As people of color, it took a whole generation in many ways to get us out of the kitchen, and it's gonna take us the same whole generation to get us back into the kitchen and have ownership of restaurants, hotels and stuff like that.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes the need for empowerment and ownership within communities of color in the hospitality industry.
Marcus Samuelsson reflects on the historical journey of people of color in the culinary world, highlighting that it took a significant effort to emerge from marginalized roles, specifically in kitchens. He asserts that achieving true ownership and representation in restaurants and hotels will require a continued collective effort over a generation, emphasizing the ongoing struggle for equity and influence in the hospitality sector.
In practice
In a speech about diversity in the food industry, one could use this quote to highlight the importance of representation.
I'm engaged in food on so many levels, and I love that. So my work, my craft, is around food, and writing is one aspect of it; communicating a narrative, cooking online is one aspect of it; solving the food chasm that we have in Harlem and finding a farmers market is another one, and all of them are equally exciting for me.
To become a good cook is to know yourself, and I, at this point, know myself. I know myself, and I know the cook I want to be and the cook I am striving to be.
As a chef, I always have in mind how to properly feed the public, but at times it's easy to forget that some people have trouble even getting any food, much less adequate nutrition.
I came into this environment where there was so much love, so much positive energy. I never heard my parents say, 'We have adopted kids.' The minute my sister Linda and I landed in Sweden, we were their kids.
I've been lucky to travel and work all over the world through the lens of the back of the house, and I love that monocle. I love that lens, because it's real people.
Children want to mimic adults. They notice when you choose to prepare fresh vegetables over calling in another pizza pie for dinner. They will see that food made with love and care outweighs going through the drive-through window.
Once you do away with the idea of people as fixed, static entities, then you see that people can change, and there is hope.
The world had already changed before September 11. The world has been going through a process of change over the last 20 or 30 years. A civilization ends, another one begins.
Denying women the right to drive has imposed huge costs on Saudi citizens.
The time has come to choose a new direction of global development, to opt for a new civilization.
Change is always powerful. Let your hook be always cast. _x000D_ _x000D_ In the pool where you least expect it, will be a fish.
The time has long since come for truth, transparency, and talks in every sector of society, including media, advertisement and entertainment. We can challenge each other, gain understanding, and create a more just, humane, and peaceful world.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.