The Authenticity Myth and Culinary Bias

Who gets to decide what’s “authentic”—and why do we care so much? In this episode, we dig into the messy, delicious truth about ethnic cuisine and the biases hiding beneath our obsession with keeping dishes “pure.” From hard-shell American tacos to Mexico’s own tacos al pastor, born from Lebanese shawarma, we explore how food naturally evolves as people move, mingle, and make dinner their own. And we uncover how the authenticity police often reveal more about cultural prejudice than culinary insight—especially when “authentic” non-European food is associated with dirt floors, while “authentic” European fare evokes white tablecloths. The real question: is authenticity a flavor… or a story we tell ourselves?https://www.economist.com/culture/2022/04/02/in-praise-of-mass-market-american-tacos