In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, current Food Studies MA student Liana Kindler wrote the following piece exploring food and identity and sharing the work of organizations supporting the AAPI community.
With each bite I took, I developed a deeper comprehension of the traditions from my home country without ever having visited.
Without food, I’m not sure I’d know who I was. As a Chinese adoptee with Jewish-American parents, I’ve always had an interesting relationship with identity. Luckily, I grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, a predominantly Asian community that has gained much acclaim in the food scene largely due to the influence of the late food writer Jonathan Gold. My parents took me to every restaurant in the area, and with each bite I took, I developed a deeper comprehension of the traditions from my home country without ever having visited.
At graduate school, my fascination and love for food have only grown. The opportunities I’ve had to learn more about Asian foodways and history have gotten me even more in touch with my identity as an Asian-American. I recently realized that most of the projects I’ve worked on at NYU have been about Asian identity and cultural expression, from a dive into the history of Spam in Hawai’i in the context of WWII, to an exploration of Western influence on Hong Kong through the common dishes served at Cha Chaan Teng. Storytelling will always be at the heart of my work, and I hope to continue using food as a way to communicate. Taiwanese breakfasts, HK-style cafés, and boba will always tell the story of home, for me, and I’m eager to learn what those things mean for others.
For AAPI Heritage Month there are lots of exciting and important things happening in the food world. I’ve been working with Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate, which has been hosting curated 5-course takeout dinners from various AAPI and ally chefs to benefit AAPI non-profits. In 2020, I worked on a project about Chinatown NYC and got in contact with the folks at Send Chinatown Love, an organization dedicated to supporting Chinatown businesses hit hard by the pandemic as well as feeding community members through a meal-donation program. Besides those groups, there are tons of great resources at Stop AAPI Hate and as always, continue supporting local Asian businesses. If there’s an Asian restaurant you’re interested in trying (or any restaurant, for that matter) hit me up and let’s go! Outside of grad school, you can catch me slingin' cheese at Crown Finish Caves in Brooklyn and maybe popping in for a few guest cheesemonger shifts back at Foster Sundry.
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