How do you feel about people of other ethnicities cooking other cultures foods?

[saintvitus07]

I am less inclined to go to restaurants where I know the head chef or owner is trying to "fancify" (or just plain make "white") another peoples food. Think Rick Bayless in Chicago.

But if the food is true to the spirit of the source then I don't see anything wrong with it. I am a white dude and I make stuff like sinigang, pastel de choclo, carnitas tacos, etc. It's food, man.

 

[an dee 51o]

Originally Posted by Jehul

Let them cook, b. 

 

[an dee 51o]

Originally Posted by quik1987

Originally Posted by MPLSdunk

Originally Posted by SounDWav3

As Anthony Bourdain said it, the backbone of the majority of restaurants staff many chefs from South America. His homebase restaurant Les Halles, a French restaurant, is run by Head Chef Lugano and a chef squad compromised mostly of Latinos. He says that most of them are better than actual French chefs and I personally have no qualms if a someone is cooking a dish from another race. As long as it is good, I am happy.

word, i cook creole/carribean/soulfood in a kitchen with mostly ecudorians and my chef is white. he's got a james beard award so he much be doing something right.  anyways it's stupid to worry about stuff like this, any ethnicity master any cuisine.  my ecudorian homie will smoke some pork shoulder better people who say they can bbq and i'd bet money on it.  as a cook it's about being able to learn.  not what country it came from.

what kind of stupid thinking is that? get the best food, don't turn it down because it's not the cooks ethnic food.

I have this theory.

So I learned in some cultures, once you pass a certain age, if you never hear certain sounds, you lose the ability to distinguish them from other sounds. For example Native Japanese speakers have a tough time distinguishing "R" and "L" because they are the same in their language.

So my theory is the same in food and tasting, if you're not familiar with certain taste and don't have a natural preference for these flavours, how can you distinguish them from others, and how can you master that cuisine.

it's possible, just as it's possible for japanese people to become good at english, but they will never speak english like an american, they will have an accent.

Just as if someone learns to cook food x, they will learn it pretty well, but they will have that accent.

Sorry for the longwinded explanation.

You realize that if you go out out to eat, you're probably eating food made by a Latino, right?

My friend owns a Korean restaurant and the dude who cooks most of the food is from El Salvador. It's like that everywhere, at least definitely in California.

 

[dmbrhs]

Who cares who is making the food. It's all about the end result.

 

[quik1987]

I don't live in California, there aren't a lot of Latinos where I'm from.

 

[mplsdunk]

Originally Posted by an dee 51o

Originally Posted by quik1987

Originally Posted by MPLSdunk

word, i cook creole/carribean/soulfood in a kitchen with mostly ecudorians and my chef is white. he's got a james beard award so he much be doing something right.  anyways it's stupid to worry about stuff like this, any ethnicity master any cuisine.  my ecudorian homie will smoke some pork shoulder better people who say they can bbq and i'd bet money on it.  as a cook it's about being able to learn.  not what country it came from.

what kind of stupid thinking is that? get the best food, don't turn it down because it's not the cooks ethnic food.

I have this theory.

So I learned in some cultures, once you pass a certain age, if you never hear certain sounds, you lose the ability to distinguish them from other sounds. For example Native Japanese speakers have a tough time distinguishing "R" and "L" because they are the same in their language.

So my theory is the same in food and tasting, if you're not familiar with certain taste and don't have a natural preference for these flavours, how can you distinguish them from others, and how can you master that cuisine.

it's possible, just as it's possible for japanese people to become good at english, but they will never speak english like an american, they will have an accent.

Just as if someone learns to cook food x, they will learn it pretty well, but they will have that accent.

Sorry for the longwinded explanation.

You realize that if you go out out to eat, you're probably eating food made by a Latino, right?

My friend owns a Korean restaurant and the dude who cooks most of the food is from El Salvador. It's like that everywhere, at least definitely in California.

yeah, it's like that everywhere. don't get it twisted, these dudes aren't just fresh to the country trying to make a buck.  they are talented cooks who truly want to be very good at what they do.  it might be harder for an ecudorian to cook malaysian food for example than someone who grew up cooking it, but once they cook under that person they will master it and be just as good.  the chef at a curry place down the street is also ecudorian and dude is an animal, yeah the owner is from singapore but he learned it all from her and kills it now.

i'm getting pretty good with carribean food myself.  i can throw down some jerk chicken pretty good by now.  but i've made it 20 times on my own till i was decent.  it's all about practice, know what to taste for and what it needs the next time to get better and you'll get it.  i mean yeah if you have no palate at all you'll be trash. but that comes with practice as well.  i truly believe if you cook under someone who has mastered a cuisine long enough you will master it as well.  it's all about having good mentors and a scratch kitchen.  i work in a scratch kitchen.  we don't even have lime juice, we squeeze our own.  you need to be in a scratch kitchen to learn to cook.  you have to do it all.  working at fridays will teach your how to use a microwave.  but anyone who works in a good kitchen is bound to be a good cook because they'd be fired in a few days and also you are forced to learn it no matter what your ethnicity is.

 

[doublejs07]

This is such a DC type of thread

I'm more concerned about sanitation than who is cooking the food.

 

[tee99]

Originally Posted by quik1987

And profiting from it more than people of their origin.

Example

P.F. Chang, Taco Bell etc.

What's the matter with those to places? They both only make and serve American food and they both only hire U.S. Citizens. I don't see how your post is relevant to your thread title. 

 

[elcatfisho]

well if they say it's authentic food, it better be authentic. My family has been to a few Japanese restaurants where it originally tasted great, but the management changed and it just didn't taste as good as it did the first time. 
most people may not recognize the difference (sometimes me) but my parents have a very peculiar sense of taste differentiating between what's actually authentic Japanese food and someone else's interpretation. Alas, the restaurant will be successful if it is palatable enough, which in most cases, it is.

