Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss
Save us from the insane 'cultural appropriation' complaints about ... food
17 views
Skip to first unread message
Leroy N. Soetoro
Feb 21, 2021, 3:58:45 PM2/21/21
to
https://nypost.com/2021/01/17/save-us-from-the-cultural-appropriation-
complaints-about-food/
Culinary-correct food journalism sounded a new depth of ideological
lunacy last week.
Eater.com, the well-regarded restaurant site that increasingly indulges
sociopolitical malarkey at the expense of the innocent enchilada, carried
a lengthy essay by reporter Erika Adams under the headline: “Shake Shack
Responds to Criticism Over ‘Korean-Style’ Fried Chicken Menu Debut.”
It seems the Danny Meyer-owned burger chain trespassed — in the eyes of a
handful of Twitter gripers — in using that description for what Adams
called a “loose interpretation” of the genuine Korean article. Well, what
other kind of interpretation do you expect from a global fast-food
restaurant chain?
A few online posts predictably assailed Shake Shack for “cultural
appropriation.”
“Yes, slap some gochujang on something, and it’s Korean,” Giaae Kwon, a
New York City-based writer, tweeted. Eater also cited comedian Dash
Kwiatkowski, who fumed, “It feels like white people slapping together a
bunch of things because they perceive it as Korean and then profiting off
of those things.”
But the entire “cultural-appropriation” shtick as applied to food is the
stuff of comedy. The question isn’t why a handful of cranks believe in it,
but why the media — including Eater.com, the single most comprehensive and
influential culinary site devoted to industry news, culinary trends and
smartly crafted restaurant criticism — devote so much attention to a few
Twitter whiners.
The Eater story quotes a feeble, defensive response by Shake Shack’s
culinary director, Mark Rosati. He said that the company had after all
consulted with Korean chefs, sourced knowledge of Korean cuisine from
prominent writers and influencers and visited restaurants in Seoul with
employees of SPC Group, a major South Korean food company.
But that isn’t enough in today’s unforgiving cultural kangaroo court. No
innocent explanation is ever enough. Rosati allowed, “I can definitely see
how someone might think this here.”
His proper response should have been: Eat this! If Shake Shack is guilty
of culinary “appropriation,” then so is a place in Seoul called Brooklyn
the Burger Joint, which is described on Yelp! as “like stepping into an
old, small-town America joint.”
There, they not only appropriated Yankee Doodle cuisine, but our
architecture as well.
It’s surprising that the culinary cancel culture hasn’t yet targeted
Applebee’s’ “Tuscan Garden” and “Oriental” chicken salads — which aren’t
cultural appropriations so much as desecrations.
It’s a big world out there, and if an Italian-American restaurant chef
wants to “steal” a recipe from Thailand, or a Turkish-American chef deigns
to reinterpret a Greek dish, it isn’t a “cultural” atrocity in the league
of Nazi Germany’s art looting.
Some “ethnic” (a now-forbidden word) American chefs and writers fly into
orbit because many chefs who are not themselves Asian or Mexican or
Palestinian profit by cooking and selling their native cuisines. They
regard this sort of exchange as plundering their culture the way Picasso
“stole” from African sculpture.
Grumbling is understandable, if not quite justified when, say, a Mexican-
born chef struggles to earn a living, while non-Mexican chef Rick Bayless
is hailed as the best “Mexican” chef in the United States for his great
Topolobampo in Chicago, one of President Barack Obama’s favorite places.
But much of the media-accelerated resentment reflects an underlying grudge
against Western civilization, period.
From now on, let’s call out any diner that serves “Italian,” “Greek” or
“Mexican” omelettes — and hope we get the same respectful consideration.
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: sf.n...@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
complaints-about-food/
Culinary-correct food journalism sounded a new depth of ideological
lunacy last week.
Eater.com, the well-regarded restaurant site that increasingly indulges
sociopolitical malarkey at the expense of the innocent enchilada, carried
a lengthy essay by reporter Erika Adams under the headline: “Shake Shack
Responds to Criticism Over ‘Korean-Style’ Fried Chicken Menu Debut.”
It seems the Danny Meyer-owned burger chain trespassed — in the eyes of a
handful of Twitter gripers — in using that description for what Adams
called a “loose interpretation” of the genuine Korean article. Well, what
other kind of interpretation do you expect from a global fast-food
restaurant chain?
A few online posts predictably assailed Shake Shack for “cultural
appropriation.”
“Yes, slap some gochujang on something, and it’s Korean,” Giaae Kwon, a
New York City-based writer, tweeted. Eater also cited comedian Dash
Kwiatkowski, who fumed, “It feels like white people slapping together a
bunch of things because they perceive it as Korean and then profiting off
of those things.”
But the entire “cultural-appropriation” shtick as applied to food is the
stuff of comedy. The question isn’t why a handful of cranks believe in it,
but why the media — including Eater.com, the single most comprehensive and
influential culinary site devoted to industry news, culinary trends and
smartly crafted restaurant criticism — devote so much attention to a few
Twitter whiners.
The Eater story quotes a feeble, defensive response by Shake Shack’s
culinary director, Mark Rosati. He said that the company had after all
consulted with Korean chefs, sourced knowledge of Korean cuisine from
prominent writers and influencers and visited restaurants in Seoul with
employees of SPC Group, a major South Korean food company.
But that isn’t enough in today’s unforgiving cultural kangaroo court. No
innocent explanation is ever enough. Rosati allowed, “I can definitely see
how someone might think this here.”
His proper response should have been: Eat this! If Shake Shack is guilty
of culinary “appropriation,” then so is a place in Seoul called Brooklyn
the Burger Joint, which is described on Yelp! as “like stepping into an
old, small-town America joint.”
There, they not only appropriated Yankee Doodle cuisine, but our
architecture as well.
It’s surprising that the culinary cancel culture hasn’t yet targeted
Applebee’s’ “Tuscan Garden” and “Oriental” chicken salads — which aren’t
cultural appropriations so much as desecrations.
It’s a big world out there, and if an Italian-American restaurant chef
wants to “steal” a recipe from Thailand, or a Turkish-American chef deigns
to reinterpret a Greek dish, it isn’t a “cultural” atrocity in the league
of Nazi Germany’s art looting.
Some “ethnic” (a now-forbidden word) American chefs and writers fly into
orbit because many chefs who are not themselves Asian or Mexican or
Palestinian profit by cooking and selling their native cuisines. They
regard this sort of exchange as plundering their culture the way Picasso
“stole” from African sculpture.
Grumbling is understandable, if not quite justified when, say, a Mexican-
born chef struggles to earn a living, while non-Mexican chef Rick Bayless
is hailed as the best “Mexican” chef in the United States for his great
Topolobampo in Chicago, one of President Barack Obama’s favorite places.
But much of the media-accelerated resentment reflects an underlying grudge
against Western civilization, period.
From now on, let’s call out any diner that serves “Italian,” “Greek” or
“Mexican” omelettes — and hope we get the same respectful consideration.
--
"LOCKDOWN", left-wing COVID fearmongering. 95% of COVID infections
recover with no after effects.
No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Donald J. Trump, cheated out of a second term by fraudulent "mail-in"
ballots. Report voter fraud: sf.n...@mail.house.gov
Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.
Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.
President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed
dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.
Paul
Feb 2, 2022, 1:15:56 AM2/2/22
to
0 new messages