We Don't Support BIPOC Chefs If We Ask For Vegan Options?

[@mnmedina628]

As a bipoc who is vegetarian.. I am so tired of this. We as bipoc are not exempt from worrying about harming and killing defenseless animals. I'm Puerto Rican and grew up eating pigs as part of my culture. So what? At the end of the day, all he cares about is his culture as it pertains to him and his comfort. We just don't want to cause harm. It's not that complex.

[@zxyatiywariii8]

Exactly! I'm predominantly Polynesian and pigs were a staple "food" when I was little (😧) but now I love finding cruelty-free ways of making traditional foods. Considering how many great mock meat substitutes there are, I bet he could make delicious vegan sausage.

[@LoudnessInc7]

Puerto Rican here too! I worked at the only Puerto Rican restaurant in Oregon and the owners refused to add vegan options on the menu because it’s not part of our culture. We had so many people asking us to add something vegan on the menu and they wouldn’t! Even the mofongo was made with ajillo and they didn’t want to substitute for olive oil. The rice and beans had chicken base and I suggested to switch to vegetable base and they were like “eso no sabe bueno, la comida vegetariana no tiene sazón Boricua.” I quit because of that and because of gente loca like them😂😂😂

[@GarudaLegends]

speak for yourself. rican food is good. woy better culture than the white ppls vegan culture, and way tastier than white ppls gross vegan chum.

[@GarudaLegends]

@@LoudnessInc7 good. Rican food is too good to make it into white ppl vegan trash

[@mnmedina628]

@@LoudnessInc7 listen. Thank you for at least trying. It's honestly so lame. Embarrassing really. Our culture can thrive without the slaughter and exploitation of defenseless animals that have no concept of our cultures ❤️

[@johannsaintbirne5598]

excuse me? but seeing the chef commenting about how "oh this is a restaurant ran by BIPOC so we won't do vegan options because of that, is just ridiculous. First of all I'm Brazilian and I went to a Indian restaurant ran by Indian people and they HAD vegan options, they even said "we won't include the dessert on your dish cause it has milk but the whole dish is vegan". I went to an Congolese restaurant ran by a Congo refugee and ALL the dishes were vegan. I went to a Chinese restaurant ran by Chinese people that had vegan options. I went to Brazilian restaurants where they offered veganized versions of traditional Brazilian food. Saying you won't offer a vegan version or vegan options at all because you're BIPOC is the lamest excuse I've ever heard

[@orirune3079]

What this really brings into light is the absurdity of the term "BIPOC" as if that Vietnamese dude has anything in common with the Congolese people by virtue of them both not being white. We may as well make a term that means "anyone not Vietnamese" and then act like it has any meaning whatsoever.

[@sivacrom]

@@orirune3079 Yes, yes, yes times ten thousand YES. Thank you.

[@zenleeparadise]

@@orirune3079 this is really well-put. It’s not really anyone’s fault I don’t think it’s just that American culture has been racialized for so long and is so deeply rooted in white supremacy that people forget that “whiteness” isn’t a real thing, and that it was made it up. And so if whiteness is made up then, like, of course putting everyone else in a group that basically means “not white” is going to be kind of absurd and cause a lot of confusion. Though also I’m certain their are vegans from this man’s culture so what he’s saying is silly regardless. But, I digress.

[@orirune3079]

@@zenleeparadise I've always found it strange that the same people who use terms like "BIPOC" also turn around and complain about things like white people being considered the default in fiction. They don't seem to realize that they're contributing to that exact same thing by dividing humanity into two groups: white and not white. It's just so silly, there is no "default" group of humans, we're all just slight variations on the same form.

[@NYChica23]

For real...some of the best vegan food I've tasted was at a Dominican eatery that adapted traditional Dominican dishes to be vegan friendly, and it was amazing. Then there's also vegan sushi places that are equally as good, so to say that because you're BIPOC, you can't change things up is pretty narrow-minded and an easy way to lose customers

[@memosilverman5654]

I say this as a BIPOC chef: WHAT IS THIS MAN TALKING ABOUT? Tropicalization exists, & gastronomy is not static. It never has been, I can bet he has already adapted something simply because of geography (and I am assuming is the breed of the pork tbh). He does sound a little bit hurt about his experience growing up, but instead of working that out he set himself in this hill 🤷‍♀️ Everytime I see this argument about “traditional cuisine” my first thought is “Pozole was originally cooked with human flesh, and I dont see anyone advocating for mexicans to go back to THAT tradition”

[@dutchik5107]

I mean the whole human flesh thing has clearly proven to give disease. Also illegal. Am assuming no mexican (a single serial killer cannibal excluded) would want to go back to that.

[@dutchik5107]

@@MdoubleHBxx only fools are against evolution like that, you rabbit.

[@goranbreskic4304]

Honestly, since I went vegan I have depended mostly on BIPOC vegan chefs to teach me how to cook good vegan food. Suddenly I find out there is a BIPOC chef out there who thinks culture (including food) is never influenced or changed when the context changes and who thinks we should all ... well, at least those of us with pale skin, keep track of the colour of the skin of various chefs and assume that BIPOC chefs are less professional, unable to create something new. (If I think about the most creative chefs I have followed online, they are all BIPOC. No limits. They are fantastic. They can cook "exact" and traditional food from their own backgrounds, but also just about anything else or take the traditional food and make new versions.)

[@OxundHeiner]

i agree. i think cuisine just like language underlies constant change. and while it is nice to have original literature or recordings, it’s to fight a loosing battle if you wanted to „conserve“ language in every aspect, pidgin-languages and dialects have a right to exist. it’s something people use everyday and that doesn’t exist for its own purpose but for communicating. it’s the same with food. it’s nice to eat a traditional meal and explore different or „historical“ tastes but in real life food needs to be filling and tasty, easy to aquire and affordable (and legal… and safe… human flesh😱) maybe the type of restaurant he runs is the wrong type. if he wants to serve things in a very traditional way, the restaurant concept needs to carry that, he needs to target customers who want that. if his current customers want something different he targets the wrong crowd or the type of customer he wants doesn’t exist in sufficient numbers to run a restaurant. it’s a very tough business and people are very stubborn when it comes to food. i am a white potato german, a kraut. we have traditional cuisine, too (unbelievable, i know). my granny grew up in today croatia, so she put paprika powder on her schnitzel that she made from pork neck instead of bum (oberschale) or veal (which is actually austrian wiener schnitzel). also potato soup goes with chili in our family. 🤷‍♀️ i myself adapted sauerkraut to be vegan and cooked without animal grease (schmalz), but with canola oil and caramelised onion. also i have my vegan curry wurst recipe and make vegan döner (which is a turkish invention that has to do with turkish people interacting with german butterbrot (sandwich) culture, however opinions on that differ and it’s origins are veiled in the fogs of legends 😅). so from my point of view the cuisine I was raised and grew up with is fluent and adaptive and hard to grasp. however it’s probably a good point to make sure we communicate that we edited something from a different culture to our taste and requirements, and make sure it’s not understood as traditional dish. but i am sure most of us are doing that. most people are proud when they changed recipes to be better in their eyes. also it’s maybe a bit different to be a „foreign“ chef in america because many american dishes developed from the many settlers homecountries. so it might seem at first sight as if american culture „devours“ foreign concepts. an american pizza is veeeeery different from italian pizza, fastfood pizza or frozen supermarket pizza is also very different and many italians are upset it’s all called pizza, for sure. but italian pizza is also more intricate, sicilianos make very different pizza. but no matter what the pizza concept is extremely successful and the details and intricacies are, in fact, not lost, at all.

