In Defense of the Mexican-American Chef, Or: No One Hates on Mexicans Like Mexicans
*I strictly limit my use of the term “must read” because I think it’s bandied cheaply (as is the lone definite article “This”). But this, is a must read. You have to read the whole thing though. It’s a defense of an article that sings praises of Mexican-American cuisine and the importance of the culinary innovation of Mexican-American chefs. Yes, Mexcian-American food is a thing, our cuisine is innovative at its core, just ask Taquista Adan Medrano. I also enjoy Gustavo Arellano’s writing in this piece. Have at it. VL
By Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly
Last week, our own Sarah Bennett wrote a cover story for our former sister paper, LA Weekly, about the ascendance of Mexican-American chefs in Southern California. It was a good piece that obviously focused on chefs in Los Angeles, hence leaving out OC’s Carlos Salgado of Taco María, he of the James Beard nomination this year Jonathan Gold’s silver medal last year as the second-best place to eat in Southern California—but I digress.
Sarah’s article got good traction online, but also brought on the haters. These weren’t Trumpbros or jealous restauranteurs, however, but the most persistent threat to successful Mexicans: Mexicans. And these aren’t the self-hating, George P. Bush-stylependejos but rather self-proclaimed real Mexicans, the kind who have a checklist of what makes a “real” Mexican that they obtained from Cuauhtémoc (with an assist by Zapata) himself. They started whining on Twitter and Facebook (including, alas, my own ¡Ask a Mexican! fan page) immediately: What Mexican-American chefs cook isn’t authentic.
[Photo courttesy of OC Weekly]
