The Ethnic Restaurateur - by Krishnendu Ray (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Academic discussions of ethnic food have tended to focus on the attitudes of consumers, rather than the creators and producers. In this ground-breaking new book, Krishnendu Ray reverses this trend by exploring the culinary world from the perspective of the ethnic restaurateur.

Focusing on New York City, he examines the lived experience, work, memories, and aspirations of immigrants working in the food industry. He shows how migrants become established in new places, creating a taste of home and playing a key role in influencing food cultures as a result of transactions between producers, consumers and commentators.

Based on extensive interviews with immigrant restaurateurs and students, chefs and alumni at the Culinary Institute of America, ethnographic observation at immigrant eateries and haute institutional kitchens as well as historical sources such as the US census, newspaper coverage of restaurants, reviews, menus, recipes, and guidebooks, Ray reveals changing tastes in a major American city between the late 19th and through the 20th century.

Written by one of the most outstanding scholars in the field, The Ethnic Restaurateur is an essential read for students and academics in food studies, culinary arts, sociology, urban studies and indeed anyone interested in popular culture and cooking in the United States.

Review Quotes

"The Ethnic Restaurateur explores subordination and power in the domain of palatal taste which challenges standard theories of aesthetic taste and culture-making in an American city. ... A very insightful sociological study on the American culinary world." --Sarah Kahn, The Washington Book Review

"Ray...[sketches] the tiers of what he calls a 'global hierarchy of taste.' ... Ultimately, [his] theory is addressing not just the construction of opinions about food, but about culture more generally.The global hierarchy of cultural taste is, in Ray's eyes, arranged according to capital flows more than it is to any inherent beauty or virtue a culture may possess." --The Atlantic

"As the fields of food criticism, food journalism, and food studies increasingly turn their attention to questions of authenticity and appropriation, The Ethnic Restaurateur provides an essential perspective on the subject." --Jenna Mason, The Southern Foodways Alliance

"The Ethnic Restaurateur comprises an extensive reflective introduction, four interconnected substantive essays (chapters 2-5), and a brief conclusion. ...This is an engaging and sometimes polemical book which contributes to understanding ethnic entrepreneurs and the circulation and appreciation of culinary traditions, as well as beckoning towards comparison with other national experiences." --Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies

About the Author