[@annoyedaussie3942]

Yes very much so, if this Asian (race) fellow wants true traditional he should only be using pepper not chilli because the white man took it to Asia. Pretty sure the white customer complaining about chilli hot.

[@blackcatgoodluck]

That line "culture doesn't tell us the morality of a practice " that was good. That really struck something in me.

[@zxyatiywariii8]

"Ill will or malicious intent" -- 🙄 I know plenty of Hmong people, and some are vegan. Sounds like that particular chef is just super salty (no pun intended) about being too inept to make any creative changes. Edit: Oh and despite his arrogant claim, he doesn't speak for "us BIPOC people." I'm BIPOC and we're as wide and varied a demographic as anyone.

[@siennad587]

This

[@mekine45]

So many Mexicans are also very anti vegan and as a Mexican who wants to be more plant based it frustrates me that people are so closed minded about changing stuff about recipes

[@mnmedina628]

Thank you. I'm Puerto Rican, and grew up eating pigs as part of my "culture" but I realized that we are not exempt from concerning ourselves from the harm and death we cause by our daily actions.

[@lavenderoh]

@@mekine45 I love Mexican food but it drives me crazy that in the restaurants here put anything that isn't straight up animal flesh in the "vegetarian" category. Like refried beans with lard. Oh my goodness my stomach cannot handle lard anymore. I grew up with a southern granny and she cooked with lard very frequently, so I'm not saying there's anything "wrong" in that sense of course. Just, I'm older now and I don't have a gallbladder so my body doesn't process fat very efficiently. Especially animal fats. And I have found most Mexican places here also use chicken stock or broth to make the rice but it's still served with vegetarian entrees. 🤦‍♀️ I feel like any restaurant should just do a little research and tweaking so dishes and ingredients are clearly listed and separated so everyone can find something that won't make their insides burst or harm animals. 😂 I think the chef from that article doesn't realize we also don't want to make a lot of changes to our order, but if you don't provide any options....

[@siennad587]

Italian American here. A lot of Italians eat Veal. And until the day I die I will speak out on its cruelty. Just because something is tradition doesn’t make it right.

[@HooverTuber]

Honestly I think this is an outlier. Most restaurants no matter the cuisine will try to accommodate diners on some level be it with gluten-free or vegan options or less spicier dishes. There are so many choices when it comes to restaurants why bother with those that don’t accommodate.

[@danielpalmer1297]

@@MdoubleHBxx Reported for being an idiot.

[@janicefinch3563]

Even it's an outlier right now, I think it's important to shut down this argument before it grows louder. People will latch on to any reason not too eat meat. The social justice movement has grown significantly over the past few years. We already see people use the "veganism is racist" excuse and this just adds fuel to that fire.

[@ReginaApple007]

But it's much easier to blame your shortcomings on white people

[@AimeeColeman]

My favourite restaurant is this Ethiopian place that has a load of vegan habesha dishes that are authentic and happen to be vegan. Just an example of a non-white food culture having vegan options, and I'd recommend anyone who has the opportunity to try it out :) Injera is the best ❤️

[@user-hw9lm8jv7o]

Yesss their veggie dishes are the BEST

[@daenerystargaryen]

Ethiopian cuisine is one of my favourite! They have so many great vegan recipes

[@danceguardmusicgirl1]

Ethiopian food is so underrated! By far my favorite vegan-friendly cuisine. Everyone (rightly) hypes up Indian food but Ethiopian deserves just as much love :)

[@Laura-fv1oe1]

Yes, omg! An Ethiopian restaurant run by a mother-son team opened up a few years ago down the street from me. I can't speak highly enough of it.

[@NYChica23]

Ethiopian food is amazing for sure...I love how they get all this flavor into their dishes without going heavy on the salt like US food is traditionally prepared

[@linzertorte4003]

I think i would respect his decision to not do a vegan sausage more if he said, ‘that sounds hard and i don’t want to do that.’ Done. But everything has to be a deep wound nowadays.

[@emmab.1328]

Not a poc but I am a first generation immigrant (Bosnia). I grew up closely tied to my culture and eating a lot of cultural foods. Culture or tradition is not a worthy reason to needlessly kill animals. My mom was repulsed when I suggested a way she could veganize a cultural for me (I was 13 when I first when vegan, I didn’t know how to cook these dishes on my own yet) why? Nuance isn’t a bad thing. Things don’t have to be done the way they’ve always been done. Also.. my cultural food is not delicious like Mexican or Asian food (sorry mom). It’s just not, it doesn’t appeal to most peoples tastebuds if you haven’t grown up eating it. None of my friends ever liked my moms food but it was never offensive to me. I mean you can’t make someone like something that’s just not how it works. Then disliking how something tastes is not an attack on your culture.

[@natashaonis]

That’s interesting to me, because I am Serbian and because to the strict Orthodox fasting rules at lent, there is a traditional vegan version of almost every Balkan food in our culture.

[@emmab.1328]

@@natashaonis I’m actually Bosnian Croat and catholic. The only time we would fast would be on Christmas Eve, which would just be no meat not no animal products (my mom plays by her own rules I guess).

[@natashaonis]

@@emmab.1328 yeah, every family is different. In my community, as much as they’re normally fiends for meat and cheese, they would totally know how how to whip up cabbage rolls, pita, beans etc. vegan style. That said, I don’t know any full time Serb vegans.

[@veka8946]

@@natashaonis I’m a Serbian vegan living in US, whenever I come to Serbia for a visit the first dish my mom makes is posna sarma. Balkan cuisine is meat and dairy heavy (probably since relatively recent in history because people used to be too poor to afford meat on daily bases) but many dishes can be veganized.

[@scarletsletter4466]

Seeing all the vegan Serbs, Bosnians & Croats chatting about food in this thread makes me happy 😊

[@danceguardmusicgirl1]

JJ McCullough has a fantastic series of videos in which he talks about food creations born out of migration, imperialism, and cultural exchange. It is really interesting because virtually all of the iconic foods from any culture are a result of exchange--pasta from Italy, curries from the Indian subcontinent, even ramen from Japan. Cuisine isn't static and to pretend like it should be isolated, especially for archaic reasons like harming animals, it just doesn't make sense.

[@BornAScout]

I'm Southern. Soul food dishes have a story, there are reasons behind the ingredients and preparation methods. That said, making vegan mac & cheese or cornbread or collard greens is a *good* thing. In the south, food is an act of service. It's about always having room at the table for strangers and family alike. So adjusting our recipes to fit dietary needs is a great way to express that.

[@DemyrNox]

Treating your restaurant like a museum doesn't make sense in a context where the vast majority of people won't, I think he should really just either accommodate people's preferences, or rebrand his restaurant as a cultural insight Also why is the sausage's fat content and such so important to the history of the dish, but the fact that it comes from a wildly different pig (aka factory farmed) that doesn't matter at all? Also also, does this man just refuse to adjust any meal for people with literal intolerances and allergies?

