Gourmet Magazine’s Latino Issue Hated On (Boo!) And Exoticized (Yay?)

The editor-in-chief of food mag Gourmet, Ruth Reichl, done fucked up and dedicated September’s issue to Latin food. As a result, she’s encountered curious readers who thank her for appealing to their experimental side and racist ones who look down their noses at the lowly arroz con pollo. An interview with Reichl shows us how articulate either group is:

Q: What reaction did you got from readers?
A: We got widely different responses, with people saying ‘thank you, thank you, thank you’, this is the best issue you’ve ever done, to other people saying this is disgusting, we never eat these kinds of food’, or isn’t gourmet a French word?’ So clearly there is racism in food as there is in everything else.

Such a revelation comes courtesy of the language of cuisine, which can be universal to many gourmets. (Just don’t ask ‘em to try what the help eats.)

Latino food gaining popularity in the U.S. [Reuters]
Image [Gourmet]