3 ms·

>Is it xenophobic to suggest he might prefer to go back to the previous situation? This is totally a wrong interpretation of what I was saying. I was only comm

by ue_ 9y ago

>Is it xenophobic to suggest he might prefer to go back to the previous situation? This is totally a wrong interpretation of what I was saying. I was only commenting on that line in particular, not saying that what he was doing in general is bad, but the pernicious idea that only Japanese are qualified to judge Japanese food is something I find needlessly exclusive and overall false; this is what is xenophobic, not the desire to shut one's restaurant off in the face of pressure. However if he is only shutting it off to "foreigners" then it really is xenophobic to do so, but understandable nevertheless.

mantas 9y ago
> but the pernicious idea that only Japanese are qualified to judge Japanese food is something I find needlessly exclusive and overall false It's Japanese food for a reason. That's how Japanese see it and that's the taste they value. Once everybody start judging it, it's likely to change to match their tastes. Japanese food made to taste good for non-Japanese wouldn't be Japanese food anymore. Japanese-inspired? Yep. It's like pizza. Is Hawaii pizza "Italian food"? I wouldn't say so. I know many people who can't stand true Italian pizza, but love all those Italian-pizza-inspired foods.
- gknoy 9y ago
  If they feel that only their culture can appreciate the goodness of the food adequately, then _why do they care_ about what foreigners or Michelin judges say about it? Cook the same great food you normally do, and don't worry about the critics. (I know, easier said than done.)
  - mantas 9y ago
    Let's say I had a great pizza and tell a friend about it without much details. The friend thinks pineapple on a pizza is license to kill, but he's not aware where he's going to... Bottom line is he is disappointed and tells everyone that this place suck. If the places doesn't give a fuck and keeps serving only Hawaii pizza, they'll keep having disappointed customers and 1-star reviews without much explanation. They could bend over and start making special pizza for those occasions. But that'd destroy some of the charm for the people who absolutely love pineapples on their pizzas. I guess this is loose-loose situation. The only solution could be if people gave either good review or no review at all. But then some objective criticism would be lost...

by ue_ 9y ago

mantas 9y ago

> but the pernicious idea that only Japanese are qualified to judge Japanese food is something I find needlessly exclusive and overall false It's Japanese food for a reason. That's how Japanese see it and that's the taste they value. Once everybody start judging it, it's likely to change to match their tastes. Japanese food made to taste good for non-Japanese wouldn't be Japanese food anymore. Japanese-inspired? Yep. It's like pizza. Is Hawaii pizza "Italian food"? I wouldn't say so. I know many people who can't stand true Italian pizza, but love all those Italian-pizza-inspired foods.

gknoy 9y ago
If they feel that only their culture can appreciate the goodness of the food adequately, then _why do they care_ about what foreigners or Michelin judges say about it? Cook the same great food you normally do, and don't worry about the critics. (I know, easier said than done.)
- mantas 9y ago
  Let's say I had a great pizza and tell a friend about it without much details. The friend thinks pineapple on a pizza is license to kill, but he's not aware where he's going to... Bottom line is he is disappointed and tells everyone that this place suck. If the places doesn't give a fuck and keeps serving only Hawaii pizza, they'll keep having disappointed customers and 1-star reviews without much explanation. They could bend over and start making special pizza for those occasions. But that'd destroy some of the charm for the people who absolutely love pineapples on their pizzas. I guess this is loose-loose situation. The only solution could be if people gave either good review or no review at all. But then some objective criticism would be lost...