[@lone6718]

Fat/meat or other main protein ratio effects how it cooks and tastes. Same goes for vegetarian or vegan food.

[@banditnmbr087]

This. I understand that food can be art. But for the most part when people go to a restaurant it's often for convenience. People have to eat to live and that is why restaurants exist. Now if you want to do like a really fancy tasting menu or chefs table experience then that's different. In that case people are wanting to experience the food. But this is not what people want the majority of the time they go to a restaurant.

[@cakebeary]

this is not really the point i took from this video. he is entitled to refuse to modify his dishes (and I think it might be unreasonable to request such a major change to a sausage as to make it vegan - that seems to make it an entirely different item). the issue is his interpretation of these requests as some kind of racist attack, and his conflating a preference request with an ethical choice such as veganism (and believing veganism is a white phenomenon).

[@DemyrNox]

@@lone6718 Obviously, but the way he talks about it, it feels to me like he's not just saying he would swap it if the meat suggested had the same contents. I think there's some pseudo-spiritual reason in there Edit: also thinking back on it, I'm fairly sure meat from factory farmed animals would not have the same balance of macros, so very different fat contents anyways

[@DemyrNox]

@@cakebeary I think there are multiple angles from which he's wrong lol, I just focused on a few I wanted to comment on but I agree with you. Except that it's necessarily a different item; depending on how he substitutes the sausage, like with Beyond Sausage, it could be virtually identical

[@commonomics]

You know growing up as an Ukrainian American, when my mom sent me to school with traditional soups and cabbage dishes that smelt, I also felt really embarrassed (as a white person). We all have our own traditional cultures too..that young school children find difficult to understand and sneer at. Basically if you didn’t have a lunchables or sandwich you felt out of place.

[@zenleeparadise]

I’m sorry people gave you a hard time 😔 I’m so blessed to have grown up in such a diverse and accepting town. People would whip out traditional foods and everyone else got curious and excited and thought it was cool and we would share our cultures with each other.

[@milktea4270]

@@MdoubleHBxx Humans have evolved to have a digestive system that favors cooked food over raw food. Nutrients in cooked food can be more easily absorbed. Also, if copious amounts of uncooked food gives me stomach pain and diarrhea but the same amount of cooked food doesn't, then the latter is absolutely healthier.

[@moondog7694]

I got told by my Indian roommate/landlord that my sandwich smelled bad and that the real estate agent needed me out of the kitchen in order to show the home to prospective tenants. So yeah, I got it from eating a sandwich.

[@rosalina2773]

@@moondog7694 what kind of sandwich lol

[@secretspy44]

I promise you, if you had lunchables or a sandwich, they still would have found a way to make you feel out of place. I don't think anyone makes it through childhood without feeling unnecessarily embarrassed or ashamed. I think its part of being a person, especially if your someone who cares about belonging and other people.

[@AllenWalker15735]

As a Poc, I find this very frustrating. If you don't like catering to other people's Taste, why become a chef. He is acting like the dish is the last remaining piece of his culture.

[@IzzyHendrix]

As a cook myself, the number one sign of a bad cook is not changing your method to accommodate preferences, and blaming people not liking your food on their tastes instead of on your ability. if someone tells me what they like, i can make something they'll enjoy (ethnic food or otherwise). that's what it means to be a good cook.

[@GarudaLegends]

if you dont like the food, then dont eat it. no one needs to cater to white ppl vegan religion. eat the food or go somewhere else

[@hugomarquez3189]

He kinda reminds me of that madTv skit with the Mexican chef working at a Taco Bell, and getting angry and killing every white customer that ordered a chalupa or a chimichanga 😂

[@kelsie7109]

It's interesting to me that he talks about how the food as deep ties and is extreamly important.. yet he's selling it to make a profit. Just seems a little backwards to be playing both sides. If you make your food a business for the public to eat.. there will always be judgements & requests. Ultimately people want to eat your food so much that they are asking to make a modification, I feel like that would be more of a compliment

[@GarudaLegends]

@@kelsie7109 nope. no person selling roasted peanuts is required to serve to you roasted almonds. GTFO and go to someone selling almonds, whitegirl

[@milktea4270]

"Vegetarianism/veganism is such a white person thing" *Hindu Indians didn't like that*

[@PriscillaSaiz]

I have a close family member that can not eat any spicy food. Even what I would consider medium heat is intolerable for them. Spicy food is literally painful (in their mouth, medical condition) for them. Thank you for speaking up on this.

[@Maryaminx]

I believe being able to tolerate various levels of spice are entirely dependent on physiology/genetics.

[@themagicknightress7132]

I’ve got pretty severe GERD and spicy food will trigger my acid reflux which can damage my esophagus

[@RenayOpish]

Also anyone going through chemo- the mouth lining is affected and it becomes incredibly uncomfortable.

[@dutchik5107]

I also have many sensory issues around food. Textures, spice everything. As a child often the pepper my dad would add would be terrible. I am autistic. I am trying to get better. But how in the hell could I ever learn to eat other foods, that I actually like. Instead of the white pasta my parents fed me growing up. If all types I am finding out I love (I love Mexican shit, make real good beans without any spice according to those I made it for.) And rice dishes. A lot are traditionally spicy. This roti place my bf found, that tempeh is so good. They typically serve it with spice and then you get extra of the chili stuff. But it isn't in all the stuff you can pick. So no spice is no problem. Turns out. I really am just not a fan of pasta. And all the healthier types of food I really love. And am able to eat, and eat enough of to feel full hours later (instead of my brain not wanting more and tricking me into thinking I am full) are often from places where people eat way more spices. (Except Spain. But they do love their meats and cheeses.)

[@ieuanhunt552]

When I eat even mildly spicy food my nose and eyes stream uncontrollably. And my cheeks feel like they are on fire. I'm a complete wimp with spices.

[@mairzydoats4879]

What mother has not changed family recipes for the allergy or sensitivities of her children? It is what makes grandmothers great to appetize their picky family members into surviving another day. I forget the name of the book, but he talks about his grandmother's "chicken and carrots" and what made it special was not that she was a chef, but that she nourished her family with love in her cooking. And that love would be in whatever she cooked, she just only knew how to cook chicken and carrots because that was what they had available through hard times.

[@jupitherdanach7643]

I believe the book is "eating animals" by Jonathan Foer.

[@SelinaCat]

@@MdoubleHBxx I am so sick of seeing your obvious trollbait on this channel. You are so clearly a stalker. GET A LIFE

[@s.e.7870]

I disagree with his point of view, as an austrian most of the traditional dishes are made with meat and even in the Austria countrieside you can get vegan Schnitzel (even if it is not culturally made in a vegan way)

[@alejandra4478]

As a brown person who has been vegetarian since 2015, and works in the food industry… I can understand where he’s coming from but it’s ignorant to say that brown food can’t be vegan / vegetarian because there are plenty of vegan / vegetarian dishes in almost every culture. But also… we can just chose to go to a restaurant that has vegan / vegetarian options without leaving another restaurant a bad review. At the end of the day, it’s his restaurant and he can chose what dishes he wants to offer. But I do think his reasons behind his choices are ignorant.

