Forging Ethnic Food – The first in a series of culinary fakeries | North Coast Journal

Forging Ethnic Food – The first in a series of culinary fakeries

This is a close-up view of the innate hypocrisy of aesthetics. Surely the intrinsic value of something is what we should care about — is it beautiful, does it sound fascinating, does it taste great? But more often than not, we don’t care about that. What we do care about is: Was it truly painted by Jackson Pollack, was it really written by Avril Lavigne, was it the actual wine from Thomas Jefferson’s cellars?

Why should it matter?

It shouldn’t matter.

So forged dishes are one way of gently treading on the edge. Of course it’s not fraud, since they aren’t for sale. But I like making them, because I get to be playful, and because they are reminders that preconception is as important as perception in how we think.

Of course, there are fortunes to be lost if a previously authenticated work turns out to be faked. But the people who spend those fortunes deserve to be defrauded. Because in the larger sense, the whole idea of “forgery” devaluing something is absurd. If it was good, it’s still good, whether it was made by Pablo Picasso or Pablo Moskowitz.

Does this contradict my entire opening premise about authenticity in cuisine? Probably it does. Good.

Joseph Byrd welcomes suggestions for potential ethnic communities to offend. Propose them at eat.your.spinach@gmail.com.

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