CURRIED CULTURES by Ray & Krishnendu

Author:Ray & Krishnendu [Ray & Krishnendu]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mobilism
Publisher: Aleph Book Company
Published: 2017-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

STANDARDIZING THE EXOTIC: REPRESENTING THE CURRY HOUSE’S PROLIFERATION

South Asian restaurants’ ascent to popularity among white Britons marks but one manifestation of a modern transnational phenomenon occurring in Western Europe and North America. Following mass migrations to countries offering work opportunities, foodways altered among both immigrants and the host societies in which they settled (Diner 2001). Foreign foods associated with immigrant groups of low social status changed from being ignored, disdained, and widely deemed unpalatable to gain footholds within native food cultures. “Exotic” foods eaten only by immigrants (and, in the case of European nations with imperial histories, by colonizing and colonized populations who had resettled in the metropole) sometimes crossed over to become familiar and then eagerly consumed by wider society, often after an inexpensive restaurant introduction. Some dishes and cuisines failed to make the transition altogether, whereas others were modified to appeal to different palates. In the process, Italian, Chinese, and Mexican cuisine became Americanized; Italian food and Döner kebabs introduced by Turkish “guest workers” entered German diets; North African couscous became common in France; Indonesian and Chinese food gained acceptance in the Netherlands; and chicken tikka masala became British (Gabaccia 1998; Levenstein 1985; Roberts 2002; Cağlar 1995; Möhring 2008; van Otterloo 2002). Foods of foreign origin often led what Sylvia Ferrero, writing about Mexican offerings in Los Angeles, described as a “dual life”: in this instance, “standardized food for Anglos, and specialties for Mexican-Americans and Mexicans” (Ferrero 2002: 216). On repeated occasions, the very standardization that proved decisive to a food’s gaining wider acceptance beyond the migrant group was held against it by individuals who counted themselves better judges of quality and authenticity. Such was the case with South Asian restaurant fare in Britain.

In becoming ensconced within Britain’s culinary landscape, curry houses took on an instantly recognizable stereotyped image. Founded in 1982, the Curry Club—an association of curry aficionados—testified to the wide following they had developed. Its quarterly magazine described what rapidly had become the characteristic cuisine, interior decoration, and staff appearance. Such restaurants offered dishes from the northern part of the subcontinent prepared cheaply by taking shortcuts and omitting ingredients, the result being “rather similar style curries, in rich spicy sauces which lacked the subtlety of the original recipes.” New proprietors copied models that had proved successful for others, until,

within a few years, every high street in the land had its identical restaurant. . . . They could have been cloned. No-one has counted how many Taj Mahals, Rajahs, Mumtaz’s Stars of India, Curry Houses, Curry Gardens and . . . Tandoori’s exist in the U.K. The décor and the lighting are identical (red flock wallpaper, ornamental hardboard Indian arches, and red or orange lighting in Eastern lampshades.) The serving bowls, the candle lit warmers and, for all I know, the dinner jacketed waiters are all indistinguishable. But most fascinating of all is the menu. You are as certain to get the standard menu in the standard restaurant as you are to get a postage stamp from a post office whether you are in the coves of Cornwall or the Highlands of Scotland.

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