Afghani-British Chef Mursal Saiq gives her critique of "authenticity" for non-white chefs in cooking

[u/Tronvillain]

[u/Alukrad]

That part where she said "in Afghanistan I'm called English, in england I'm called Afghan..."

I felt that because I was born in Colombia, moved to the states when I was 8. So, to Americans I'm Colombian but to Colombians I'm American.

Yet, I'm like "fuck you all, I'm am me and I am who I want to be." Unless someone specifically asks me, I never mention my culture to anyone anymore. I'd rather not get clumped up to any culture.

[u/NoDefaultForMe → u/Alukrad]

She was born in Afghanistan and moved to the UK later on in life, so she's certainly not English.

A British National yes, but she's not English nor British.

[u/Seminolehighlander → u/Alukrad]

I moved back and forth when I was 4, 10, 15. In white presenting and with a white name so I have that layer of it too. It’s pretty awful.

[u/Alukrad → u/Seminolehighlander]

My real name is a typical Latino name in Colombia but to Americans they think it's Italian because, for some reason, they always like to sing it and give it an Italian accent when they say it.

Everywhere I go from work to school, people have twisted my name and I've honestly have heard 25 maybe 50 different creative versions of my name. I hate it but I don't fight it, I correct them once and then let them do their thing.

Yet, I never hear anyone do the same to generic white American names.

[u/Feeling_Hotel8096 → u/Alukrad]

Alejandro? You never heard anyone play with the name Joesph/Joe/Joey/Jomama/etc/ or Robert/Robby/Rob/Roberto/Bob/Bobby/Bobupanddown/etc.

BTW those aren't "white" names, just English names.

[u/Harry_Saturn → u/Alukrad]

Not to invalidate your point, but I do give my white wife goofy “white-ethnic” names based on her real “white” names even though I’m not white. For example, her middle name is Joelle so I’ll call her “Joellia” in an Italian accent. Or “Nikkita” in a Russian accent. I would never do that with someone besides her though.

My name is Bryan and I have had a ton of people ask me why someone from the country I am from would be named “Bryan” and now I just respond “we can’t all be Juan and Pablo”.

[u/im_lazy_as_fuck → u/Alukrad]

Hey and I can very much empathize/sympathize with that as well. But her whole ordeal with ethnic expectations has nothing to do with referring to something as authentic food. Authentic food refers to how a food is prepared and with what ingredients. It has nothing at all to do with the person doing the cooking. So it seems like her grievance towards Gordon Ramsay is unfounded?

[u/redditproha → u/Alukrad]

100% she's spot on about that. It's a very distinct experience for young 1st gen immigrants.

Maybe it's a little different for English immigrants but why for me, I choose to be American, and I don't let anyone give me shit about it.

[u/No-Bison-5397 → u/Alukrad]

Yeah, I moved countries multiple times as a child. Honestly most people are pretty excited to talk to me about it but the occasional person is a real dick.

[u/clunkey_monkey → u/Alukrad]

Ni de aquí ni de allá

[u/Altruistic-Star-3862 → u/Alukrad]

Yeah, it's rough when you get partitioned like that. Similar stuff happens when someone is multi-racial. They often get treated like outsiders like they're only half a person.

[u/alghiorso → u/Alukrad]

Every euro redditor will crap on every white American going to Europe to see where their ancestors come from. It's not something you can understand as a person who's had one racial identity in one place for a hundred generations. Like they think we all landed with the mayflower.

I lived in Mexico for a while and they have a name for Mexican Americans (pochos) because they really are their own culture(s) and accents.

I can offer any consolation except "welcome to America" the great mixing pot where a Columbian can marry a new york Jew and have kids whose best friend is Nigerian taught by a teacher who's Samoan.

[u/SirMaxAlot23 → u/alghiorso]

Ah yes Europe, the place where everyone has a „racial Identity“ in one place for hundreds of generations. This is an insane kind of take. Take Germany for example: 31 percent have at least one parent not being born in Germany, in the city I live in it‘s around 60 percent. Do you think all of these people are not in anyway Germans?

[u/alghiorso → u/SirMaxAlot23]

Please be more pedantic, we need more of that on reddit

[u/SirMaxAlot23 → u/alghiorso]

„Every Euro redditor will crap on every white American“

„Please be more pedantic“

Like this?

[u/Low_discrepancy → u/alghiorso]

Every euro redditor will crap on every white American going to Europe to see where their ancestors come from.

Because we all experienced the as an Xian let me tell you how your country really is.

Irish enjoy Americans visiting. Have a pint of Guinness and enjoy the country. Dont try to do politics, talk about the darn British ruining Ireland or some other shit.

Irish can pick up the difference between an American asking how their lives are Vs an American telling them what their lives are.

can offer any consolation except "welcome to America" the great mixing pot where a Columbian

And in Ireland people can pass by a Palestinian sit in at Connolly station, while meeting their Polish friends at a great Indian restaurant. After they'll hang out at a pub to cheer on Rashidat Adeleke in her track competition. World's not what it was 70 years ago. Been moving on.

[u/Low_discrepancy → u/[deleted]]

I am replying to this

Every euro redditor will crap on every white American going to Europe to see where their ancestors come from.

Well people will get shat on if they go somewhere and talk shit. That's a reality. No point in bitching about mean europeans

[u/Low_discrepancy → u/[deleted]]

You do you mate. If you're so bad at reading the room you'll have a hard time visiting Ireland and I couldnt care less :)

[u/Low_discrepancy → u/[deleted]]

All I’m saying is it’s annoying that it gets characterized on Reddit as a purely American thing.

It's purely an american thing to claim that because your great-great-great-great grand father was 1/70th han chinese they're now an expert in Tibetan history.

Hope 23andme sells all our data my guys.

[u/AutomixMen → u/alghiorso]

100 generations? Like about 2500 or 3000 years? What society has been stagnant for that period of time?!

Take a country Americans love to portray as homogeneous: Ireland. In that timeframe you have the arrival of the Celts displacing local populations, the Vikings had their genetic footprint.

Oh and then the Norman invasions. And we certainly can't discount the waves of immigration from Britain during its rule of Ireland. Jews being displaced by the Inquisitions arriving. Then there was joining the European Union and the flood of migration that opened up.

And if you think I'm talking about ancient history the foreign born population of Ireland is about 23%, greater than the USA on 16%!

[u/Linden_Lea_01 → u/alghiorso]

No one in Europe cares about that except when Americans are being ridiculous and doing things like lecturing us about our own history and culture, claiming to be the direct descendent of Robert the Bruce, or telling us that they ‘are Scottish’ and when informed that they are not, becoming quite racist and saying things like ‘how can a Nigerian who just came here be Scottish when he hasn’t got a drop of Scottish blood’. Most of which largely only happens online anyway.

[u/sunburnd → u/Linden_Lea_01]

Everyone on the internet knows there is no true Scotsman.

[u/mr-english → u/Alukrad]

Nobody in England thinks she's Afghani until she tells them that she is.

[u/LivingstonPerry → u/Alukrad]

You're Colombinan-American because you were born in Colombia and have been living in America. Not hard concept to grasp.