 

[b smooth 202]

you mean the larger topic is the cultural thievery Europeans are guilty of? word....yeah it's fairly common for them to plunder another culture and then capitalize and exploit the culture they just conquered....what about it?

 

[nattybro]

Originally Posted by quik1987

Originally Posted by MPLSdunk

Originally Posted by SounDWav3

As Anthony Bourdain said it, the backbone of the majority of restaurants staff many chefs from South America. His homebase restaurant Les Halles, a French restaurant, is run by Head Chef Lugano and a chef squad compromised mostly of Latinos. He says that most of them are better than actual French chefs and I personally have no qualms if a someone is cooking a dish from another race. As long as it is good, I am happy.

word, i cook creole/carribean/soulfood in a kitchen with mostly ecudorians and my chef is white. he's got a james beard award so he much be doing something right.  anyways it's stupid to worry about stuff like this, any ethnicity master any cuisine.  my ecudorian homie will smoke some pork shoulder better people who say they can bbq and i'd bet money on it.  as a cook it's about being able to learn.  not what country it came from.

what kind of stupid thinking is that? get the best food, don't turn it down because it's not the cooks ethnic food.

I have this theory.

So I learned in some cultures, once you pass a certain age, if you never hear certain sounds, you lose the ability to distinguish them from other sounds. For example Native Japanese speakers have a tough time distinguishing "R" and "L" because they are the same in their language.

So my theory is the same in food and tasting, if you're not familiar with certain taste and don't have a natural preference for these flavours, how can you distinguish them from others, and how can you master that cuisine.

it's possible, just as it's possible for japanese people to become good at english, but they will never speak english like an american, they will have an accent.

Just as if someone learns to cook food x, they will learn it pretty well, but they will have that accent.

Sorry for the longwinded explanation.

That doesn't even make sense though... it's chefs of every color and creed out there making great food everyday.  There is no way in hell you'd be able to tell, based on taste or 'accent' who cooked your meal without seeing the chef. 

 

[jbv1]

It shouldn't matter, as long as it's made well or a reasonable rendition of it.

You have to watch more Food Network, especially Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Once you get past Guy Fieri and his schtick you'll see people of all ethnicities making food "not" of their ethnic origins.

Another example? Food trucks. Man, Toronto is so lacking in food trucks.

Food is universal. We just need to share it with more people. Be grateful you ate today.

 

[mht214]

Since when can someone own the rights to make Empress Chicken?



Let the Mexicans (or whatever) cook. I like it that way anyway; that way I can talk to chef/cook ---get that small talk going---boom free meal.

 

[mojodmonky1]

Originally Posted by ElCatfisho

well if they say it's authentic food, it better be authentic. My family has been to a few Japanese restaurants where it originally tasted great, but the management changed and it just didn't taste as good as it did the first time. 
most people may not recognize the difference (sometimes me) but my parents have a very peculiar sense of taste differentiating between what's actually authentic Japanese food and someone else's interpretation. Alas, the restaurant will be successful if it is palatable enough, which in most cases, it is.

you in socal?

this is rampant in socal.  you got a ton of japanese/sushi restaurants that are run by koreans and even other asian ethnicities.  i'm not saying that all japanese owned japanese/sushi spots are good, but i have yet to find a korean owned sushi restaurant that is on par with a good a good japanese run sushi restaurant.

my pops is an old school korean with a lot of pride in our heritage, but that is one thing he taught me at a very young age.  dont mess with these bootleg korean sushi places.  you want good sushi, go to a japanese owned spot.

  

 

[jbpkickz]

in baltimore all u see is the asians fryin fish and chicken, be on point tho so i aint even mad

 

[dakid23]

Originally Posted by 8tothe24

Got to give NT credit, can turn anything into racism. Some of you kids are going to have a really hard time living in the real world.

 

[AEA18]

This reminds me of Rush Hour 2

"You embarassin' yourself, man, you're a black man with a Chinese restaurant on Crenshaw."

 

[dauldierce]

We have some jamaicans who cook chinese food over here.

 

[putting in work]

Most spots in NYC food places have all different people (mostly illegals though) cooking whatever food in the back kitchen.

 

[youngdoc]

Originally Posted by quik1987

And profiting from it more than people of their origin.

Example

P.F. Chang, Taco Bell etc.

I don't know any Mexicans that would claim Taco Bell

As long as the food is good I don't care who makes it. It turns out that most of the hole in the wall restaurants which are authentic and usually run by people from that culture taste better anyway

 

[josednk1068]

Doesn't matter to me, didn't know you had to be of a certain ethnicity to make their food. Learn something new every day ...

 

[ryda421]

lit em cuuk

 

[doublejs07]

Originally Posted by DaulDierce

We have some jamaicans who cook chinese food over here.

There is a lot of Chinese influence in Jamaica. 

 

[spiceman80]

Originally Posted by DaulDierce

We have some jamaicans who cook chinese food over here.

there are people of chinese descent who live in Jamaica, and made it their home.    Just like my family in Grenada and Trinidad who are of East Indian descent.  They cook their indian food and they adopted the local african cuisine also.  So blacks are making indian food and indians making african food.  Those chinese jamaicans can make lo mein, and curry goat, and vice versa.  As long as it is true to culture I have no problem with it.  But I think in fancy restaurants when they cook food from other countries it loses some of its authenticity

 

[Deleted member 38182]

Originally Posted by DaulDierce

We have some jamaicans who cook chinese food over here.

I know of a few LEGIT places where Chinese folks cook bomb fire Jamaican food

has to do with the Chinese ancestry ending up in Jamaica