Been thinking about the @DawnButlerBrent attack on @jamieoliver’s jerk chicken. It demonstrates a deep misunderstanding of the country she hopes to govern. 1/?
The UK has always been a magpie nation. We have adopted elements of other cultures as and when we interact with them. 2/?
The English language has elements of earlier languages from all across Europe, a distillation of the languages of our invaders and, more latterly, the countries we invaded and traded with 3/?
Cul de sac, schadenfreude, pajamas, à la carte, bungalow, prima donna, faux pas, post mortem, persona non grata, etc are commonly used in everyday English 4/?
And we are even more culturally promiscuous with food. Fish and chips is a Jewish Portuguese/American fusion. Indian and Chinese food aren’t even thought of as foreign food by most people.
Tea (from China) and coffee (from Africa) are national drinks 5/?
Tea (from China) and coffee (from Africa) are national drinks 5/?
What Dawn describes as “cultural appropriation” is in fact the highest form of flattery. We have always copied and absorbed elements from other cultures, it is a defining feature of British culture. Dawn should get off of the faux outrage bus and relax. 6/6
Post script:
JO’s jerk rice isn’t necessarily bad news for authentic West Indian food. His huge commercial reach will introduce new consumers to WI cooking, if this helps grow the market for real WI chefs then it’s good news all round.
JO’s jerk rice isn’t necessarily bad news for authentic West Indian food. His huge commercial reach will introduce new consumers to WI cooking, if this helps grow the market for real WI chefs then it’s good news all round.
