My Kitchen Stars; I’m Banishing the “E” Word
My kitchen and I were featured in a half page color photo on the cover of the House & Garden section of the San Francisco Chronicle last week. Chronicle design editor Zahid Sardar wrote, “It is easily one of the best San Francisco kitchens we’ve spotted because the story of food — from garden to stovetop — is clearly told.”
Zahid also found an interesting story angle. The remodel was the first for a young architect to springboard his career, while the remodel, the first for me, catapulted my new business, Sandy Hu Food Marketing.
I received many congratulatory e-mails from friends and associates as a result of that story. I also received e-mails from readers who wanted more information — what our floor-to-ceiling spice rack looked like and how my pullout pantry next to the stove worked. I was only too happy to share information, resources and even my own photos.
One of the e-mails was from a reader who was complimentary about my kitchen, but had an issue with my blog. He found offensive one of the subject categories I created, “ethnic food.” It was a very nice e-mail — meant to educate, not denigrate.
“I have a comment about the blog - would you mind not using the term ‘ethnic food’? Surely you know of chowhound.com. See here for Jim Leff’s social commentary on the snarky undercurrents of the term. And, as an AsianAm, I completely agree.”
Well, actually, I had never heard that “ethnic food” had a negative connotation. So, intrigued, I clicked on the link and followed the conversation thread. Despite everything I read on that site, I’m not convinced. I can’t get upset about “ethnic” food and if there is a perception that it’s white versus non-white, that doesn’t bother me, either. If you want to call sushi ethnic food, but not risotto, neither I nor my mother are offended. I don’t think it’s derogatory unless specific derogatory comments are made about the cuisine being discussed.
Here’s what I know. The true leaders in food, whatever their heritage, are very interested in these cuisines and are very respectful. Currently, I am president of the San Francisco chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, a group of women leaders in the food, beverage and hospitality industries, including many of the city’s top women chefs, cookbook authors, cooking teachers and food journalists. They would be much more interested in learning about the daily cooking of Hmong women than attending a seminar on French sauces.
I also know personally many food editors at the culinary publications like Gourmet, Food & Wine and Saveur and they are covering these cuisines regularly and with real interest. Frankly, I care more about what the people in my circle are thinking and how they are acting, than about the particular words they are using.
However, if this is a hurtful term to others, it’s fine with me to use something else. I changed the “ethnic food” category to “global palate” on my blog and in future, I will try to avoid the term, even if I’m not personally invested in seeing this change. The English language is so rich with descriptive words — if one word turns some people off, there’s a wealth of other choices. That’s the beauty of having a good vocabulary. You can always find another word that works.
INSIGHT: There are so many interesting aspects to food. The feature on my kitchen inspired thought from readers that ranged from the practical to the philosophical. Food is — and always will be — an intriguing, complex and emotional subject.