[@jupitherdanach7643]

Perhaps the review is not so much meant as "punishment" for the restaurant but more for informing other vegans or vegetarians that this is not the place for them. I search through reviews often before going to a restaurant as a way of gauging whether they will have anything vegan or are willing to make modifications.

[@carolsimpson4422]

Ok so he doesnt understand moral objections to animal products. But if his customer has religious objections, to beef or pork- is it rude of that customer not to abandon their beliefs and partake in his tradition? Where does he draw the line?

[@irakibear]

I'm Iraqi-American, most non middle eastern Americans think the middle east is one country, I'm never offended if someone said "oh you're Iraqi, I love hummus" (hummus is from the Levant region), why would I expect an American to know where hummus come from, life would be weird if I think like this! It's like being offended by a Chinese person not knowing the difference between grilling and barbecuing, and where in the states people grill or barbecue.

[@jupitherdanach7643]

Gotta go google the difference between grilling and barbecuing right now xD

[@amyhatch3761]

My British/Irish mother was perfectly happy to make vegan roast potatoes for Christmas dinner (usually they're cooked with goose fat or duck fat) once I went vegan. Tweaking a cultural dish so that there's no dead animals in it doesn't erase or degrade your culture

[@ohio_nights]

This man takes the hilarious “whites-think-salt-is-spicy” stereotype a little too seriously. We aren’t all the same, we didn’t all grow up under the same traditions or values, some of us can and do eat spicy food 😂

[@alexisgeiser4387]

As a mixed person, I see wanting to preserve your culture, but to get angry over people wanting vegan options? Not cool. We all have to do our part to help the environment. Sharing your cultural food is beautiful but when you Villainize people who ask for slight changes or options is not the way to go around it. Plenty of cultural restaurants are beginning to offer vegan options. My favorite cuban and japanese restaurants offer at least one vegan options! It’s not hard

[@WeyHeyItsTina]

Veganism isn’t about the environment.

[@surduo4282]

@@WeyHeyItsTina To some people it is

[@WeyHeyItsTina]

@@surduo4282 To the animals it is not.

[@b2h316]

I used to live in China. I've done a ridiculous amount of travelling. Every culture I've experienced does this. They tweak international foods to their local palate. Even chain restaurants like Papa John's have some really different options in China than they do in Canada where I live (on stolen land). McDonalds in China served taro ice cream (something you would never find in North America). Even the sweet and sour sauce had different spices. Coca Cola makes different flavors of coke for different countries. I'm white as hell so maybe I'm just too priveledged to see the nuance, but this isn't a unique-to-white-people food experience

[@alex.profi27]

Are you all canadians nuts?! Wtf do you mean "stolen land"?!🤣 Canada wouldn t be Canada without the english and french settlers

[@Ayesha_F]

Yeah, in India McDonald's doesn't do beef and also has a lot of non-meat options, as vegatarianism is quite common here. I wish the "Cult of Milk" here would die down though. Dairy consumption here is ridiculous.

[@roseg2239]

White privilege is a myth.

[@kmbkla]

As a BIPOC (more specifically east Asian), this is even more annoying since in many east and southeast Asian cultures there is a pretty rich history of vegetarian cuisine. In particular temple cuisine is vegetarian and often vegan as well. The prominence of meat in a lot of Asian cuisines is honestly a more recent phenomenon related to economic development and western influence. I kind of understand that he seems to view veganism as a white person thing, since it became more prominent on social media because of people like fr**l** in the last 10 years. But I guess maybe he hasn't seen people like The Korean Vegan, and Cheap Lazy Vegan who make vegan versions of their cultural dishes.

[@paula889]

I was looking for this comment! Plant based diets are a global phenomenon, but vegetarianism has deep ethical meaning for many people in Asia. As a white kid who grew up in a rural area, my first exposure to vegetarianism and veganism was through my observant Hindu classmates and later through my best friend in college whose family was from Taiwan. She was raised Buddhist and she exposed me to so many amazing vegan and vegetarian foods long before they were mainstream in white American culture. She even took me to my first vegetarian restaurant right in the heart of NYC Chinatown and it was packed! ( and I was one of the only white people in there 😆)

[@MM-uw5tt]

I went to an authentic Indian restaurant and ordered curry. It was mild since yeah, I can't do spicy. It was still spicy! The server saw me struggling but I was trying to be a champ and eat it without complaining. My nose was runny and I had tears in my eyes but yeah. It's their cuisine you know? I have yoghurt to drink it with. So the server says he will go and replace it because he can tell it's just not for me and there's no issue making a milder version. It was so sweet! I like the attitude of - you give the customer a taste of your dish but don't push their boundaries if it's not necessary

[@danielaxc2900]

Imagine going to this restaurant and asking for less salt or something on a dish... "I will not change who I am or how I grew up for YOU!"

[@chufuvang4531]

Lmao some things are pre-made and packed just like sausage 🤣

[@Maryaminx]

Honestly this just sounds like a chef getting mad that people are putting salt on his food, with an sjw twist.

[@ronnie7074]

My favorite meal from a different culture is Githeri. It’s vegan naturally. And it’s from Kenya (and it’s delicious). Claiming BIPOC dishes can’t be vegan is very strange when a lot of BIPOC come from cultures that have a significant number of vegetarian dishes either choice or necessity. I mean think about how many Indian people are either vegetarian or at least don’t eat beef because of their religious beliefs or Muslim people that opt for vegetarian dishes to avoid the concern over whether the meat was halal or not…. or simply because maybe vegetables or vegetarian dishes aren’t exclusive to white people…

[@b2h316]

I loathe cilantro. I have a gene that makes it taste like a cleaning chemical. I ask for it to be removed. My experience of that food is not the same as it was intended because I literally have different genetics. I'm not trying to erase culture by asking for no cilantro. I'm just trying to enjoy my dinner

[@erick19187]

I was looking for a comment like this, I also have this gene. Cilantro can completely ruin a dish for me! It tastes like Dawn soap to me when I eat it. I often ask if a dish has cilantro that can be taken out, or I will pick it out if it is sprinkled on top. I agree, I'm not trying to erase anyone's culture through food, I also want to just enjoy the dish!

[@BreaMichelle3]

This man needs therapy. Not everything is racist, Jesus 🙈 people have gotten so ridiculous lately.

[@beultra3083]

I'm also an American child of immigrants, and to me it sounds like this guy has some personal issues to work out. My identity as an Indian American is not defined by whether or not I eat the same fish curry my grandparents ate, and certainly not whether or not I can force other people to eat it. I'd like to think my culture also promotes critical thinking and compassion.

[@jankalovering6408]

can't food have deep deep meaning to the chef on the whole (ie why they established a restaurant in the first place) but also be modified to accommodate the (likely) small percentage of patrons that request it? otherwise why even rent space and put a price on your food - you'll ultimately start losing money and have to close up shop if you can't keep the customers coming in! if it's so entirely sacred that your recipes be unaltered, don't ask people to pay for them.

[@JeremyJenner]

Uhh there's many, many people that will happily pay to eat unaltered recipes. Vegans make up less than 1% of the dining population. Meanwhile this chef is award-winning with two successful restaurants- he's not struggling to keep customers coming in lol.

[@donnamichelerichey2878]

For me spicy is more of a stomach issue, am I the only one?

[@zxyatiywariii8]

No, a friend of mine is like that too. I think it's hereditary?

