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Statements on diversity and representation in the food world are all well and good, but the false narrative or meritocracy in professional cooking is a specter that continues to persist and needs to be confronted.
For many chefs in my generation, Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential cemented the idea of meritocracy in our brains. That in professional kitchens, it didn’t matter if you were white, Black, Latinx, Asian, LGBTQIA, cis, a former convict, or like me, just trying to escape the suburbs
What mattered were your skills, your dedication, your efficiency, your work ethic. And the danger of this particular idea, similar to the danger of many other damaging ideas, is the cloak of truth it wears, especially for the privileged.
When I was a kid just starting out, fifteen years old in dishpits and prep kitchens, I saw the Mexican and Peruvian cooks making more money than me (like nearly twice the amount I made), and it made sense - they were better, faster, more efficient than me.
When I moved to Charlotte, I saw the same thing with the Black cooks and dishies. And my brain acculturated to the idea of meritocracy, of the even playing field. Professional Culinary All Lives Matter.
But what I didn’t see, and what is still not seen in our industry today, is that those great Latinx and Black cooks being in management. Being owners in these kitchens.
And not every cook wants to be in management or an owner, but I the two decades I’ve spent across a dozen restaurants in a dozen different cities, I never worked under a Black chef in management to my memory.
I’ve worked under one Latinx chef, and the was in Charlotte. I’ve worked under a lot of white people, and a smattering of Asians who at the time were assimilationists.
And to reiterate, there were STRONG, SKILLED Black and Latinx cooks in these kitchens. But they were kept there.
And that is the false promise of meritocracy. Because it doesn’t matter how good you get at dropping fries or brunoising shallots or butchering fish - in our industry today, there are glass ceilings for Black people. And brown people.
Because even if you start your own spot, the supports are there. Because we are forcing Black and brown people to navigate white establishment spaces. The white space of governmental bureaucracy. The white space of food media. And AT BEST they get relegated to the “cheap eats”.
AT BEST their stories get piggybacked on by white and assimilationist asian writers who go on to larger fame and more money.
And while there have been some breakout stars of the Black community in the last ten years, that’s merely the shifting of the Overton Window. The “breakout” Black chefs of the last few years should be in the same conversations that we reserve for the Redzepis, Bolouds, and Changs
Fuck, there should be multiple generations of Black and POC cooks and chefs that we should be altaring like we with do with Beard, Child, Bocuse, Troisgois, and Pepin.
But there aren’t.
So my question for restaurant owners, even “the good ones” the ones that espouse diversity and progressive values, is what are you willing to sacrifice? Time? Money? Opportunities?
So my question for restaurant owners, even “the good ones” the ones that espouse diversity and progressive values, is what are you willing to sacrifice? Time? Money? Opportunities?
Are you willing to live with the guilt that comes with self reflection on what pain you’ve caused, even unwittingly? Are you willing to step down, step aside, let things be less “perfect”? Are you willing to hire and nurture candidates that may have fewer technical skills?
Are you willing to help your Black neighbors restaurant navigate the white media landscape by pushing stories to them instead of yourself?
To help your Latinx neighbors restaurant by helping them build backside systems so that they can be more financially successful while leaving their food the fuck alone?
Are you willing to use your expertise in these white spaces, for free, to help a diverse community thrive, and because it is on their backs that you have the privilege that you do?
Are you willing to help find financial aid, startup money, and help navigate sweetheart deals with landlords you know for Black and IPOC entrepreneurs? Are you willing to teach Black and IPOC youth how to be those entrepreneurs, for free?
Yes it will seem performative. Yes people will call you out on being performative. Yes you need to keep doing it, constantly, until it no longer is performative. As the beneficiaries of the current system, it’s our job to live with that hurt.
active and engaged anti-racism in the (food) world now.
