Can We Stop "Elevating" Ethnic Food and Just Let It Be Perfect as It Is?

My sister cooked Sunday dinner, jerk chicken, rice ‘n’ peas with potato salad. Photo by Diana O’Gilvie.

I find the concept of “elevated cuisine” becoming increasingly problematic, especially as it’s applied to ethnic food. For food to be accepted in "modern" societies or "first-world nations," it’s often expected to be refined, polished, or "elevated." It’s as if food, especially from cultures outside of Europe and America, isn't good enough until it’s tweaked, plated with precise garnishes, or garnished with micro-herbs. This notion is flawed and frankly, disrespectful to the rich heritage and integrity of countless culinary traditions.

Mama and me. 

As a Jamaican, I take pride in my culinary heritage. Growing up, cooking over coal or wood fire in the backyard was the norm. Purchasing gas cylinders was expensive and Granny wanted to stretch it as long as she could. As a child, I used to wait excitedly by these fires as chicken fried to golden perfection. Granny would fish out a tiny floater, blow on it to cool it off then give it me still sizzling at the end of her long aluminum three-pronged fork. Baking potato pudding is a core memory with the “hell on top and below and heaven in between,” baking technique. This meant that not only were the coals simmering underneath, but they were also piled on top of the pudding on a piece of zinc, and the “heaven in between” is the pudding baking slowly. The ever-popular jerk method began as a collaboration between the Maroons (escaped slaves) and the Indigenous Taino people. The Tainos taught the Africans how to dig holes and cook wild boars to avoid detection from British soldiers seeking to recapture them back to the plantations. 

Perfectly cooked pan chicken. Street food in Northside Plaza, Kingston, Jamaica. Photo by Diana O’Gilvie.

When I was filming the New York episode of the WTAF Travel show, we interviewed Chef Nasim Alikhani of the James Beard award-winning restaurant Sofreh. She shared her thoughts about her experiences in kitchens around the world. She said, “Everywhere I traveled, there was a technique. But you only hear of the French technique or the British technique.” While French or British methods might get more praise, (because, you know, colonialism) there’s just as much technique and craftsmanship in woodburning, in cooking on open fires, and in creating meals without the latest gadgets or elaborate plating methods. When Chef Alikhani said this, I realized that I too was guilty of the same charge of looking at food through a colonial lens.

Consider the technique in making homely meals, rolling dumplings for stew peas,  frying plantains to just the right caramelized crispness, making sofrito or epis to add depth and flavor to a pot. These dishes and techniques don’t need embellishment, they are perfect as they are. The skill in balancing spices, cooking without precise measurements, or adjusting flavors on the fly, are techniques that have been perfected over generations. 

Lobster run dung. Lobster cooked in coconut sauce with okra, carrots, cho cho, tomato and scotch bonnet peppers. Photo by Diana O’Gilvie.

I watch a lot of food television, from Food Network, Magnolia, Tastemade, BBC Food and the rabbit hole that is YouTube and the shows where chefs tell their culinary cultural stories on a plate have to be “dumbed down” to suit the palates and perspectives of the judges- who quite frankly aren’t well-traveled people-, but own restaurants serving food that is in their bubbles. I scream and roll my eyes because they don’t get it and they come down harshly on the chefs using their Euro-centric perspective instead of a global one. Here’s a thought, make the judging panels more diverse (hello DEI!). I see the same judges, doling out uninformed opinions and criticisms. Yawn. 

Peppa swims, peppered shrimp with honey escovitch sauce. Photo by Diana O’Gilvie.

It’s disappointing, to hear food critics or judges on mainstream shows speak about "elevated" cuisine as if that’s the ultimate compliment, the gold standard to which all food should aspire. When they praise dishes as "refined," it often implies that the original, unembellished versions somehow lacked sophistication. That mindset diminishes the artistry in these traditional methods and treats them as if they’re less than.

The language used around “elevated” food does more harm than many realize. It posits certain cuisines as needing "improvement" to be worthy of respect or admiration, inherently placing Western techniques on a pedestal. This isn’t to say that creative reinterpretations of dishes shouldn’t happen or that fusion is bad. But we must ask ourselves why, when a cuisine is left in its authentic, unaltered state, it’s often labeled as "too rustic" or "unsophisticated." When will we stop looking through the Western lens for approval of our own cultures? 

Roasting yams and sweet potatoes over open coals. Photo by Diana O’Gilvie.

Food from cultures around the world deserves to be celebrated, without being modified to meet Western standards. Authentic dishes have heart, depth, and flavor that require no additional refinement. When Black Americans say “You put your foot in that!” it’s a high compliment. There’s a distinct beauty in meals that come from humble beginnings, from hands that have kneaded dough to make biscuits, breaded catfish for deep frying, added the rice by the palm full to gumbo, or cooked over open flames for generations.

Food tells a story, and every culture's cuisine has a tale that deserves respect. Rather than insisting on refinement, let’s recognize these dishes for their inherent artistry and identity. Let’s honor the traditions passed down through families. Cuisine doesn’t need to be elevated, it needs to be appreciated just as it is, perfect in its authenticity.