Should every Asian restaurant have chopsticks? If a restaurant uses forks and knives instead, does it lose its authenticity? And what even is authenticity?
Is food that’s authentic to an immigrant from Vietnam the same as what’s authentic to someone who was born in the U.S. to Vietnamese parents? What if one of those parents is white? What if a white person cooks “authentic” Chinese food, but a Chinese chef turns traditional Chinese cuisine on its head? Does any of it matter? And if so, who should it matter to?
A group of Asian-owned businesses will try to address some of these questions on Sunday, Oct. 6, during a discussion at the Tattered Cover called “How Asian is Asian Enough.”
The idea for the panel discussion was born out of the frustration of Ni Nguyen, whose Denver restaurant, Sắp Sửa, was criticized recently for not having chopsticks and accused of trying to gentrify authentic Vietnamese cuisine — comments that Nguyen called racist.
Nguyen isn’t alone in that experience. MAKfam, a Hong Kong-style restaurant at 39 W. 1st Ave., received a negative review because a diner didn’t see an Asian person cooking the food. That rubbed owners Doris Yuen and Kenneth Wan (who is also the head chef) the wrong way.
Were those criticisms racist? Were they ignorant?
To talk about it, Nguyen and his wife Anna are hosting a discussion about race in restaurants that will feature Tommy Lee of Hop Alley and Uncle, Penelope Wong of Yuan Wonton, Maddie Dunhoff of Taeko-San Takeout, journalist Chris Marhevka, and activist Nga Vương-Sandoval.
“The panel will explore authenticity, the impact of first- and second-generation chefs on menus, how journalists can support AAPI-owned restaurants, and the importance of representing culture through food,” according to the Nguyens. It takes place, Sunday, Oct. 6 at 1:30 p.m. at the Tattered Cover, 2526 E. Colfax Avenue in Denver. The public is invited to attend.
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