S
iftthroughtheexclamationmarks,strange
syntaxandselectwordsbangedoutin
capitalletters,andyou’llfindit.There,
among 300 orsoGooglereviewsof
MelbournerestaurantLeeHoFook,liesonefrom
a “Justinbinko”someeightmonthsago:“There
aretwothingsthat[sic]placeis not1)authentic
Chineseand2)nice.”
If it’sanyconsolation,anotherreviewby
“FrancoL”justonemonthlaterdescribesLeeHo
Fookas:“ReallyniceauthenticChinesefood.”
ProvingthatevenScroogesofpunctuationcan
begenerouswiththeirpraise.
Ofthesecondcharge:Not“nice”?Manywill
attestthatchef-ownerVictorLiongis verynice.
Butthefirstcharge– “notauthentic”– is
hidinginplainsight.Onewouldassumethat
a restaurantthatwearsits“new-styleChinese”tag
firmlyonitssleevedoesnotcareforauthenticity- vexed,loadedandmeaninglessasthattermhas
cometobewhentalkingaboutfood.
Authenticityis uncomfortablyintertwinedwith
thefatchapterinworldhistorymarkedColonialism
andConquest,as wellas Australia’slonghistoryof
migration,ethnicityandracism.Throwin“food”as
anaddedtalkingpointandyouhavesomethingthat’s
a lotmessierthantheoft-repeatedAustralia-is-a-
melting-pot-of-cuisinesrefrain.
AUTHENTICITYISBOGUS
It’shardtopinpointwhenthehuntforauthentic
foodbecamea competitivesport;whenseeking
outthathole-in-the-wallIndianeateryselling
a curryanda roticombofora tenner,ortaking
a food“safari”tothewesternsuburbsofSydney
insearchofdragonfruitandbaklava,became
a weekendpastime.
Inherbook,TheTastesandPoliticsof Inter-
CulturalFoodin Australia, DrSukhmaniKhorana
saysoverthepastdecadeorso,theconsumption
of“diverse”foodhasbecomea markerof
cosmopolitanism.Thebeginningofthiseraalso
coincidedwiththefirstseasonofMasterchefinAuthenticityisuncomfortably intertwined
withthefatchapter inworldhistory
marked Colonialism and Conquest.Ofallthedescriptorsinthefood-writingvocabulary,noneismore
loadedthantheword“authentic”,writesYVONNECLAM.Butisthere
a way to reclaim it from the clutches of a hungry but misinformed public?AUTHEN TICITY
2009,perhapsthemostpopularcookingshow
toentertheAustralianpublicconsciousness.
Buthumankind’sfascinationwithallthings
hotandspicygoesfurtherbackinhistory.In
the15thcentury,thePortuguesefounda direct
shippingroutetoIndia,thelandofcinnamon
andblackpepper,andindoingsokick-started
a centuries-longstrugglewiththeDutchand
Britishovercontrolofthelucrativespiceroute- andthepeopleofthesubcontinent.
Likeit ornot,thesepatternsofcolonisation
andculinaryintriguearecentraltotoday’s
conversationsaboutfoodandauthenticity.That
personinyoursocialcirclewhoboastsabout
“discovering”a ma-and-pa-runVietnamesebakery
inMelbourne’sSpringvaleis claimingcultural
capital.Theyaretheholderofculinaryknowledge
and power; the foodie who came, who saw, who
conquered.Andwhosnappeda stylisedphotoof
their$5bánhmìthittouploadtoInstagramlater.
DurkhanaiAyubi,writerandco-ownerof
Adelaide’sParwanaAfghanKitchen,explains:
“I thinkona bitofanexternallevel,peoplewant
tobeabletoclaimthelegitimacyoftheirdining
experiences,becauseina socialmediainfluencer-
drivenage,thissomehowaddstothe‘realness’
orlegitimacyoftheperson,asdinerorchef.
“Butona deeperlevel– withoutinterrogating
thesuperficialityandthedegreetowhicheven
thismovetoclaimauthenticitycanbecaptured
incyclesofappropriation,stereotyping,andpower
imbalances– thisshiftto‘authenticity’canitself
addtotheproblemofside-liningandpatronising
people,culturesandwaysthathaveotherwise
beenshiftedtotheperipheriesofsociety.”
Atitsworst,thefeverishhuntforauthenticity
inflicts further damage on already marginalised➤PHOTOGRAPHY CRAIG WALL.