Posts tagged ‘chefs’

Foodie Pseudery (2)

Public service announcement: The House of Assembly is due to vote on the Secrecy Bill on Tuesday. Join Right2Know as we march to Parliament on Saturday. We begin at 10:30 at the corner of Tennant and and Keizersgracht Streets (outside CPUT), and aim to be at Parliament for a rally by midday. Come! Wear red and black, bring a poster, and show our MPs how many of us oppose this oppressive piece of legislation.

This is both a gem of foodie pseudery as well as a fine example of monumental self-importance. Calling themselves the G9, a group of the world’s top chefs, including René Redzepi and Ferran Adriá, gathered in Peru recently and issued an Open Letter to the Chefs of Tomorrow in which they take on the unenviable task of saving the world. I quote from the Guardian‘s report on the meeting:

They…encourage future chefs to take up a profession that “can be a beautiful form of self-expression”, adding: “It is important to carry out our quests and fulfil our dreams with authenticity, humility, and, above all, passion. Ultimately we are each guided by our own ethics and values.”

Now I don’t have anything against chefs wanting to share their knowledge, encourage their customers to eat well, and to use ethically-farmed produce. But this magnificent display pomposity from a group of men who charge the word’s wealthy obscene amounts of money to eat at their restaurants, is ridiculous. Jay Rayner writes beautifully about this ‘grand act of self-delusion’ here.

Thanks muchly to Jane-Anne Hobbs for sending this along. All submissions are more than welcome (sarahemilyduff [at] gmail [dot] com).