In our world today, race and culture can still cause conflicts, and there’s a recent example on social media that shows exactly that.
The post tells a story about an Asian chef with lots of experience, and a French chef who criticized his cooking. This led to a big fight among family members, splitting them into different sides.
The original poster (OP), a professionally trained chef with over 15 years of experience in high-end Chinese cuisine, has always felt like his father-in-law and sister-in-law (Sarah) never really liked him.
Sarah is also a chef and works in a popular upscale French restaurant in the same city.
Despite OP’s attempts to get along with her, she constantly criticizes his every move in the kitchen, belittling OP’s work and comparing herself to famous chefs like Ramsay and Bourdain.
The situation came to a head when OP, his wife, and in-laws were preparing a meal for his mother-in-law’s birthday.
Sarah walked in and scoffed at how he was cooking, claiming it was incorrect.
OP sternly told her to stop criticizing his cooking, which led to her racist remark, “Making Kung Pao chicken at some Chinese restaurant doesn’t count.”
The kitchen fell silent, and he responded by calling her a racist before leaving his in-laws place.
Everyone, including OP’s in-laws and his wife, found OP’s actions understandable and sided with him at the time.
Also, one of Sarah’s co-workers heard her rant about what happened with OP and reported it to management. Some of Sarah’s co-workers are friends with her on Facebook and showed the Reddit post to management as well. As a result, Sarah was demoted back to being a line cook and is at risk of being fired.
Now, OP’s wife wants him to apologize to his sister-in-law to ease the tension. But OP has denied it outright, stating that he does not want his sister-in-law and that he can’t entertain her blatant racism anymore.
Racism Detected?
The post has garnered a lot of attention, with users expressing their opinions and views on the matter.
One user, somethinkoriginal, commented that Asian food was magical.
“I don’t think it counts as cooking, it’s magic. Asian food is amazing, and I can’t recreate it, so it must be magic. French food, on the other hand, give me a recipe, and sometimes I’ll make it.”
Another user, DeathGP, agrees that OP should not have to apologize.
“Honestly, the saddest thing here is the wife wants OP to apologize to the SIL, like is she for real? ”
Many users were outraged by the sister-in-law’s behavior and racism.
WriteAnotherWoods acknowledged that specialized cooking of any type requires years of dedication and hard work that should not be discounted by anyone, especially not another chef.
“Cooking is cooking, and specialized cooking takes incredible years of practice and training. I would be incredibly dumbfounded if Sarah could cook traditional Chinese food as well as OP, and equally so if he could cook haute French cuisine as well as her. That she actually sees one as being superior? She is a disgrace to chefs everywhere.
“I mean, that she calls herself a chef, yet systematically decries OP’s cultural expertise in the kitchen, is disgusting. And the fact that she compares herself to Ramsay, a chef who embodies learning all cooking techniques from all over the world, is frankly embarrassing.”
Another user, fredredphooey, suggested that OP should maintain some distance from his in-laws for a while.
“Sarah might explode if she met a chef from an Asian-French fusion background, like Vietnamese.
“OP needs to tell his wife that he won’t be spending time with her sister or father for a while.”
Needweed expressed her disappointment in the situation, stating that all cultures and cooking styles were beautiful.
“All cultures are diverse, and beautiful. All cooking is delicious, whether French or Asian. Dang, this was soooo bad to hear, as being an Asian. I mean really? We’re in the 21st century.”
0ldLaughingLady had a unique suggestion to give Sarah a taste of her own medicine.
“Here’s an idea: invite the family to come dine at your restaurant. Serve everyone what you usually make, except, Sarah gets a boxed Kung Pao from wherever. When she complains, well, you knew what she expected and didn’t want to disappoint.”
The Verdict
Many users were appalled by Sarah’s behavior, with some questioning her credentials as a chef.
It is unfortunate that a simple disagreement in the kitchen could lead to such a massive argument among family members.
As per the commenters, it is commendable that OP stood up for himself and refused to apologize for Sarah’s ignorant behavior.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Was the OP of this social media post in the wrong?
Featured Image Credit: Nomadsoul1 /Depositphotos.com.
This article originally appeared on Ash & Pri.
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