Authentic food is genuine, original, and true to its cultural and geographical origins. It’s made with real ingredients from specific places and prepared using traditional methods rather than industrialized ones.
Authenticity in food ensures its quality, freshness, and economic prosperity to the sellers. You see the word everywhere; it’s the gold standard, the ultimate accomplishment of a dish.
Food authenticity is often considered noble, preserving culture and tradition. Sometimes that can be accomplished. There’s a reason why many communities hold on to their culinary traditions: to keep a connection to their homes.
The concept of authenticity in restaurants or diners may be a little harder to achieve. Sometimes it may even cause more harm than good for chefs to chase authenticity as it stunts innovation.
When many people think of authentic food, they think of nostalgic food, mom’s cooking, grandma’s pie, etc. Nostalgic food makes people feel good. But if that’s all that people want to consume, there is no room for creativity and innovation in the culinary industry.
Food is different across regions, generations, countries, and even from your neighbor’s house to yours. Nostalgia is subjective, and what feels authentic to one person may feel foreign to another, which is why restaurants shouldn’t chase to create authentic food.
The phenomenon of authentic food has become a demand in the culinary world, where new concepts such as “fusion” foods are now considered bad. Fusion restaurants became a bad thing in the culinary world because of the portrayal of fusion foods as “lazy cooking.”
If you don’t know what fusion foods are, it’s when two culturally different foods are “fused” into a new dish, such as a sushi burrito or a butter chicken pizza. Some fusion foods really hit the spot, and others miss it completely.
The criticism of fusion food also stems from the belief that it might disrespect culinary traditions, but food is always evolving. Dishes that are now staples in households were the result of adaptations and cultural exchange, such as ramen from Japan.
Instead of clinging to this rigid definition of what authentic food should be, why not celebrate food for what it is now: a living and ever changing expression of cultures and creativity. Meals don’t have to stay frozen in time to tell a story of tradition and innovation.
So next time you’re looking for authentic food, think about what you’re actually chasing: nostalgia or just an illusion you’ve been told to chase?
