One of fascinating subjects that I always explore in my creative process is identity. And the best example this time is by watching the recent The Great British Menu program that I watch in the food channel. This is a glossy production reality TV, where several chefs across Great Britain representing their region competing four dishes to be served at Heston Blumenthal restaurant at The Gerkhin, London.
The judges are Oliver Peyton, Prue Leith, and Matthew Fort. Oliver is always appear cynical, brooding - a stereotype of a critic and his favorites words are “I don’t like….” Prue Leith is a restaurateur with whimsy personalities that remind me of an old English lady character from Little Britain series who always vomit to find out that the food that she ate was cooked by non-white people. Matthew Fort is the opposite of those two judges, always nice and careful for his appreciation.
Prior to the final night, each week 2 chefs from same region have to compete to represent the region. Here’s the interesting part: the challenge is that the food that they cook has to be British. The execution of this challenge by the chef is really simple: they do shopping, and using local ingredient. One of the chef even took the water from Wales (because He said, “London water is polluted!”Can you believe it?).
There is one competitor who is Indian/British chef named Atul Kocher. I don’t think his food is quite interesting this time around. But born and raised in India before migrate to UK, obviously he has to let go most of his cultural background due to the challenge. I don’t think it’s a problem for him. He enjoys it anyway.
The drama in the kitchen is actually a very predictable usual drama. You know, like the ingredients problem, device does not work, and such. But you will hear Jenny Bond, narrating every single scene as such that there is competition, there is problem, and there is drama. She exacerbates anything, and at the end she always says rhetorically, “But Is this British?”
I keep thinking while watching the show that I see a bunch of people who are so insecure about their identity and express it through food. They are busy working and creating something that is British, so that the British can be accepted (by whom? An elite?), and welcomed in that level.
Perhaps the basic premise of the show is trying to answer prejudices among culinary lover that I always hear from now and then, like:
- That British food is awful, It mainly about fish and chips.
- That Asians don’t do dessert.
- That Australian food is only meat and three veggies
- Positive pejorative: The best food in the world is French food. (Do you agree with this?)
Now how people start spreading and believe with that prejudices? I don’t know the answer. I was shocked when in early years I live in Australia; I was invited to the Barbie (as in barbeque). A woman asking me rethorically, “But the people in your country eat rat, right?”
I think food and prejudices walk hand in hand. You will observe so many incorrect attitude whenever you travelling and staying in the hotel like I do. In the restaurant, I always see some people who take their sauces from home, or so finicky about the size of the pizza (where all the pizza is always being supersized in the country where they from), or coffee! Talking about coffee, I saw some disturbing scene on the way back to Australia couple years ago. A boy shouts at the waiter, “You don’t know how to make capucino?” If only that boy knew, that maybe his parent only hears (not taste) about “exotic food” in the mid 70’s.
But let’s back to the insecurity of Great British Menu. In the end it has a happy a ending finale. All the chefs that came from around the world as the guest, (include Tetsuya from Sydney) seal approval that the British food is (actually) good. The interview clips from the euphoric guests who are like winning Eurovision justify that too.
Prue Leith in one occasion argues with a French chef over crème brulle; who has it first, British or French. Meanwhile out there, in the Africa and Asia peripheral, some kids are dying of malnourish.