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I’m a black girl. My family was born in Haiti and since there were limited opportunities, they came to the U.S. and food was a way that we formed connections with people. It’s why most people cook, but it’s hard for colored people working at restaurants because of the mistreatment and their work is sometimes stolen by their white co-workers. Basically cooking plagiarism.
Racism still exists in this “Land of the Free” not just for colored people, but also light skinned people born outside of the U.S. It also lives in places that many find comfort and joy in: restaurants.
Colored chefs, their food, and workers are being discriminated against by the restaurant industry, yet their food is taken by white chefs without any form of cultural connection. Chefs who create cultural foods need to be celebrated because it’s a representation of food with soul.
Colored chefs are being depreciated by having their dishes taken by white chefs who then get recognition for it. Because of this, the experience at work for colored chefs is difficult. Priya Krishna, a Bon Appétit host, was told that her Indian food won’t trend, only to find white chefs cooking those same dishes take credit for, which trends and they take the credit (Abad-Santos). Diminishing the credit of the people who are responsible for creating such amazing dishes is keeping consumers from experiencing a connection from the chefs. Many agree, including Chef Kwame Onwuachi, who notes that many chefs who cook African, Caribbean, African American, and Latin food don’t have any emotional or cultural connection to it (Abad-Santos). Food without any emotion is as good as dead. But that is the part that makes the food so great, the connection to it because when you connect with the dish, you allow consumers to feel it.
I loved eating from Chez Coby in Norwalk. I felt a piece of their personality in their Caribbean food, just like my mother’s rice or her amazing macaroni au gratin. Whenever she cooks, I always sense her unique touch and the small portion of her soul. Chef Onwuachi believes that representation and storytelling are the key for a dish. That's what food is about, a dish telling a story means that it has a soul.
People working in the restaurant industry feel silenced because of the mistreatment. They’re forced into a corner while putting their blood, sweat, and tears into their work. Asia Mock, a writer at Eater, writes about how she wore “a smile” while facing sexual harassment, racism, and sexism while working at a restaurant so she won’t lose her pay (Mock). Colored people have been kept in a constant cycle of mistreatment because of who they are. It continues to even employment. Another writer from Eater, Lauren Allen, wrote that racism has prevented black people from getting business loans or leasing buildings to open a restaurant (Allen). Not only are colored people being undermined but aren't given the same opportunities as their white counterparts. Colored people are capable of opening and managing a restaurant like white chefs, they just need people to support them and not be left to spoil on the table.
Yes, there has been more awareness on this issue. Because of the Katzenbach v. McClung Supreme Court case, restaurant workers are protected from and when violated, it’s challenged in court. (Sashatima). Joey Hernandez, a Filipino-American food writer, wants to help stop chefs from claiming a cuisine that isn’t theirs and to raise awareness. According to Grubstreet, there was even a plan to replace the corporate diversity efforts that was initiated by a Chinese-American chef, Jenny Dorsey.
There is so much progress, but more needs to be done. The way the restaurant industry operates needs to change. Allen wrote that she never saw any Black or indigenous people in management of a restaurant (Allen), nor has Chef Onwuachi and he suggests that there should also be more support for black owned businesses. So, there needs to be more diversity in every area of the restaurant industry, like allowing colored people to criticize the food, not just white people.
Instead of discriminating against colored chefs, we should accept them because they’re just like any other white chef with an amazing background and are just people who want to be heard through their dishes. Connect with your dishes before you make it, don’t take someone else's. If you can’t connect with the consumers through your dish, then connect with each other.
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