Food writer Francis Lam looks at American-born chefs who take on cuisines outside their own ethnicity in The New York Times. According to Chicago chef Rick Bayless, the cultural distance is a gift: "I don’t have a Mexican grandmother so I can look at all Mexican grandmothers as equal. If you grew up with this food, you’ll defend to the death the way your family makes a dish. So sometimes, with lots of experience, you can speak with a bit of a broader perspective." [NYT]
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