Messing with the French
By Chip Tsao | published Mar 11, 2010
A French TV station has been causing a stir among local Chinese restaurateurs after criticizing the hygiene conditions in many of their nation’s Chinese restaurants. An association of Chinese restaurant owners called for a nationwide boycott in protest against what they perceive as a prejudiced, racist attack—a refrain that sounds all too familiar.
There is every reason for our compatriots in France to tear their hair out in face of this humiliation, although how a nationwide boycott is going to work in practice sounds a bit confusing. Does that mean a total shutdown of all Chinese restaurants for a week, or a six-month black out period until the TV station issues an apology? Will that show the small handful of arrogant French liberals (as most TV producers and commentators always are) that we Chinese have had enough ever since their president met with the Dalai Lama? In that case, non-French gourmands, including the Cambodian Chinese and Vietnamese who are itching for some wontons, will have to suffer. French bistros will surely benefit from the protest. Or does the boycott actually entail a strict racial screening of the patrons: ethnic French are turned away and only non-French are welcomed? In that case, German, Dutch and British tourists in Paris will have to present their passports and make a declaration at the dining table that they solemnly and wholeheartedly believe that the Chinese people are cleaner than the Japanese.
What if the wicked TV producer and commentator refused to apologize and stuck to their rotten racist worldview, and even followed it up by inciting a government clampdown on the accounting books of all Chinese restaurants, to the applause of
Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the Front National party?
It’s not easy to win global sympathy. One never argues with the French as far as the wisdom of running a restaurant is concerned. The most legendary example of this in the past decade is the success of Hakkasan, a warehouse in central London that was converted into a Chinese restaurant and made famous after the boss, a Chinese man from the New Territories, commissioned a French designer to refurbish the place at a cost of £3 million. The story goes that the designer accepted the job on one condition—he would have the final say with strictly no argument. The Chinese boss happily agreed.
The French designer then installed an open-plan kitchen, throwing transparency upon every step of the food’s preparation. They also started using waiters of Caucasian origin, and hired Italian valets. At the same time, the Chinese owner and his family was spotted more and more infrequently in the establishment during business hours.
The restaurant soon became a fantastic hit, earning a Michelin star, and becoming a must-visit spot for all the glitterati with famous visiting snobs including Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. It was then sold for something slightly under a billion Hong Kong dollars to an Abu Dhabi investment fund a few years ago.
A French TV station has been causing a stir among local Chinese restaurateurs after criticizing the hygiene conditions in many of their nation’s Chinese restaurants. An association of Chinese restaurant owners called for a nationwide boycott in protest against what they perceive as a prejudiced, racist attack—a refrain that sounds all too familiar.
There is every reason for our compatriots in France to tear their hair out in face of this humiliation, although how a nationwide boycott is going to work in practice sounds a bit confusing. Does that mean a total shutdown of all Chinese restaurants for a week, or a six-month black out period until the TV station issues an apology? Will that show the small handful of arrogant French liberals (as most TV producers and commentators always are) that we Chinese have had enough ever since their president met with the Dalai Lama? In that case, non-French gourmands, including the Cambodian Chinese and Vietnamese who are itching for some wontons, will have to suffer. French bistros will surely benefit from the protest. Or does the boycott actually entail a strict racial screening of the patrons: ethnic French are turned away and only non-French are welcomed? In that case, German, Dutch and British tourists in Paris will have to present their passports and make a declaration at the dining table that they solemnly and wholeheartedly believe that the Chinese people are cleaner than the Japanese.
What if the wicked TV producer and commentator refused to apologize and stuck to their rotten racist worldview, and even followed it up by inciting a government clampdown on the accounting books of all Chinese restaurants, to the applause of
Jean-Marie Le Pen, leader of the Front National party?
It’s not easy to win global sympathy. One never argues with the French as far as the wisdom of running a restaurant is concerned. The most legendary example of this in the past decade is the success of Hakkasan, a warehouse in central London that was converted into a Chinese restaurant and made famous after the boss, a Chinese man from the New Territories, commissioned a French designer to refurbish the place at a cost of £3 million. The story goes that the designer accepted the job on one condition—he would have the final say with strictly no argument. The Chinese boss happily agreed.
The French designer then installed an open-plan kitchen, throwing transparency upon every step of the food’s preparation. They also started using waiters of Caucasian origin, and hired Italian valets. At the same time, the Chinese owner and his family was spotted more and more infrequently in the establishment during business hours.
The restaurant soon became a fantastic hit, earning a Michelin star, and becoming a must-visit spot for all the glitterati with famous visiting snobs including Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. It was then sold for something slightly under a billion Hong Kong dollars to an Abu Dhabi investment fund a few years ago.
Labels: Politically Incorrect, 陶傑
posted by Gemini Saga at 12:00 AM
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