Rick Bayless has made a living as a chef cooking up Mexican cuisine. Should the fact that he is not of Mexican descent mean we should scold him for producing this type of food? It’s undoubtedly a complicated and delicate situation involving cultural appropriation.

It’s certainly fair to frown upon him for reaping the benefits of selling Mexican food even though, well, he’s not Mexican. He simply seized an opportunity to capitalize on serving a certain type of food that happens to be very popular in America. The fact of the matter, however, is that Bayless spent a great deal of time in Mexico honing and perfecting his craft, so it’s not to say his success is unearned. He’s also an award-winning chef with a multitude of accolades, so it’s also not to say his food isn’t perceived as any good either. In addition, if serving Mexican food is genuinely something Bayless loves to do, would it be truly be fair to declare that he’s only allowed to cook American food?

The way I see it, if his food is good, should ridiculing him really be the first thing we think about? If the food wasn’t good, then we should point and laugh at how he tried, but failed and never stood a chance cooking Mexican food being a white American. Maybe this is just the “boomer” in me taking this side of the argument, but I simply can’t fault him that much if he really knows what he’s doing. Surely, however, without being Mexican, I can’t truly recognize the feelings of disgust that Mexican people may have for Bayless.

We can’t be ignorant to this issue either. For some, it seems like a non-issue at first glance, but that notion in itself further demonstrates this level of ignorance. Ultimately, I take no offense towards Bayless, but I can understand why others would take exception to him.

As an Italian American, the insight provided in the video suggesting how to avoid cultural appropriation opened my eyes in a way. It brought to realization the level of ignorance I’ve demonstrated in the past when reacting to Mexican food.

I love Mexican food, but it’s not a cuisine I have very often, so there’s various meals I’ve never seen before or even heard of. There’s always something new or different to try, at least for me. Displaying “theatrics” is something that seems innocent and natural from my perspective, but further pondering on it brings to light that it may be misconstrued as offensive. My aim isn’t it to make it seem as though the dish is abnormal, but more so to show that is perhaps unique.

If other people behaved in a similar way when being served a dish of pasta they’ve never had before, for instance, I’d potentially find myself insulted. This could happen without it even registering that I’ve done it in a similar way while not intending to be disrespectful. Pasta is something that’s become normalized in my life and culture, but obviously that’s not the case for everyone else.

What’s most striking about this video is that most of the younger students admitted to feeling offended at the interviewer’s Mexico-inspired costume. The older people, who also were Hispanic, seemed to be much more accepting of the outfit, however, with several even appreciating it in a playful and amusing way.

This suggests that the issue of cultural appropriation may not be as prominent or widespread in the older generation as it is with the younger one. It’s fair to see, however, why people would be annoyed with this costume considered the host is not Hispanic.