Welcome to the holiday edition of the CulinaryWoman Newsletter! Greetings to our friends in Canada who are celebrating Thanksgiving. And lucky people in the States who get the day off .
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A Cultural Misstep For The Great British Bake Off
I knew things were likely to go wrong with Mexico Week, even before the new episode of the Great British Bake Off aired overseas, let alone when it appeared on Netflix. It did not have to be that way.
Mexico has a great baking tradition, as anyone whose city has a Hispanic community can attest. It’s been explored by cookbook authors like Pati Jinich, Diana Kennedy and Rick Bayless.
Mexican cuisine, and its off-shoot, Tex-Mex, are familiar to many North American diners. Phoenix, Chicago and other cities are dotted with panaderia, where sweet treats can be found (the Ideal supermarket chain is a source here in New Orleans). If this was an American competition, you know the bakers would have lots of first-hand knowledge.
But cultural understanding of Mexico is much different thousands of miles away in Britain. Co-hosts Matt Lucas and Noel Fielding wasted no time leaning on stereotypes to open the show. Soon after, a series of the British bakers confessed that their Mexican culinary knowledge was minimal.
“Mexican baking? What do Mexicans bake?” one contestant asked.
That part is a tortilla, Paul, not a taco
What really inflamed some fans of the show was the taco technical challenge. Even if you bend over backwards to consider a tortilla a baked good (Paul repeatedly referred to it as a “taco”), this was clearly a cooking challenge. The bakers were asked to make steak tacos with guacamole and pico de gallo. Some could not correctly pronounce those elements, let alone assemble the end result.
The tres leches cake showstopper revealed that even the judges did not understand what the cake is supposed to be like. Tres leches, one of my favorite dessert, is not a structural type of cake. The three milks poured over the cake (evaporated, condensed and whipped cream) turn it into a delectably soft, rich concoction, of which one layer is often enough.
The bakers “should not soak up the cake so much that the milks are running out of the bottom,” Prue declared. Bless your heart, Prue, but for a lot of us tres leches fans, those milks are the point. What tres leches lover hasn’t ended up with a box or plate of delectable liquid? That is part of the enjoyment.
Beyond this challenge, GBBO raises a bigger question. Should it be featuring flavors from far off places who have no historic relationship to Britain? Isn’t it borrowing trouble, asking inexperienced bakers to interpret them?
To watch this episode, you would think that the dominant flavors of Mexico are chili powder, chocolate, corn and possibly cinnamon. And while they are all elements of Mexican cuisine, it is far, far more.
A pattern of clumsiness
This is not the first time GBBO has mangled an international cuisine. Japan Week in 2020 drew heat because the bakers were asked to make steamed buns, which many viewers said originated in China. India Week barely touched the complexities of South Asian cuisine. The show repeatedly misses opportunities to enlighten viewers and make the bakers do their homework.
Even more than the taco challenge, I was gobsmacked when baker Sando stuck a big mustache on his tres leches cake in order to give it a Mexican element. It seemed like a throwback to some mid-20th century TV show, before people were sensitive to whether they were offending a portion of the audience. “Who DOES that?” I thought.
In consoling this week’s two losers, Prue tossed off a line that reflected the disconnect. “It’s only cake,” she said. Well, no. For the eliminated bakers, it was possibly an end to dreams of a baking career. For Mexican culture, it was a show to forget.
What was your impression of Mexico Week? Feel free to share your thoughts.
Illustrating New York Shops
I met Joel Holland over email last year when I saw the first draft of the cover for Satisfaction Guaranteed. I love illustrations, as I’ve told you, and I was tickled with the witty drawing that Joel cams up with for my book.
Now, I am tickled to recommend Joel’s new book. NYC Storefronts is a collection of 225 illustrations, from delis and bodegas to dive bars, bookstores, bakeries, newsstands, cafés, restaurants and more.
Just as Satisfaction Guaranteed was for me, NYC Storefronts was Joel’s pandemic project. He began drawing storefronts near his apartment as a way to honor an element of city life that was suddenly precarious. He posted the sketches on Instagram and they quickly drew an avid following, including me (his screen name is @joelholland_studio).
The book is perfect for New Yorkers, ex-New Yorkers, travelers, those who’d like to visit NYC, and people who simply love illustrations. You can order a copy here.
Joel is already the number one new release on Amazon in pen and ink drawings. I know you’ll enjoy it.
A New Culinary Research Center
On Thursday, I was excited to attend the opening of the new Southern Food and Beverage Research Center. It is housed just outside New Orleans, at Nunez Community College in Chalmette, Louisiana.
The research center culminates years of hard work by Liz Williams, the founder of SoFAB. As the museum grew, it began to collect thousands of cookbooks, menus, pamphlets, memorabilia and other valuable material that it simply had no space to store.
Now, that archive is housed at Nunez, where a flock of dignitaries showed up to mark the occasion. Instead of a ribbon cutting, they literally broke bread, in the form of a giant baguette. (That’s Liz in yellow.)
For me, this archive is extra special. It is now a repository for the collections of members of Les Dames D’Escoffier, the international women’s culinary group to which I belong.
Dames are invited to donate their material to the archive, which will make it available to researchers. Other culinary related donations are welcome, too.
Warm congratulations to Liz and everyone who brought the research center to life.
Keeping Up With CulinaryWoman
Last week, I wrote about my new favorite squash for The Takeout. Delicata squash is the easiest squash you will ever cook. It is wonderful on salads, like the one served at the High Hat Cafe, and is terrific as a side dish or snack.
A lot is happening in New Orleans this week. On Monday night, I look forward to joining two chef friends, Alon Shaya and Zach Engel. They are cooking together at a benefit for the Shaya-Barnett Foundation. It supports young people who are exploring culinary careers.
There’s a charity auction with some incredible culinary offers. If you win one of the dinners, please invite me.
I am excited for my trips to Indianapolis, Detroit and Toledo over the next month or so to talk about Satisfaction Guaranteed. Find details on my website.
You can reach me at CulinaryWoman at gmail dot com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. My New Orleans adventures are @micki_in_nola on Instagram.
Please watch your health and get your Covid booster and flu shots. Enjoy your holiday, if you have one on Monday. I’ll be back then with Red Beans and Advice for our paid subscribers. It’s easy to upgrade, just click this button. Stay safe!