Things getting weird at Bon Appetit

[Michael_ Gee]

It's so weird. The entire history of cuisine, haute and otherwise, is the adaptation of dishes created by poor people to make unpalatable materials taste better. In addition, I'd bet the majority of cooks in restaurant kitchens in this country are POC. Why play down these facts. I don't think acknowledging them would alienate their audience of dilettante amateurs.

 

[SixToe]

I figure it will all come out.

Drew Magary took a swing at BA here

Drew Magary: Adam Rapoport's 'Bon Appetit' was a terrible magazine

And I have to agree. I'm not a normal BA reader and haven't looked at it in years. But after Martinez did a thing on tacos a few months back, then I was at Barnes & Noble and saw the taco issue. So I gave it a look and was shocked how terrible it was. I was a Lucky Peach (Rest in Perfection) subscriber and pretty avid consumer of various food media but, man, BA was so bad.

This also made me think that POC are generally under represented in food media. Carla Hall went on on Top Chef and broke through and Marcus Samuelson, Roy Choi and Dave Chang. But who is the biggest name American-born black chef in America?

I have no idea.

Lucky Peach was fun and irrelevant and out of "the norm." Chang nailed it. Hate that it went away.

Here's the WaPo obit about Peach: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...ucky-peach-magazine-and-its-uncertain-future/

I used to subscribe to BA and Food & Wine. They became predictable, boring and I dropped them. Both were and still are focused on the upper-crusty crust and, I'd bet, are hoping all this blows over so they can make a few hires or promotions, increase some pay and then get back to their truffle-oil pasta with tofu crumbles.

 

[JayFarrar]

As the food world turns.

Peter Meehan is out at the LA Times food editor after his tenure there was dissected in a Twitter thread here:

He was reportedly paid $300,000 and lived in NYC. So good for him? BTW, that same Twitter account was the one who posted the blackface photo that got the ball rolling downhill at BA.

John T. Edge is also on the rocks. He was let go as a columnist for Oxford American last week and the NYT wrote a long piece from various people demanding he be fired from Southern Foodways. Edge's sin, it seems, is he didn't do enough for POC. I have one degree of separation from John T. as my wife went to grad school with him and they were friendly even though they haven't spoken in a couple of decades but I do not know him personally.

That being said, the John T., thing is weird because the NYT did a very poor job of reporting on the story. Left out of the piece was some crucial context and also didn't seek comment from high-ranking POC at Ole Miss that would have directly refuted much of the story's main thrust. Even me, as I read the piece, was like "where's the black lady who was his boss? She's not even mentioned in this. "

 

[matt_garth]

I can't speak to the issues salient to Edge, but I will say I think "True South" is the closest thing to Bourdain's "No Reservations" and "Parts Unknown."

I look/looked forward to all eight episodes.

As the food world turns.

Peter Meehan is out at the LA Times food editor after his tenure there was dissected in a Twitter thread here:

He was reportedly paid $300,000 and lived in NYC. So good for him? BTW, that same Twitter account was the one who posted the blackface photo that got the ball rolling downhill at BA.

John T. Edge is also on the rocks. He was let go as a columnist for Oxford American last week and the NYT wrote a long piece from various people demanding he be fired from Southern Foodways. Edge's sin, it seems, is he didn't do enough for POC. I have one degree of separation from John T. as my wife went to grad school with him and they were friendly even though they haven't spoken in a couple of decades but I do not know him personally.

That being said, the John T., thing is weird because the NYT did a very poor job of reporting on the story. Left out of the piece was some crucial context and also didn't seek comment from high-ranking POC at Ole Miss that would have directly refuted much of the story's main thrust. Even me, as I read the piece, was like "where's the black lady who was his boss? She's not even mentioned in this. "

 

[SixToe]

I didn't know Meehan was at Lucky Peach until the LP sub-editors began telling their stories. He sounds like Rappoport and a couple of other NYC raging assholes I know in the publishing industry. Good riddance to him and them.

As for Edge, it doesn't sound like there are photos or texts or anything of the sort to say "See, he did this! Get him!" It sounds more like, "We've worked here with, under and for you for years and you talk the talk but nothing's changed."

During a James Beard moderated event that helped spark his wokening or soon-to-be ousting or whatever it is, he talked of how "gradual" steps would be needed for changes in the food coms industry. After 10 years and more of whatever's gone on, "gradualism" didn't go over well.

Founding Director of Influential Southern Foodways Alliance Pressured to Resign

In that Eater story, Stephen Satterfield takes Edge to task via Twitter and, he said, also on a rousing phone call.

I haven't read Kim Severson's NYT story yet about Edge (and may not, since I have to ration my free stories). But there was a ripple earlier this week on social about the NYT Food section staff, parachuting in for stories but making mistakes due to lack of knowledge, catering to the rich-white-"I'm not interested in *sniff* "that" kind of food" crowd.

The NYT Food section has been pretty white and highbrow ever since Claiborne was there, though, so it's not new and probably needs some new faces, voices and experiences other than 700 words on a bialy or pad Thai across the river.

Kinda fun to watch all the drama. The Washington Post probably will be next on the hit list.