The Chef was Black who put up the Fried Chicken menu at NBC celebrating Black History Month--

[trumad]

Question: Does it matter?

The NBC commissary at 30 Rock is catching plenty of flak after an employee snapped a photo of the day's special—fried chicken, collard greens, and black-eyed peas "in honor of Black History Month"—then shared it with his 1.2 million Twitter followers. Questlove, the drummer for Jimmy Fallon's house band, the Roots, tacked on the comment, "Hmm HR?" notes Mediaite. The sign was taken down soon after.

But the woman behind the menu doesn't see any reason for the brouhaha, adds The Grio. "It’s not trying to offend anybody and it’s not trying to suggest that that’s all that African-Americans eat," says {b]chef Leslie Calhoun, who happens to be black. "It’s just a good meal."
http://www.newser.com/story/80120/nbc-serves-fried-chicken-to-honor-black-history-month.html

[brendan120678]

1. Do Irish folk get offended when March 17 is celebrated with...

Corned Beef & Cabbage, baked potatoes, and Guinness?
I'm Irish, and I don't give a crap about that.

[Mari333]

4. yeah and in Ireland no one eats that shite

I find it amusing that USers think they do.
and St Patrick was a Brit.
I avoid that day.

[Captain Hilts]

6. I'm pretty worn out on the way St. Pat's is celebrated too. I stay home. nt

[Tailormyst]

11. On a religious note I am not fond of St Patrick

But I have to admit, I love real corned beef and cabbage and all the fixings more then any other holiday meal. Thanksgiving comes in a close second.

[brendan120678]

15. Too true...

I can't stand corned beef myself. Especially with cabbage. It's just too "plain."
I'd much prefer a nice hot pastrami sandwich smothered in Russian Dressing, served with french fries.
As for the Guinness - yeah, that's my weak spot.

[whathehell]

22. No one drinks Guiness?...

I find THAT amusing...And yeah, I knew St. Patrick was a Brit..Big deal.

[Mari333]

25. oh they drink Guinness..yes indeed

but the corned beef cabbage and taters..naw.
they eat pretty much the same crap we eat..
altho an Irish breakfast is a belly bomber.
and baked beans on toast. I could never figure that out.

[whathehell]

26. I believe ya....

but the corn beef and cabbage was probably a traditionaly dish...I know about the Irish breakfast too...I lived in Ireland for awhile.

[Maeve]

33. Actually, American Irish got the corned beef from their Jewish neighbors

Eating meat on St Patrick's Day is an very old custom (despite the fact that it always falls in Lent)--some used to go so far as to drop the meat in water and pull it out again, calling it "Patrick's fish" in the days when meat-eating was forbidden all thru Lent. But Irish bacon is more common over there. Wearing a symbol of the saint and "drowning the shamrock" down at the pub are the only main old customs still around. (great sourcebook--Kevin Danaher's "The Year in Ireland")

[eShirl]

30. perhaps our immigrant ancestors from Ireland did though

[Tailormyst]

10. Baked Potatoes????/ No no no- you boil potatoes !

Irish-american cooking: Throw whatever you have in a pot and boil! Seriously, my Nana fed half a block like that during the depression :) Now we have nifty crock -pots so we can toss it all in AND leave for work. Life is good.

[slackmaster]

31. I usually go to one of the local gay bars and get that free on St. Patrick's Day

The day when EVERYONE turns Irish.

BTW the potatoes are BOILED.

[azurnoir]

2. well they forgot the corn bread and rice

but other than that no it does not matter much

[Captain Hilts]

8. You're right. Cornbread is a MUST. Green beans cooked with bacon or ham also. nt

[peekaloo]

12. jalapeno cornbread and white rice were on the menu.

I'm hungry. :-)

[ecstatic]

34. and mac and cheese, the most important part nt

[KittyWampus]

3. Every cultural subset in the world can have typical foods/menus. Except black people!

[bsd13]

5. Answer-

No.

It does not matter. Some people just like to be offended by everything, but what's worse is that there are people out there who like to point out what others should be offended by.

[Captain Hilts]

That would also be the meal for Southerners Appreciation Day. nt

[mzteris]

7. I think it's because

Black's in america have been the brunt of so many racist "jokes" - many of which did center around food. Maybe it was worse in the South, I don't know. (Which is ironic 'cause Southerners in my day grew up eating the SAME foods. . . )

Maybe when the stigma is no longer attached the African American diet can be celebrated without it raising the hackles of people who grew up with "watermelon" and "fried chicken" and "RC & moonpie" jokes...