[@mairzydoats4879]

For my mom it's her medication makes any spice like fire in her mouth.

[@mairzydoats4879]

I'm always surprised when "mild" is literally zero hot spicey. For some people "spicey" seems to include cumin...

[@zxyatiywariii8]

Ikr, I have a friend who's originally from Sweden and she thinks even regular black pepper is spicy. We never agree on savory food, because I love habañeros and ghost peppers. 😄 But omg some Swedish cookies are amazing! And she's adapted them to be vegan, too.

[@orirune3079]

My mom is like that...things like pepper will cause her to be like "oh this is spicy." It's weird to me, but people just have different tastes, no harm in it.

[@katelijnesommen]

I mean cumin is a spice so that checks out :D but I know what you mean, people really do have different tolerance levels for spice even in the same culture, I have friends who love full-blown Indian levels of spice whereas my mother's eyes will get teary eating sth with a little black pepper lol

[@orirune3079]

@@katelijnesommen Yep, I have pretty moderate spice tolerance. Basically "white people spicy" tastes good to me, but the foods that are truly SPICY just aren't enjoyable to me. It's like eating fire - it's just painful and I don't even taste the food anymore.

[@justine4652]

I would think it would be anti-racist to want to preserve the dish even though you don't eat meat. I am also a person who finds spicy food painful. I worked at an Indian restaurant and they gave us free dinner every night. Once I got off work before my coworker who was driving me home, so I ate while I was waiting. I literally started crying it was so spicy, and the chef came out and was like "Now I know why you said not spicy!" He didn't feel like I was attacking his culture or was ungrateful.

[@elizabethelias1005]

I used to work in a Japanese restaurant and I can tell you Asian cultures in general, but particularly Japanese culture, frown upon altering their dishes. Now this BIPOC nonsense is out of control. How about religious reasons for wanting to change a dish? Kosher? Lent? I mean wouldn't that be considered bigotry being against religious people? Sheesh!

[@Looksthatkale]

Ehhh, I'm kind of of the opinion that as a vegan; not all restaurants are for me. I don't expect everyone to accommodate me and if they don't want to serve people with certain dietary preferences then they are missing out on more money🤷🏻‍♀️

[@emilypadilla9563]

I feel like there’s a huge difference between not being able to eat cuisine from a culture due to dietary restrictions v not eating it bc you don’t respect the culture/think it’s unappetizing. I feel like he took them as one in the same when they aren’t. Like you said it’s not always that people don’t want to try new things it’s that they can’t. And introducing less spicy options or vegan options would simply just make it so more people could try the cuisine.

[@marzettik]

I think most restaurants these days have a few vegetarian or vegan recipes on their menu’s because you know groups of people will show up with different tastes. And no offence but I find with some of these “traditional” restaurants they won’t even list the ingredients on the menu and just assume you know what it is and then get angry when you ask what’s in stuff. Also, not all restrictions put like a hotness scale on their menu’s either. So there’s that. Lol.

[@KBlanca513]

Thanks for the heads-up. I eat (mostly) plant-based for health reasons. If this guy thinks his feelings are more important than my health he can pound sand. I won’t eat at his restaurant if he’s going to yell at me for not wanting heart disease.

[@sparkle0859]

Culture is not a defense for cruelty. Plus, there are a lot of BIPOC vegan chefs who create delicious food

[@lavenderoh]

Not a "spice" issue for me but I'm intolerant to jalapenos specifically. The worst is raw jalapenos with chopped seeds, or blended, but if it's just a few pickled jalapenos without seeds then sometimes it's fine and other times I have a mild reaction. If I have any jalapenos in any form though the reaction ranges from a mild headache for a few hours to an extreme migraine, nausea, ocular migraine, dizziness, flushing, vomiting, upset stomach. As you can imagine it's pretty pitiful and disgusting to vomit spicy food, but I've also been diagnosed with GERD since I was 15 and I'm 35. It runs in my family and my dad had it so bad he had to have a fundiplication surgery in his 40s. I'm trying to prevent that by elimination of triggering foods, one is jalapenos and the other is most animal products and fats. So if something says spicy I try to determine what specific chilies are used before ordering. I do like spicy food and jalapenos seem to be my only intolerance. I grew up eating spicy food as well. My family is a mix, culturally speaking, from different areas of the US to different areas of Europe, specifically Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and England. My husband is from south India. So I have and have always had an adventurous palette but at my age I need to be thinking about my long term health. I've also suffered from food aversion, anorexia, disordered eating, and literally just trauma from being forced to eat meat I didn't want to eat as a small child. So at this point I consider myself flexitarian, but really leaning towards vegan. I need to do that for my mental and physical health balance. I do tend to check menus online before ordering, and if there's not enough options I'll just skip the restaurant altogether. I go out of my way to visit the very few places nearby with good options though.

[@ande5460]

Went to a fancy bar once where a drink I wanted had honey. I saw another drink used agave so I asked to swap the honey for agave and the waitress said no... They claimed they care a lot about their drinks and refuse to alter the recipe for any reason.

[@KsandrPann]

I have bad acid reflux. Spicy food, for me, is just asking for pain and suffering. It’s never worth it.

[@yaash4123]

I think it's sad that these people don't want me to experience their culture because I don't want to harm other sentient beings.

[@marissadanielle2469]

i'm living in Thailand right now, and I frequently eat vegan versions of typical dishes from Thailand and other Asian countries because they are readily available if you know where to look. Workers in pretty much every restaurant here, vegetarian or not, are very accommodating toward spice tolerance among non-Thai people, as it's usually pretty easy to leave out chili from a dish. It sounds like this guy has some personal hangups from his background, which I certainly sympathize with as it could not have been easy, but it sounds like he's using all communities of color as a shield when they obviously do not all hold the same opinions as him.

[@celestevu6708]

As a Hmong vegan woman, I guess I see both sides. But I do wish we had more open people in my community :(

[@cruelaz]

I get that alot of people fear that veganism etc will erase culture dishs but I dont think having a few vegan options will make this happen. Also if you're so against having vegan options just write that on your site and I am sure the vegan costumers will go somewhere else As a german most of our dishes are heavy on the meat and animal product site and I know there are dishes that probably wont be able to be made vegan easily and thats okay. I love spicy food but I get lots of people cant handle it or don't like it. I think its probably more hindering to sharing your cultures food if you dont also cater to people with different taste. Especially if you are opening a resturant in a country that is used to complete different spices. (In germany alot of people already find grinded black pepper to spicy so) My favorite indian resturant here has a mild, german spice and a indian spice opinion.

[@moondog7694]

"has a mild, german spice": what is german spice? aniseed? caraway seed?

[@HNO5683]

So I’m Mexican (and a chef BTW) and can’t handle spicy food … does that mean I hate my culture because I have to ask my Grandpa to make me salsa without hot chilies even though it’s changing a traditional recipe? Or maybe I love my heritage and want to be able to enjoy the food and participate in the experience without paying for it later. Just a thought….

[@zachzackzak]

I want to know who picks what restaurant to go to by saying "what minority do I want to support today?"

[@bestaqua23]

He's conflation with people not wanting to hit to eat his recipe and people being racist is amazing... I acknowledge that Asia has a unique complicated and long history of cooking and cuisine I'm even subbed to several Chinese cooking channels made by actual Chinese people living in China... They're all valuable and valid without me personally having to try any of those dishes in any form whatsoever....

