl not a wrap. Seriously M&S!?”Gowardhan elaborated on the issue in an interview with The Times.“Just to put it in perspective, in India firstly there is no such thing as a veg biryani,” she said, going on to note that traditional biryanis contain meat or fish.In response to accusations of cultural appropriation, an M&S spokesperson told the Independent, "M&S is famous for its food innovation and our developers use a fusion of different flavors and ingredients to create an exciting range of products to appeal to customers’ tastes.”Thomas Keller and La CandelaWhen Thomas Keller -- one of the most Michelin star-decorated chefs in the U.S. -- revealed that he was planning to open a Mexican restaurant showcasing “authentic Oaxacan cuisine”, a fair share of eyebrows were raised. The reveal was close on the heels of Zimmerman’s Lucky Cricket controversy. “We can not have another caucasian chef take on a cuisine they have no connection with for self-recognition and profit,” Navajo chef Brian Yazzie warned in a tweet. Still, reviews of the restaurant upon opening turned out to be largely positive. The San Francisco Chronicle called it “cultural appropriation done right”. Jamie Oliver and Punchy Jerk RiceJamie Oliver became yet another celebrity chef accused of cultural appropriation when he launched a microwavable quick-cook product called “Punchy Jerk Rice”. Dawn Butler, the British opposition Labour Party’s spokesman for women and equalities, called Oliver out on Twitter, tweeting “I'm just wondering do you know what #Jamaican #jerk actually is? It’s not just a word you put before stuff to sell products… Your jerk rice is not okay. This appropriation from Jamaica needs to stop”. Food critics of the London Eater agreed, writing “Naming a Caribbean-adjacent rice and bean pouch after a highly-specific, meaningful spice mixture and preparation does not show respect [for culinary traditions and history of another culture’s food]. In a statement, Oliver maintained that he called his product “jerk rice” because he was inspired by Jamaican cuisine. “When I named the rice my intention was only to show where my inspiration came from,” he said. Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted The Lucky Cat controversy wasn’t the first time Gordon Ramsay came under fire for cultural appropriation. The notoriously loud-mouth, bullying chef sparked a social media storm after the National Geographic announced his new show, Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted. In a press release, the outlet promised that each episode of the show would feature Ramsay “pitting his own interpretations of regional dishes against the tried-and-true classics”. Food writer Sejal Sukhadwala spoke out against the show in a Metro article entitled “Cultural-appropriation of food is not OK so I won’t be watching Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted”. “Once again, we have a white chef wading into the culinary waters of a country he has little understanding of and telling them how to cook their food better,” she wrote. In an interview on Entertainment Weekly, Ramsay fired back at critics like Sukhadwala, calling them "feeble warriors that sit in their dungeons and spout negativity without understanding what we're doing" and adding that he “can't wait to make all those bitter, twisted, little boring truckers who aren't busy enough in their lives eat their words”.Shaun Beagley and Boring ThaiIn the case of white British chef Shaun Beagley, cultural appropriation came hand in hand with racism, homophobia, and misogyny. Beagley, a chef at London’s celebrated Som Saa Thai restaurant, was fired for creating a series of deeply offensive YouTube cooking videos under the persona “Boring Kitchen”. In the videos, Beagley uses racist language and puts on a stereotypical Asian accent. Mimi Aye, a British-born Burmese chef and writer, explained how the incident embodies cultural appropriation succinctly on Twitter: “This *is* about cultural appropriation ... If a person cooks food from another culture, even profits from it, that’s absolutely fine, but as soon as they’re a dick about it, in whatever fashion, that’s cultural appropriation.” Peja Krstic and Mot Hai BaHighly acclaimed Vietnamese Mot Hai Ba was a favorite in the Dallas food community, winning accolades from critics and drawing celebrity guests like Kanye West and Aziz Ansari. However, the restaurant’s Serbian chef and owner Peja Krstic kicked off a conversation over prejudice and privilege after allegations surfaced of his abusive behavior and racism. It all started when Tiffany Tran, owner of Sneakerbaby Macaroons, pointed out that “banh mi” had been misspelled on Mot Hai Ba’s since-corrected Instagram post. Krstic responded with a slow of threatening personal messages, threatening to sue Tran if she continued to speak about the incident. Krstic later apologized in a video on Instagram, blaming pandemic stress for his outburst. Commenting on the incident in an interview with Dallas Observer, Dallas-area chef Chi Vu pointed out that cooking another culture’s cuisine comes with a responsibility to show respect. “I don’t have an issue with somebody cooking the food of another culture, as long as they do it with respect and as long as they respect people from the culture it comes from,” she said. “Respecting people enough to say, oh, I’m sorry, I spelled it wrong, let me fix it. Instead of doubling down, and tripling down, and whatever is past tripling down.”Bon Appétit and Its South Asian EmployeesA handful of years after the infamous “This Is How You Should Be Eating Pho” video, Bon Appétit was blasted for its alleged record of discriminatory behavior against its South Asain employees. The magazine was called out by Sohla El-Waylly, a Bengali American assistant editor at the magazine. In a series of Instagram stories, El-Waylly shared discriminatory treatment she’d experienced in her 10 years on the Bon Appétit staff. In a post, she wrote, “I’ve been pushed in front of video as a display of diversity. In reality, currently only white editors are paid for their