UPSB v3
Serious Discussion / Restaurants and Race
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Date: Fri, Mar 27 2009 16:12:53
Have you noticed the strong relation between race and restaurants?
I do not know a single Chinese restaurant which is not run by a chinese and where the chef is not chinese. More than that, I can claim that I probably never ate at a restaurant which employed staff that were not chinese, or at the very least don't look asian, even though serving food has nothing to do with the food itself.
In normal restaurants it's difficult to know who the chef is, but in fast food restaurants it's easy to see who's preparing your food (eg. the dude rolling up your burrito in front of you).
Why do you think that is so?
Do you think a restaurant is more credible if its staff is the same race as the food?
Do you think that food will taste or appear to taste better if you know the person making it is of that race?
Do you think it only matters that the person LOOK like the race, or must be genuine? Example: there are a LOT of sushi shops run by chinese. But people maybe think they're japanese.
Do you think restaurants purposely only employ cooks and staff of the correct race?
And most importantly, is it racism for restaurants to hire only their race (if true) or for customers to feel more comfortable if they know their food is made by "genuine" people? Is this a form of discrimination that is worth denunciating? Is this an example that discrimination is a natural process, and cannot fully be eliminated? -
Date: Fri, Mar 27 2009 21:40:55
hmm for one thing
i think its awkward to see a white person working at a traditional asian restaurant
its just... weird
i guess people associate restaurants with their race to some extent
and racism sort of plays a role here...
theres a hamburger place called In N Out and they rarely employ black people
its odd
i think the ceo is white and alot of the customers are white too so they sort of play together -
Date: Fri, Mar 27 2009 22:01:37
theres a japanese place at my mall where all the people are actually chinese
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Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 03:55:46QUOTE (SJ @ Mar 27 2009, 05:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>hmm for one thing
i think its awkward to see a white person working at a traditional asian restaurant
its just... weird
so that does mean it's weird not to be racist? -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 04:04:58
Alot of the greatest chefs in the world specialize in culinary fields that aren't of their own ethnicity. If you look at the chefs in fancy restaurants alot of the chefs are mexican, and its not just cuz they are looking for work its cuz mexicans are just really good chefs. I really dont think that someones race needs to be the same as the food the specialize in. -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 05:00:07QUOTE (Zombo @ Mar 27 2009, 08:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>I do not know a single Chinese restaurant which is not run by a chinese and where the chef is not chinese.
SenorMr. Chau -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 07:09:54QUOTE (Zombo @ Mar 27 2009, 08:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>so that does mean it's weird not to be racist?
hmm well
theres not really a clear distinction between being racist or what not in this case
its more of a cultural thing
and youre saying youll feel fine if there was a white dude working at a traditional chinese place?
it also has to do with the job
they need to cope with chinese ppl and be able to speak chinese etc
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Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 07:13:29
well, i dont tend to go to japanese restaurants/take-away (especially take-away) that is being run by chinese/korean
not that its racist or anything, but.... ok, maybe a bit racist
but generally, a japanese run japanese restaurant tastes better than a korean/chinese run, especially when it comes to sushi
i dont think others notice this problem, seeing as they aren't that picky with sushi
eg/ most of my white friends eat sushi from the school canteen and say its nice
i think it tastes like crap (no offence canteen people, ur other food tastes nice!)
other cuisines (eg/ french, italian), i dont have a problem if they are run by other races, as long as it tastes nice -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 07:15:08
Pho Hoa...Vietnamese restaurant here lol Filipino workers but idk if the owner's Viet
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Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 07:23:19QUOTE (Clyde @ Mar 27 2009, 11:15 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>Pho Hoa...Vietnamese restaurant here lol Filipino workers but idk if the owner's Viet
that doesnt really count
thats like telling white dude to identify whos chinese and whos krn -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 07:44:11QUOTE (SJ @ Mar 28 2009, 04:23 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>that doesnt really count
thats like telling white dude to identify whos chinese and whos krn
actually, koreans look more like the japanese now days
most of them are copying the style -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 13:56:30QUOTE (SJ @ Mar 28 2009, 03:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>hmm well
theres not really a clear distinction between being racist or what not in this case
its more of a cultural thing
and youre saying youll feel fine if there was a white dude working at a traditional chinese place?