[@angeliparraguirre7329]

It is an absurd sentiment but the problem is how common it is despite that. I get that food make a big part of identity, but veggies and greens do not change your ethnicity.

[@sofia.eris.bauhaus]

i can respect a certain resistance to a "the customer is always right" mentality. it should be a mutually beneficial interaction, and that may well mean letting a expert do their thing instead of the customer getting to be picky about everything. that being said, treating animal rights (and the other good reasons for veganism) as a mere customer preference is really thoughtless.

[@moondog7694]

Forbes magazine had a story written by a white vegan woman who visited India and lived with a Jain ethnically Indian family in India while she was there, and she said that she didn't tell her host family that she's vegan and just ate any dairy-containing foods they offered her. And there were actually TWO responders/commenters in the comments section of the online article criticising her for eating the dairy food! One of them said that they think Americans are too polite for doing stuff like this, and that in India, the guest is king, and that the host familiy would've accommodated her. There was an Indian woman who responded something like, "I'm sure they would've been able to handle it emotionally if you told them you are vegan. Do you really think us Indians are so fragile that we can't even handle being told that someone has a dietary restriction without us falling to pieces? I guess you must have a low opinion of Indians if you think we can't handle such a simple request". Like, she thought that Indians were so incapable of having sensitivity towards other people outside their own culture, or that Indians were prone to rages or something. What she wrote was actually shorter, more like "I'm sure they would have understood if you'd only have told them".

[@cariiinen]

Traditional white food is usually not vegan, though. (Please correct me if I'm wrong). At least in Europe, many traditional cuisines are very heavy in meat and animal product (such as France, Germany, Eastern Europe). In those places, veganism as a more 'mainstream' phenomenon is very recent, and it actually remains a pretty fringe eating style (although awareness of what it is has increased tremendously). So I find the accusations of racism quite confusing. I, as a white local, have gotten negative responses to asking for vegan/vegetarian options in Switzerland.

[@cariiinen]

And there's also many chefs creating vegan versions of our traditional dishes with great success. One doesn't have to exclude the other, you can adapt dishes while honouring your culture, and it doesn't need to be about race.

[@andianderson3017]

There’s a mistake that because we have sometimes privileged white culture above other cultures, that everything that comes from white people is white culture. Vegan culture can be its own thing. He may have no obligation to change his dish and it’s his right to refuse, but why take it personally? Someone can have taste or religious preferences that are their own thing. There are not white cultures that don’t do spicy (just ask Saudi Arabians). There are none white cultures that have been going vegan and vegetarian for far longer than white ones. Maybe most of the time we should just assume the best in each other and stop using our personal offense to prove our superiority.

[@strawberrypie7933]

Very well said! I'm from an area in the U.S. that is very well known for a local chile. We put that on everything and it doesn't matter your race the state itself has its own food culture. I thought it was very strange when I went to California and everytime I ordered something they had to warn me that it was spicy and ask if it was okay. Then when I got the meal it wasn't even that bad. I had never been warned about spicy food before because it's so normal in my home state. So I really think it has to do with the area you live and what you grow up eating. I've never understood the, "white people don't like spicy foods" because that is absolutely not a thing here. Any way. Thank you for the thoughtful video! I think it would be good for everyone to learn how other people live and not be so quick to judge.

[@dutchik5107]

On the spice level. You can really enjoy the taste of the food. And I get spice is part of the flavor. But I am also not able to eat spice and enjoy my food. Even if it is barely spicy. My bf made a rice dish (probably loads of Spanish inspo. Just used basmati) he likes spice. We had recently bought chili olive oil in a pretty holder with normal. For salad and stuff. He used that oil. I loved the taste. It was barely spicy. I was able to eat a few bites. But I had to grab bread to eat with it. Because after I couldn't bring myself to eat more. Now he just needs to make it again. Just without that oil. Maybe add it on his plate after. Because it was delicious. He loves spice. I don't. But to be fair. He can also handle it really well. He has made food that his Mexican roommate at one point assumed he was crazy. Because of that long lasting heat. When we are in Spain. And want to eat paella. We call the day before. Typical if you want a vegatarian/vegan one. They go to the market that day and get vegtables. For the meat or fish you don't have to. It is less typical. They are willing to make it though. Just don't always have all the vegtables being fresh laying around when most people order the meat versions. Spice for me is a literal sensory issue. I am slowly working on it with the help of the bf. But I will never reach his levels. Also just because I am a very picky eater which impacts my life. My trick is always having a pizza in the freezer. Is all fails. I can still eat. And he will just eat the rest. How are people able to ever celebrate your food if you keep it behind such gates. You can have 2 versions. The traditional spice level and no.

[@beccablueeyes99]

I don't know why some people take it as a personal attack when people either ask for a change or ask if they are considering changes in the future. I asked a tiktoker that shares her native dishes if anyone was trying to find ways to keep the flavour or spirit of their historic dishes for the future? Because of things like pollution and deforestation, etc, some of the native forraged foods are becoming harder to find and with whales, etc being protected and endangered aside from their special approval from the government. In 50, 100 years, some of these animals might not be available. The same way that some breeds of pigs from 200 years ago are extinct and those historic dishes are now lost or had to be changed. Or with vegans, to have the same flavours, but swap meat for a vegan alternative. Some herbs and spices are no longer used or eaten because they can cause harm. Like tansy. It's a plant that used to be eaten in the Edwardian (I think) time, but it can poison you.

[@missbunnylee]

I’m Hmong and I’m vegan and I don’t eat very spicy food. I don’t support his views at all or the view that it is offensive to the culture. I grew up as a child witnessing animals being killed in homes of Hmong people for food and religious purposes, which I found distressing and traumatizing, and one of the reasons why I became vegan. Thanks for posting this video.

[@JuliasHairJourney]

This is silly. There are many Asian vegans, and some well known ones like Ryan of Happy Healthy Vegan.

[@katiebogue8755]

This also essentially makes your resturant inaccessible to many disabled folx... someone with an allergy may want to truly experience your dish and learn about your culture but needs you to swap an incrediant so they don't die...

[@MsLinoi]

What I don't get about this; when you go to an Italian restaurant for example and ask them to slightly adjust the food they are usually happy to do this. Also more and more restaurants are offering veggie/ vegan options which is giving us the chance to explore foods from other cultures. We have an Ethiopian restaurant in my city & Ethiopian food is quite vegan friendly in general, but I probably would have never been able to try it, if I wouldn't have known how vegan friendly the restaurant is. So offering vegan options in my opinion gives us the chance to explore the culture. And I also don't like to compare vegan to "spicy" because one is ethical one isn't. The same thing goes for being tolerant towards religious beliefs regarding food or allergies....

[@bwebbs28]

Black people are actually more likely to be vegan than white people percentage wise. I think the issue he is saying is that, whi*e vegans are coming into a restaurant that serves something they don’t eat, asking for something he doesn’t have or want to have and then leaving a bad review because of it, instead of embracing the culture or eating elsewhere. So to say well we say it because we want to support you, or taking a moral high ground does show a level of expectation of accommodation, or that a certain business should be valued above his culture. I’ve seen this at other Asian restaurants, reviews have trashed them for simply making food in their traditional way.