[trumad]

13. Well I agree---

but it was a Black man who put the sign up.... I don't think he intended on offending his race.

[mzteris]

35. I don't think a lot of people INTEND

their offenses. . .

Maybe it is harmless, but as AA's have also found it questionable, I don't think I should be vilified because my initial reaction was the same.

[Bitwit1234]

9. I get sick of the fact that every time someone says

something about fried chicken people say they are sluring blacks. I AND MY SON ARE NOT BLACK AND WE LOVE LOVE LOVE FRIED CHICKEN...What in the hell is wrong with people. When you have Bar B Que are you making fun of the stupidest president we ever had. bush. Oh well maybe.

[democracy1st]

17. Agreed if you celebrate Hispanics you don't serve Asian food!

[SidDithers]

14. My opinion is that it does matter, but that's unfortunate...

it shouldn't matter.

As a white guy, I wouldn't presume to react on behalf of people who are black, but the responses in the other thread are overwhelmingly nonplussed. They're saying those items represent typical menu choices within the genre of Soul Food, which seems (again, to this white Canadian guy) appropriate for celebrating black culture during Black History Month.

I think if the chef had been a white dude from Cleveland, the reaction may have been different, only because another factor needed to be considered - intent. With the black chef, it's assumed that her menu choices were made out of genuine respect for her own culture. If the chef were white, we'd have to assess whether he made menu choices that were respectfully reflective of black culture, or if they were chosen out of a stereotypical understanding of what black people eat.

If the hypothetical white chef had been genuine in his appreciation of food representative of black culture, then I'd hope the reaction would be the same as for the actual black chef in this story.

My lily-white 2 cents worth :)

Sid

[Brewman_Jax]

16. Black History Month should be more than simply a meal

and that meal is traditional Southern fare; black people weren't the only ones eating that. Change fried chicken to ham and that's a traditional New Year's meal. If there was historical context of WHY those particular foods were eaten, then it would be actually educational.

[Captain Hilts]

21. Actually, I have a hard time with Black and Women's history months. I feel marginalized. nt

[Brewman_Jax]

23. I feel left out the rest of the year.

nt

[MineralMan]

18. Sounds great to me. I'd have that if I worked there.

[Celebration]

19. Want to hear something funny?

The Whole Foods here has a soul food buffet. Let's not turn this into Whole Foods bashing--to each his own. The point is that you can go through a buffet and get fried chicken, fried catfish and collard greens. They used to have mashed potatoes but decided that wasn't healthy enough, I think.

:rofl:

So, guess who cooks all this stuff? Just the greatest black employee in the world. I was pretty pissed off at Whole Foods because they took him away from being the butcher, and replaced him there with a white employee. I thought they were being racist because the butchers there have a lot of customer contact. Oh, and this particular Whole Foods has a huge black clientelle. But, I think they just needed him to change up their buffet food. It is really popular here. ;)

[KittyWampus]

24. sidenote- a good butcher is a real asset.

[rucky]

32. I would be all over that buffet

like fecal matter on bagged salad.

[rucky]

20. mmmm, I think I'll to go to Rut's for lunch today.

We should all treat ourselves to some soul food in honor of BHM.

[Lyric]

27. I love fried chicken. Yum!

We make it really good, too. We can't eat it often because it's SO bad for us, but when we DO make it, we use an egg-and-buttermilk wet dredge, then a dry dredge of flour, salt, pepper, onion powder, a little cayenne, and paprika, then another dunk in the wet, then another dunk in the dry (for thick, crispy coating.) Then we fry it in melted pork lard until it's golden and crispy and serve it with hot buttered corn-on-the-cob, biscuits, and mashed potatoes. And gravy, of course. Homemade.

:hi:

[DBoon]

28. Are they supposed to celebrate Black History month with quiche and shrimp scampi?

It's not like what they served had anything to do with traditional cusine

[Toasterlad]

29. Um....We Serve Soul Food - Labeled As Such - In Our Cafeteria On a Regular Basis

How is that any different than serving enchiladas on Cinco de Mayo, or ham and cabbage on St Patrick's Day?