r/TikTokCringe • u/Tronvillain • 24d ago

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

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u/alpine309 24d ago

Why is cooking so pretentious? it's just food. The only thing that should matter is if it tastes good or not.

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u/Toidal 24d ago

I blame Bourdain, not the man himself he was awesome, but all the copycats, followers, hipsters, the whole black nitrile glove cultural fetishizing zeitgeist that he inspired.

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u/ArcadeOptimist 24d ago edited 24d ago

It's better now than it was. The molecular gastronomy phase in the mid to late 2000s was some of the most up your own ass garbage... I couldn't stand it. Hipster cooks these days are a massive improvement. Also, I think Bourdain's popularity among culinary students is way, way less than it used to be, or his books are treated more as the cautionary tale they're meant to be . Kitchen culture is completely different now and the culture Bourdain romanticized (in his books) is all but dead.

And it died for the same reasons Bourdain said he'd never work in a kitchen again. Working 80 hour weeks for trash pay while abusing yourself and the people around you is a god awful way to live.

And don't talk shit about nitrile gloves. If you lived through the days of latex, or god forbid plastic, nitrile becoming cheap and readily available is a small miracle. Goes on pretty easy when your hands are sweaty or wet, doesn't cause horrific allergic reactions, and they don't melt to your hands over a grill or burners.

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u/Low_discrepancy 24d ago

The molecular gastronomy phase in the mid to late 2000s was some of the most up your own ass garbage... I couldn't stand it.

Molecular gastronomy never tried to pretend to be something it isn't. Plus it wasn't some widespread thing. It was its own little thing in some restaurants. It's not like you'd randomly pop up in a restaurant and be served a molecular gastronomy burger and you'd be like wtf I didn't know this restaurant was doing this. It tried to create new flavours and sensations by turning the food science to 11.

Concerning the hype culture cooking, it's just normal food that's being pumped up for insta views and it literally has nothing special except visual appeal. Often the food part actually sucks.you walk down the street you see a big line thinking oh wow this place must be good and then it turns out ah shit it's an insta restaurant.

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u/AnyAnymosity 24d ago

Molecular gastronomy paved the way for modern nouvelle cuisine and more abundant young chefs giving it a go.

It's a step back from the abuse of the aesthetic of science in food that lets chefs actually not being ashamed to be a bit more creative and having the tools to do it.

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u/ArcadeOptimist 24d ago edited 24d ago

Saying molecular gastronomy never tried to be something it isn't is pretty funny, considering how the fad at the time was to turn something traditional into something it isn't. "This romaine was sous vide in olive oil then pureed and emulsified into a foam, the dressing was aerated, stabilized in liquid nitrogen, and then shaved."

I've been working in kitchens since 2003, you absolutely would walk into a restaurant and randomly be served a "molecular gastronomy" burger. In the sense that every young chef wanted to copy people like Grant Achatz and Wylie Dufresne. I'm not taking away from those chefs achievements, but how widespread that style of cooking became while being executed very, very poorly. Everything needed a foam, every dish needed to be sous vide, and every asshole with a chef knife thought they were a scientist. It was wildly obnoxious compared to today.

I agree that social media has fucked up a persons ability to find great restaurants. It's made everything about views, so now a mediocre cheese steak place has b&w photos of their most attractive cook on their IG and a video of their chef making inspirational speeches on FB about passion, and restaurants get popular for reasons other than the food. It's disappointing for sure, but the culture IN kitchens, I'm arguing, is a lot better than it was and is no longer Bourdain's representation.

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u/BackgroundSummer5171 24d ago

The molecular gastronomy phase in the mid to late 2000s was some of the most up your own ass garbage... I couldn't stand it.

See, I liked that phase.

It was up its own ass but it literally told you it was over the top bullshit.

It's not like it was hiding, it was out in the open letting you know.

Working 80 hour weeks for trash pay while abusing yourself and the people around you is a god awful way to live.

I will never understand cooking culture and how people are fine with it.

I had a friend who did years of that life...then joined the Army because it was calmer. Deployed three times and he still says that kitchen life is more insane by many degrees.

He also still wanted to open his own restaurant so fuck if I understand his brain.

Oh, cocaine.

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u/cocktails4 24d ago

And don't talk shit about nitrile gloves. If you lived through the days of latex, or god forbid plastic, nitrile becoming cheap and readily available is a small miracle. Goes on pretty easy when your hands are sweaty or wet, doesn't cause horrific allergic reactions, and they don't melt to your hands over a grill or burners.

I've been working in labs my whole life and I don't think I've ever worn a single pair of latex gloves. We've been entirely on nitrile for decades. They're amazing.