Themythisthat
authenticityisfixed
and one-dimensional,
whenin factit isfluid
andrefractedthrough
history and location.Victor Liong
ordishes.Theyexistwithina broadercultural
contextandnotpurelytoserve us.”AUTHENTICITYISFLUID
That“broader”context,then,lendssomescope
andflextotheconversation.Becauseif authenticity
is a hoax,thenwheredidit comefrom?
Themythis thatauthenticityis fixed,solidand
one-dimensional,wheninfactit is fluid,porous,
andrefractedthroughhistoryandlocation.Palisa
AndersonofSydney’sChatThaidynastysaysthere
is a fixationoncookinglikeourculinaryancestors
while ignoringtherealitiesoftimeandplace.
“Forsomebodytosay,‘I’ve
beencookingwithmygreat-
grandmother’srecipesfor 300
years’,it can’teverbethesame.
Yourproduceis alreadydifferent.
Thesoil[inwhichit’sgrown]is
different...It changesallthetime.”
WhenAnderson’smother
andChatThaifounderAmy
ChantaarrivedinAustraliain
the1980s,limes– anessential
ingredientinThaicooking– couldnotbefound
inthesunburntcountry.Some 30 yearson,the
strugglebetweenlemonsversuslimes,Australian
versusThaicitrus,remains.Here,limesareat their
peakinwinterandautumn;bysummer,ChatThai’s
eightSydneyrestaurantshavetoswitchtothemore
readilyavailable,year-roundsupplyoflemons.Even
whenthegreencitrusis available,they’reworlds
apartfromwhat’sfoundinThailand.Thailimes
aresmaller,seedierandmoreacidic.“They’re
a totallydifferentfruit,”saysAnderson.
Thiscitrussubstitution,however,doesn’tmean
ChatThaihasbetrayeditsroots.Asa cuisine,Thai
food“begsandborrows”frommyriadcuisines,says
Anderson– seethebiryani-likekaomokgaibyway
ofIndian-Muslimmerchants,orkaomangai,
Thailand’stakeonHainanesechickenrice.AtChat
Thai,theflavoursofthehomelandringtrue,but
it’sadjustedforlocalconditions.It’sjustanother
exampleofthecuisine’sabilitytobendandflex
inresponsetooutsidefactors.“WhenI thinkof
authenticity,I thinkaboutcookingauthenticfood
inAustralia.We’vehadtoadaptit soit’sauthentic
toitslocationaswell.”
Asfarascuisinesgo,Mexicanis upthereas
oneofthegreatauthenticfoodfightsofalltime.
AtRosaCienfuegos’TamaleriaandMexicanDeli
inSydney,evenitsMexican-bornstaffgrapplewith
thefoodsheserves.Onestaffmembercomesfrom
Monterrey,anotherfromTijuana.Whentheyfirst
startedworkat Cienfuegos’seatery,neithercould
cometotermswithherdistinctivestyleofMexican
food forged in inner-west Sydney via Mexico City.communities.Thetropeofthe“ethnicrestaurant”
ascribesvaluetotheseestablishmentsonlyif they
abidebytherulesoflo-fidecorandcheapeats
guide-approvedprices.It’sa dominantnarrative
thatat onceflattens,homogenisesandrelegates
migrant-runrestaurantsasa footnotetoAustralia’s
richandcomplexdininglandscape.
Atbest,authenticityis bogus.
“Authenticityinfoodis bullshit,”saysLiong.
“Especiallyina newworld,post-modernneocolonial
context.Thelabelofauthenticity,I feel,is
manipulatinga genreintoanexpectationthat
is self-serving.InthecontextofAsian and
non-Eurocentricfood,it blankets
‘ethnic’cuisinesintoa caveatof
prestigerestrictions.”
Theserestrictionsareoften
cloakedina Contiki-fuelleddream
hazeof€1souvlakionthebeachat
Mykonos,saysLiong.Backhome,
therubber-stampofauthenticity- “It’sjustlikeI hadinGreece!”–
is grantedbyreturnedtravellers
who’veexperienceda brieftasteof
islandlifeandoftencomefroma placeofsocial
andfinancialprivilege,butpossesslittleknowledge
oftheprovenance,storiesandregionalintricacies
ofa cuisine,orwhyitspeopleareinAustralia.
CindyTranofMelbourne’sShopBaoNgoc
explains:“Whenyouarea displacedand
marginalised groupina countrythatrefusesto
provideyouwithadequate
opportunitiesforwork,you
trytomakeendsmeetinany
wayyoucan.”
Migrants,impoverished
ofresources,dowhattheycan
toekeouta livingintheir
newhome.A Vietnamese
restaurant’sno-frillsinterior
designmaybebornefrom
necessityandpoverty,but
ina warpedturnofevents,
it becomesa markofits
“authenticity”,andthefalse
economythatthisperpetuates.
“Racialisedmicro-
aggressionspitpeopleof
colour-ownedrestaurants
againsteachotherand
incentivisestagnation,
insistingona constructed
conceptofauthenticitybased
onwhatalreadyexisted,ignoringthecontextit
existedin,”saysTran.
“Weshouldnottakea self-centredmicro-
coloniser approach to ‘discovering’ restaurants