Immigrant Food with Krishnendu Ray

Umami Podcast

Krishnendu talks to us a out the role of ethnic food in American culture past, present, and future. He draws upon his upbringing in India and his studies of food in anthropology to present a compelling case for dining with not just an open mouth, but an open mind.

Krishnendu takes us around the world and through time in this episode. He explains how shifting immigration patterns affect our food economy and sociology as tastes and populations change, citing African American, European, Asian, and Latino influences and the assimilation of extrinsic food traditions into the American palate. Krishnendu’s book The Ethnic Restaurateur traces the psychology of the restaurant owner and their patrons, and what world cuisines are experiencing a renaissance.

This episode is a call to action for us to eat, as he says, with curiosity and generosity: to get to know foreign cuisines by paying attention to complex histories, regional differences, and the people who cook it.

Instead of othering, generalizing, and oversimplifying, we have an opportunity to experience the richness and abundance they bring to our contemporary foodscape.