[@katfoster845]

But it is still a business. If you're not catering to your customers, you're going to go out of business. You can't expect people to eat a restaurant that doesn't serve food they like and can eat.

[@captainkacke1651]

I'm not vegan, but I have always been a picky eater due to me being a highly sensitive person. There are just some foods that are absolutely off-limits, the taste or texture or even just smell makes me gag and if I'm forced to eat them I will get physically sick. So what I have done to prevent food loss, which is also one thing I'm very keen on not doing, whenever I eat out I ask the server or the chef 'is there ◇♤◇ in this?' just to make sure I don't have to waste food or force myself to eat something that literally makes me sick to my stomach. I really don't care for chefs like this and I would prefer not eating at their restaurant. Maybe this dish needs the few coriander leaves sprinkled on top of it, but maybe you can also leave them out for someone who just hates coriander. If the person was spared the coriander, eats the food and enjoys the sh** out of it, maybe you can start by just being happy that you made someone happy, even if it's not the way you like it. One thing I will never understand is that my husband hates strawberries. And recently a friend of mine told me they can't stand the texture of beans, which was very new to me as a former vegan lol. People simply have their likes and dislikes, some foods are even emotionally connected and may trigger bad memories. A chef like this needs to come down from his high horse. Cook exactly the way you think is right for those who are okay with it, but be open to change it up for those who ask. It's part of the job, no matter if you're BIPOC or not. Everybodys palate is different and who knows? You might learn something new or realize certain dishes could also taste delicious even or because you switch it up a little.

[@notoriousj_]

The term "BIPOC" itself is ridiculous and just further categorizes people

[@thorham1346]

It's basically white people and everyone else. Extremely racist.

[@Nikkibee716]

“I don’t wanna sound.. like a conservative” 😂 felt that

[@theresamnsota3925]

I think part of his take, is that the Hmong are a people without a country. That by telling him “could you do this” is a slight against those who came before him. His father worked with the CIA during the Vietnam War and then had to flee Laos to get to Thailand. They had to scavenge to find food. Everything Chef Yia learned about his cooking, especially grilling, he learned from his father in the backyard here in the Upper Midwest. I believe his father has has passed, so it’s a deep connection to his family and culture.

[@mairzydoats4879]

He can always say "no" but to be offended that anyone ever asked is harsh for sensitive palettes that don't know what elements are essential for the dish and ask the expert if it's possible to convey their home palette without the hot spices.

[@siennad587]

This does not past the vibe check. Let’s stop making excuses for ppl. Every culture and a lot of immigrants go through simpler things he’s not special. What the man said was racist. I’m Italian American. Veal is used a lot in our culture and I will never stop speaking about its cruelty. Veal doesn’t make or break my culture. We are the culture. Sometimes traditions need to die.

[@koolaidjerk]

"That by telling him 'could you do this' is a slight against those who came before him." Umm... no it isn't. Nobody is saying your dad was a shit cook, no one is saying he wasn't a great man. They're asking for food they can eat at your restaurant.

[@Thatsprettiemuchit]

I think if we made a Venn Diagram of "People who know where Laos is" and "People who don't know that Pad THAI is from Thailand", the overlap would be extremely small, lol

[@steamboatbillywilly]

I can kind of see where the chef is coming from. If you think about food from an artist's perspective, there is a lot of heart and ego involved in creating something, which is the opposite of having the practical attitude of "just wanting to eat something tasty". I think chefs exist at an awkward intersection where they are attempting to elevate their creations into an art form, not wanting to pander to the masses - but they MUST cater to the masses because they're a business. At the end of the day, though, morals are morals and veganism is more important than being a diva. And you're right in pointing out the hypocrisy of being closed-minded towards veganism.

[@mairzydoats4879]

Artists and chefs(food medium) share the complexity of enticing customers from their own(customer's) terms while conveying their own unique and interesting experience.

[@tfromcleveland3741]

Does the use of a coupon disrespect a dish?

[@kiarimarie]

"Harm trumps culture" sums up a lot of things, especially in relation to animals. I don't even know how being a vegetarian became associated with whiteness, most vegetarians I know are Indian.

[@deepakhiranandani6488]

Agree. 👍. A reasonable and logical response, I mean this video. And even apart from the cultural aspect, I recall I think it was British chef Gordon Ramsay who was angry at people requesting minor tweaks, implying that chefs should be considered Great Artists, their brilliant creations cannot be modified at all. This is apart from his ranting and foul language at vegans, in the past: now he is vegan friendly, I gather. As this video points out, it's about - or at least also about - the customer's body, palate, preference, digestion, need for food.

[@zenleeparadise]

I once had to make vegan challah for a vegan potluck I was going to and I saw it as an exciting challenge. You mean I gotta make egg bread with no eggs? Bring it, man! It turned out fantastic. Learned you don’t need eggs for challah.

[@Jennyygottadance]

I'm half Persian and I'm vegetarian. There's a lot of Persian vegans and vegetarians although a lot of the traditional dishes have meat. It's very easy to substitute meat in dishes and I hate how not eating meat is looked at as being a "privileged white" thing.

[@owen8943]

Minneapolis has a large Muslim and Jewish population. Would he treat a request for a halal or kosher sausage made of beef or chicken the same way?

[@Rebecca.Robbins]

I just wanted to pop in and mention that I really like the new background!

[@dhrachth1]

I think this is a bad take. The chef has a point. To put it in perspective, if a vegan goes into the kind of barbecue place where the entire menu is chicken, pulled pork, ribs, & brisket in different combinations with coleslaw, potato salad, and baked beans and demands a vegan option--people would think they were crazy. If you're vegan, you don't go to a barbecue pit, unless you've called ahead or checked the website to see if they offer a vegan choice. But people going to a Laotian restaurant and expecting a vegan option because Chinese restaurants (a completely different cuisine from a different country) have traditionally vegan dishes to offer is somehow normal.

[@MsAussieSheila]

I wouldn't think twice about going into a bbq place and expecting vegetarian/vegan option. Most steakhouses around me will have a vegan option. Not many options but at least one.

[@ponny2948]

But people also wouldn’t be offended or think you’re being insensitive if you did ask for a vegan/vegetarian option in a bbq place. They’d probably just say “Sorry, we really only serve meat here.” and maybe think you’re odd.

[@dp2404]

@@ponny2948 exactly!. Or say -this dish veganized wouldn't be good, I suggest this other dish instead. But why miss out on yet another opportunity to call a white person racist?

[@bobdelp3592]

A certain dish may be representative of a culture, but but it's not the culture itself. After all, household in a country probably makes a dish different. A restaurant usually changes its dishes depending on the season and the available ingredients. Does that mean every time he does that, he is not showing proper consideration for his culture? No! He also probably comes up with new dishes, because the menu that never changes gets stale. Because it's the way of cooking not an exact listing of your ingredients that highlights a culture. It would be easy to come up with vegan, or vegetarian dishes using his style of cooking, representing his culture.

[@arandompotat0]

I would love to hear more about you growing up as an atheist and being surrounded by mostly religious people.

[@mairzydoats4879]

iirc she was in the bible belt too. Definitely interested in that experience and more on transitioning from libertarianism.