it also has to do with the job
they need to cope with chinese ppl and be able to speak chinese etc
i couldnt care less, as long as the food is good
i eat sushi from chiense ppl -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 14:03:20
idk, i went to pick-up sticks, aaand there were mexican cookers there...
i went to Flame Broiler, and i saw this white guy, this european girl, and a mexican working, and its a chinese food place.
i think the point of some restaurants are just for the money, while the others are just for the food (like if they really love cooking and dont really care about the money, like spongebob
) -
Date: Sat, Mar 28 2009 14:44:08
Coming from a restaurant background, I have a few things to say about this. First off, in this day and age, you can't escape racism no matter how hard you may want or not want to try. It's still ingrained in our thinking and culture. Even in the ones that are self-proclaimed non-racists, they still have preconceived notions and/or discriminations when it comes to race. I'll explain.
When talking about ethnic restaurants, it's all about location. If a person decides to place his restaurant where most of his patrons are the working middle class with a small percentage of minorities living in that area, then if the restaurant is of non-American origin, then there's without a doubt preconceived notions about what the food is like, what the food will taste like, who's serving it, who's cooking it, and even the language spoken within it. But if the restaurant is of American origin, then it's less likely it'll be subjected to scrutiny, aside from the genre of food it serves. Now, if you were to take the same restaurants and place them within a multicultural city that's bustling with activity, then you have more acceptance when it comes to the ethnic restaurant. I could even say they're on par with American restaurants. Then it mostly comes down to the quality of the food and service. HOWEVER, even then there's still preconceived notions laying in the back of their minds. It's never absent.
Of all the minorities I can think of, Europeans probably have it the easiest. Of course, being that most Caucasians in America are of European descent, they have come to accept multicultural foods from Europe. Even if a lot of it has become mainstream, there's still a few European restaurants that decide to serve their food the way its "meant" to be served and this catches a good many Americans off. Some may like it, some may not.
Now, when talking about other minorities and restaurants, it's a pain. Of all the Asians, Chinese have been the most proliferated. It's become so mainstream that people tend to automatically associate Chinese food as being served by Chinese people, cooked by Chinese people, and having a certain taste, smell, and look. I can tell you that from personal experience, this is the case. For example, I've had MANY people come into my restaurant and order sweet and sour chicken, only to be confronted with my question "would you like the red or orange mango sauce?" Then I see them draw a blank. The reason is that sweet and sour chicken is almost always served with that red sauce. Most of you may know it and even had it before. However, my restaurant originally had the orange mango sauce, which also has a sweet and sour taste to it, but that's not what most Americans think when they hear "sweet and sour chicken." So, I have to explain what the orange mango sauce is, and then if they're adventurous enough, they'll try the new sauce. If not, then they'll stick to the red sauce they have come to know and love. Another example is that most people tend to think all Chinese restaurants are the same. They think that all of them have the same food, the same QUALITY of food, the same prices, patron conditions (kids allowed, family-oriented), and staff. And because of that, we've had certain things happen in our restaurant that we don't like or need. Sometimes we get customers that exclaim "$11.50 for General Tso's Chicken?? Aw no, mm mmm!" or "we'll keep our child quiet" and they proceed to leave their child wailing, annoying other customers.
Sorry for the rant, but you can probably see where I'm getting at. No matter how hard we try to break from the trend and become a more "upscale" Chinese restaurant, we can't seem to escape the preconceived notions in people's heads. That's not to say that our regulars are like that, or that even the majority of our customers are like that. But I have come across quite a bit in my time. Like I said, it's all about location and the general outlook on race within that area. The area we're in is very multicultural, so acceptance is generally higher than a place that isn't so multicultural.
Now, if you were to talk about other Asian restaurants, you might get similar results. Japanese and Thai restaurants are somewhat known here. Korean restaurants are a dime a dozen here in this city, but if I were to travel 2.5 hours back to my hometown in SC, Korean restaurants are nearly unheard of. No one would really know what to expect in a Korean restaurant back in my hometown. But here, since there's so many, it's not so much a mystery anymore. If someone opened a Filipino restaurant, I can guarantee that the vast majority of people will be clueless as to what to expect from it. There aren't that many Filipinos here in this city, and I certainly have not come across any Filipino restaurants. But once there is one, people will start to associate Filipino cuisine to that restaurant.
To be continued... (I have to work at the restaurant now
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