video appearances. None of the people of color have been compensated.”Bon Appétit’s treatment of South Asian staffers reflects the overall attitude of the western world towards South Asian cooking, says Tulasi Srinivas, a professor of anthropology at Emerson College. Srinivas commented on the controversy in an interview with NBC: “Cultural appropriation allows a pick-and-mix strategy whereby American culture can take what it wants to market. South Asian ingredients and practices are valued, but not the finished cuisine per se.” Alison Roman and The Stew A beloved New York Times Cooking columnist, Alison Roman is known for creating recipes dubbed as “the” definitive version -- like “The Cookies” or “The Brussel Sprouts”. Roman came under fire for what is arguably her most famous recipe, The Stew. The Stew recipe, published in New York Times under the official title Spiced Chickpea Stew With Coconut and Turmeric, contained ginger, turmeric, chickpeas, and coconut milk. While the recipe praised on social media and imitated by food bloggers, critics maintained that Roman was culturally appropriating curry. In an article for Pajiba, Roxana Hadadi wrote, “People lost their fucking minds over this shit! Unless you were a brown person. And then you looked at the word “stew” and scoffed. Roman made herself a curry and refused to acknowledge that she had made a curry, and this is colonialism as cuisine.” Following the backlash, The Stew recipe has since been updated to acknowledge that the dish “evokes South Indian chana and some stews found in parts of the Caribbean”. Taco Bell Even as fellow Americanized Mexican restaurants are taken down for food Columbusing, Taco Bell remains relatively unabashed about its iconically culturally appropriated Mexican food. In his book, Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America, food writer Gustavo Arellano recounts how Taco Bell’s founder, Glenn Bell, freely admitted in his autobiography to eating at a nearby Mexican restaurant every night before darting across the street to his hot dog stand to immediately try and recreate the dishes he’d eaten. When Arellano visited the restaurant (Mitla Cafe in San Bernadino) and asked owner Irene Monta?o to how she felt about Bell stealing her recipes to build a multibillion-dollar fast-food empire, she responded, “Good for him!” Arellano agrees that Taco Bell is a textbook example of cultural appropriation of food, but points out that it is hardly “a one-way street where the evil gabacha steals from the poor, pathetic Mexicans yet again”. “No one rips off food like Mexicans,” he writes. “ That's what cultural appropriation in the food world boils down to: It's smart business, and that's why Mexicans do it.”Aloha PokeSpeaking of cultural appropriation in chain restaurants, Aloha Poke Co. sparked outrage after attempting to stop other U.S. restaurants from using the word “aloha” in their business names. Lawyers for the Illinois-based chain sent cease-and-desist letters to eateries around the U.S., including at least one spot in Hawaii -- the birthplace of poke. Aloha Poke was criticized for legally bullying Hawaiian businesses out of using their own language in a flood of angry reviews and social media pokes. The company tried to defend itself in a Facebook post, saying “What we have done is attempted to stop trademark infringers in the restaurant industry from using the trademark ‘aloha poke’ without permission...the company has the exclusive right to use those words together in connection with restaurant services within the US.” In response, Hawaii state representative Kaniela Ing posted a video on Twitter, saying:“It’s bad enough that [aloha] has been used and commodified over time. But this is the next level. To think that you have legal ownership over one of the most profound Hawaiian values – it’s just something else.”Benihana When Japanese-American wrestler Rocky Aoki opened the first Benihana in 1964, the restaurant became one of the first Asain-inspired restaurants that achieve mainstream success in the U.S. Aoki made sure to alter recipes to appease American palates, well aware of the unfavorable stereotypes perpetuated about Asian cuisine in the country. As Aoki famously said to a reporter from the Times, “The minute I forgot I was Japanese, success began.”Today, Benihana is a Japanese restaurant where Japanese people would never dine. The chain accommodates American diners by giving them what they want, writes Sho Spaeth of Serious Eats. “Not Japanese but Japanese-y.” Spaeth also points out, however, that “it doesn’t seem possible to accuse Aoki of appropriating his own culture.” Oberlin Students vs. the Oberlin Cafeteria In 2015, students at Oberlin made national news after accusing the campus dining department of cultural appropriation. In The Oberlin Review, student Clover Lihn Tran published an article accusing the university’s food service management company, Bon Appétit (no relation to the magazine), of having a history of “modifying the recipes without respect for certain Asian countries’ cuisines.”The article criticizes the cafeteria’s Banh Mi sandwich, General Tso’s chicken, and sushi. “When you’re cooking a country’s dish for other people, including ones who have never tried the original dish before, you’re also representing the meaning of the dish as well as its culture,” commented Tomoyo Joshi, an Oberlin junior from Japan. “So if people not from that heritage take food, modify it and serve it as ‘authentic,’ it is appropriative.”In response, Oberlin’s director of dining services Michele Gross issued a statement admitting “in our efforts to provide a vibrant menu, we recently fell short in the execution of several dishes in a manner that was culturally insensitive.”However, other outlets criticized the students for taking political correctness too far. “Your cafeteria served you subpar sushi,” declared an article in Slate. “That does not mean that your cultural heritage was appropriated. It means that cafeteria food is gross.’ ................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download