This Week 6.1.18
Dave Chang and Evolving Views
This Week is a column from TGYN where various members of the TGYN community sounds off about what’s on their mind. It comes out weekly. Thus the name.
Dave Chang, famous chef, restaurateur, and more recently television show and podcast host, has stormed into my life this year. First, during a trip to New York this January, I had the chance to eat dinner at Momofuku Má Pêche and grab dessert at Milk Bar. Food is, of course, what Chang is most known for, and after eating at those establishments it was easy to see why.
But Chang also is known for his personality. In February, Ugly Delicious, a Netflix show starring and produced by Chang, debuted. My wife and I eagerly watched all 8 episodes, and we loved it. Not only was it educational and fascinating, it was relatable and genuine. It was shot all over the world and featured all different kinds of cuisine, but at the end of the day it was about people, their relationship with food, and their relationship with each other.
The show was as much about the cultures that made the food what it was as it was about the food. It was about the people who were a part of those cultures. It was about what happens when cultures come together to try different foods, when families sit around the table to eat, when being particular about ingredients was something to be proud of, and when it just kind of made you seem pretentious.
Chang shined through it all, and pushed the envelope on what you might expect from a famous chef. In the opening of one episode, for example, he laughs at the idea of Chef’s Table and parodies the show. In an episode about pizza, he insisted that Domino’s pizza deserved to be recognized for the important role it plays. Sure, it isn’t the best, but it is sometimes worth eating! Chang even went on a ride along with a Domino’s delivery person. (Those who know me, of course, know that I loved all of this.)
But while those are silly examples, Chang also get serious. He questions whether or not it’s appropriate for white people in Tennessee to run world famous restaurants that sell Nashville Hot fried chicken, something that was first developed and sold by African Americans in the area. He questions why Houston has developed a cuisine that combines Vietnamese and Cajun flavors, while those in New Orleans resist experimenting and changing their recipes.
He doesn’t come at these questions, some of which are quite difficult to talk about — particularly with those closest to them — with judgement. He’s curious, and he’s trying to find an answer. He’s trying to see if maybe food and cuisine presents us with an opportunity to move forward, or to have a larger social conversation.
Chang has continued this beyond Ugly Delicious. He recently launched a podcast, The Dave Chang Show, in collaboration with The Ringer. He’s done several episodes on the opening of his new restaurant in LA, but he’s also done a few episodes that focus on other topics. This week, he dove back into a conversation that he had started on Ugly Delicious.
Chang discussed MSG and the racial implications of banning MSG. While the episode was supposed to primarily be about that, it quickly evolved into a discussion of race, perception, bias, and judgement. Chang and two of the producers on his show, Isaac Lee and Aggi Ashagre, dove deep into a complicated but compassionate conversation about race in general.
I really enjoyed this for a number of reasons. For one, none of them spoke in absolutes, and they all tried to expand their thinking about the situations they were discussing. Chang, for example, discussed that when he heard about a white guy in DC opening a Korean BBQ restaurant, he was initially angry and wanted to open the same kind of restaurant across the street to provide competition and put him out of business. He realized, though, that this was unproductive and unhelpful. He understood that he should instead support the restaurant, provide productive advice on how to respect the culture behind the food, and try to create a more positive environment.
They discussed the idea that people, particularly white people, doing culturally insensitive things might not realize what they’re doing. They might simply not have the worldview necessary to understand and how minorities could help develop that person’s worldview by engaging them without lashing out. They countered that by talking about how hard it is for minorities, who often need to present themselves in different ways depending on who they’re with, to give white people a pass on something like that.
It’s too intricate to fully explain here, but it’s worth a listen. It’s also worth continuing to have these kinds of conversations no matter how difficult it is. We can all stand to learn so much from each other, but it’s often difficult to hear out the other side and bypass our own prejudices. Try to understand why something is hard for someone, why they might have a different opinion than you. Don’t immediately write people off and do all you can to avoid considering them irredeemable.
People have the ability to grow and change and develop. Sometimes they won’t want to. Sometimes they’ll hit a wall. But sometimes you can spark change, or plant the seed that leads to a productive action or conversation later on.
I know that, as a straight, cisgender, white dude I have limitations on my ability to talk about this kind of thing. I hope to keep getting better and to continue learning about others’ perspectives, and I commend the people out there attempting to get better and push the conversation. Shouts to Dave Chang, Isaac Lee, and Aggi Ashagre for doing so.
And now, recs!
Recommendations
In the spirit of providing you That Good You Need, here are a few things I’d recommend checking out.
- The Dave Chang Show: Really all the episodes are good, but particularly the one discussed above!
- Ugly Delicious on Netflix: See above. This show is great.
- ye: I’ve written about Kanye before, and I very much like him. Well, I think Kanye’s new album is good!!!!! I am relieved. Check it out on ~your favorite music streaming service~.