[@charlotte092689]

I don't get it. No one is forcing anyone to eat there. The menu is online, which as a vegan, I assume checking a menu before you eat is common practice (even for non-vegans). Also, this is in Minnesota, which is a very white place with a VERY mild palate. There are plenty of non-spicy and vegan options all over the Twin Cities. I think it's fine for him to say, no I'm not watering down my food to fit your palate. Literally go anywhere else.

[@katfoster845]

So customers will go literally anywhere else and the restaurant will fail as a business. If you don't cater to your customers, they will go elsewhere and you won't have a business. It's simple economics.

[@JeremyJenner]

@@katfoster845 His business is booming across multiple restaurants. You're right that it's simple economics: he doesn't need to cater to vegan customers at all to be successful.

[@gotri]

As someone with multiple food allergies and intolerances, I would hope this is not the norm.

[@zenleeparadise]

This is not the norm. I work under a chef who fancies himself an artist. He sees people’s dietary restrictions as an exciting challenge, not as an inconvenience.

[@skittles1624]

I mean I get it. If you make a vegan version of a dish like cochinita pibil it is not going to be authentic. BUT as a chef, you really would benefit from taking on the challenge to at least offer vegan OPTIONS. No one is saying make meat dishes vegan really. Just provide something that can be eaten by vegans as well. It's pretty easy to simply substitute meat with like... some pumpkin or tofu in most dishes or to simply create a new fun dish just to be able to have some options.

[@marcelabernal9949]

I just want to point out that not al vegans are white… if he want to make the argument of his culture being threaten by vegans, I don’t think that asume that vegans equal white people is the best move

[@CaliforniaHalo]

When you were talking about spicy, I immediately thought of pregnant women! There are women who love spicy food, but can't eat it when they're pregnant because it gives them heartburn. There are surely Hmong women that get heartburn from spicy food. Are they insulting their own culture?

[@asc376]

sentimetally, I get it. maybe add a note to that particular dish saying you won’t change it. but catering to multiple kinds of clients has nothing to do with disrespecting your heritage, necessarily

[@fleabitz1474]

I'll bet this guy's yelp reviews are a riot.

[@mark7736]

Odd case to me. Think end of the day it just comes down to what type of restaurant he wants to have. I think it's perfectly fine to take the my way or the highway approach...but then can't be mad if people take the highway. Similarly, wouldn't say vegans or vegetarians are at fault for not wanting to go somewhere that won't cater to them. If he wants to put food on a pedestal, I don't really see that as an issue either. People feel how they feel sometimes and not much to be done about it. As for the race aspect, think that's more complicated. I agree with the idea he (and a lot of people) would be happier if they gave others the benefit of the doubt more often, but that can be a lot easier said than done and working through all the underlying issues is often beyond what people can do. There are reasons therapists make so much money!

[@arczero1623]

A pretty based video. Agreed ethics generally trump culture. Otherwise we'd all have to eat normal American burgers with meat, because otherwise our family, work or friends would be offended. I've dealt with that approbrium many times.

[@abcefg4504]

This guy should’ve kept his mouth shut. In my culture it’s traditional to kill a pig and party/dance around its body and to then eat it. It’s considered quality time together. Culture is not an excuse for cruelty. This is a great example on why communities of ppl of colour are kinda behind with the vegan movement. Change is unstoppable, necessary and can be very good.

[@PhilosophyLines]

I find his energy weird, I was a professional artist and put untold hours into it, but I wouldn't expect others to 'get' that, or insist they 'respect how much I care about it' etc. Strange.

[@terseandtiny1746]

Ppl do realize that most of the world had plant based dishes? Right?

[@reparationslibrarian9710]

I think in regards to the conflation of "spicy" and "vegan" requests, he's attempting to say in a non-direct way, white people have too many demands of others given their hypocritical and violent nature; and have throughout history. When it comes to non-white skinned people, they have a lot of trauma related to white people, and may manifest in other, seemingly unrelated conversations, like ones about food. To think this man is only talking about food, would be obtuse.

[@moondog7694]

But it's not just whites who have demands; there are lots of Hindu Indian lacto-vegetarians who also don't eat garlic and onions or other alliums. Many Jains and Hare Krishnas also don't eat root vegetables nor mushrooms, as they are grown in darkness, or you must uproot the whole plant in order to eat it, instead of allowing the plant to continue living after using it, such as plucking a fruit off a tree. Do these Hindus and Sikhs and Jains have too many requests? He probably gets more white people at his restaurant because not only does the USA have a higher population percentage of white people than it does Indian-descended people, but also I think that white people are more adventurous and willing to try new foods than Indian people are. I've known Indian people who said they only eat Indian food. Maybe it is Indians who are the racist ones, since they are unwilling to spend money at a Hmong establishment? It's like almost all Indians are too racist to even consider the possibility that there may be something from the Hmong culture that is edible.

[@TheMinlou]

this is ridiculous, apparently he doesn't like having lots of customers because if i can't change a dish and don't like it the way it is. i'm not showing up lol i'll add too that a lot of cultures outside of the US eat Tofu as a regular staple. it's not some "white" food lol

[@limitless9965]

One less customer on the market. Boohoo no one cares

[@TheMinlou]

@@limitless9965 omg lmao get a life

[@TheMinlou]

@@limitless9965 go kill some more animals and post some more videos of it, so you can prove you are a "man" lmao

[@artvandelay9483]

I grew up in a family with a history of extreme poverty. But...I swear to whatever god you believe in...my grandma made the BEST canned green beans ever. NO JOKE. I think food can bring a very nostalgic feeling that individuals can take to heart. I understand what he (might be feeling, I am assuming) and I know I would fight hard (to the death) if someone insulted the thing that made me secure/safe/loved/etc as a child. He's both not wrong, yet not right. Great argument UV.

[@amandao9869]

He is wrong. And racist. He wants attention. He is a chef. He should have planned on this..

[@LIBOFFENDER44]

If he were to say black people would people react the same? Just asking

[@mariafos4554]

What we have to understand is that when we choose to eat in a private establishment, where a chef is cooking food that is important to them, I go there for that experience. And it is within their rights to serve whatever food they want, and you don't have to adapt your recipes for the sake of costumers. Allergies is a different story. You are also within your rights to not eat there, that's fine, pretty sure he's not going to be offended by eat. But if you go to a restaurant showcasing a particular culture cuisine? You get what you get.

[@JeremyJenner]

Well said

[@mairzydoats4879]

Kenji Lopez-Alt talked about his daughter loving his spicy cooking until she went to pre-k(or something like that) and was shamed by the other kids at lunch and refuses to eat any spicy food now. I donno, that hit me in the feels.

[@mnmedina628]

She's barely 5. Nothing is harmed by spicy food. She'll be fine either way.

[@zxyatiywariii8]

She's probably going to change when she gets older. I remember pretending to like (or dislike) things just because other kids did, but now I'm an adult I'll eat whatever TF I want, lol (as long as no animals suffered for it, of course).

[@mairzydoats4879]

@@mnmedina628 of course she'll be fine. It just hurts to see your baby love something and see it whisked away by public scrutiny. Of course children are so much more impressionable than adults should be. But I can understand an oversensitivity after seeing that kind of impact on a mere babe over nothing more than flavor. It's obviously a misattribution to include veganism.