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[wandering]

https://ny.eater.com/2017/6/30/15841234/david-bouhadana-japanese-accent-sushi-chef

David Bouhadana is the most aggressively cool sushi chef in New York City. After years of steady regard, he upped his profile dramatically a couple of years ago following a well-calculated rebellion against the Department of Health over not wearing gloves while preparing sushi, a fight that led to his firing from Sushi Dojo. Since then, he has seen more acclaim for his sake-soaked omakase dinners, including from Eater.

Multiple sources, including tipsters and Eater staffers, have seen him speaking in the accent during the meal — a component of the party-like atmosphere he's known for bringing to his restaurants. During service, he casually moves from speaking Japanese, to speaking English with a fake Japanese intonation, to speaking English in his natural American accent. For instance, he might present a fish in English, say ”oishi, oishi" (Japanese for delicious), and then follow it up with ”dericious, dericious" in his version of a Japanese accent.

When I called Bouhadana to talk about it, he confirmed he does this. He characterized these bits of accented English as ”little fun jokes," which he likened to how the Japanese chefs who work for him use an American accent while quoting Drake songs. ”Maybe in my mind I think I'm Japanese," he said.

But here's the thing: That role as a cultural liaison is exactly what makes his ”little fun jokes" so galling. Bouhadana is not just an ordinary white person inadvertently mocking Asian people for sounding different, but one who has accrued the visibility and authority to make a legitimate claim as an ambassador for Japanese culture and cuisine. He's sold himself as a teacher and a translator, making his ignorance of the malicious history of the caricatured Asian accent not just offensive, but harmful. Not only is he demeaning the people whose culture he sells, he's spreading a message to diners that what he's doing is acceptable. When someone like him — who apprenticed in Japan for three years, who runs a captivating restaurant, and who has been written up in the Times — feels like he has the right to fake a Japanese accent as a joke, it encourages others to feel that way, too.

Undoubtedly, some people will point out that modern Asian-American chefs have ironically embraced the accent in their restaurants; Eddie Huang once described a restaurant as ”dericious" on a sign, and David Chang wrapped Fuku chicken sandwiches in bags that also said ”dericious." It should go without saying that it's not the same thing — an Asian-American using the word ”dericious" is an attempt to reclaim a slur, similar to the way some feminists now use the word ”slut." Nor is putting on an exaggerated American accent, like the one Bouhadana says his Japanese chefs sometimes use, analogous: The ”standard" American accent is the mainstream dialect, imbued with cultural capital and power, and adopting it is a matter of survival and assimilation for immigrants who aren't white, particularly for Asian-Americans. Mocking the powerful is different than mocking the marginalized.

To clarify, the chef is not Japanese nor Japanese American, he's a white American.

 

[perfectchaos007]

Perpetuating stereotypes is okay as long as the audience is in on the joke.

 

[Autodidact]

He loves Breakfast at Tiffany's, I bet.

 

[poppedcollar69]

everyone does this

jews poke fun at jews, black people poke fun at black people, white people are overly sensitive, yadda yadda yadda

oh, HE's white? i see. thats not good

 

[Sunster]

What's the big de--

Oh, he's white. yikes

 

[Nista]

What a dumbass. If chefs want to make jokes, it better be at their own expense.

I'll decide whether my omakase is delicious anyway.

 

[The Technomancer]

“Maybe in my mind I think I’m Japanese,” he said.

Fuck you

 

[Vermillion]

He loves Breakfast at Tiffany's, I bet.

Oh my gosh, I was shocked when I saw that movie lol

 

[wandering]

everyone does this

jews poke fun at jews, black people poke fun at black people, white people are overly sensitive, yadda yadda yadda

(he's white American)

 

[Permanently A]

What a fucking baka gaijin

 

[ERotIC]

That's just how they say hello in NYC.

 

[dcdobson]

Don't imitate other races!

 

[itwasTuesday]

 

[A Pretty Panda]

“Maybe in my mind I think I’m Japanese,” he said.

https://youtu.be/C0X3CLJVMJU?t=21s

 

[Robdraggoo]

Is he turning Japanese turning Japanese, does he think so?

 

[Eyeh4wk]

 

[ISOM]

I have no problem with anyone copying the cuisine of another country but don't do stereotypes. That's just tacky.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Racist accents are an epic fail

 

[OG Shaka Zulu]

LOL I thought it would be about a Japanese American chef. Homey should have thought this through.

 

[rec0ded1]

Senpai will never notice him now

 

[Draft]

My sister in law lived in Thailand for a year. She told me that when speaking with cabbies or other service people in broken English it really helps to adopt an exaggerated "Asian" accent. Hers sounds obnoxiously racist to me, but she swears it makes conversation way more convenient and that the Thais don't mind.

 

[NandoGip]

Some dude does a dumb japanese accent sometimes.

This is the whole article.

Am I supposed to be outraged?

Sure, the guy is a dick.

Did this really need to be an article?

 

[KorrZ]

Just seems harmless. I'm sure the guy who apprenticed in Japan for 3 years and is living his life as a sushi chef is mocking Japanese people and culture rather than just having a little fun.

 

[Nickle]

People talk with silly accents all the time, is there something he's doing particularly wrong?

Edit: just read through the article again, I guess I could see why it would be wrong to do that particular accent.

 

[LifEndz]

I look forward to his appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher.

 

[Linkura]

For instance, he might present a fish in English, say “oishi, oishi” (Japanese for delicious), and then follow it up with “dericious, dericious” in his version of a Japanese accent.

What the fuck? Fuck you, asshole.

 

[smokeymicpot]

My same feeling.

 

[Takuan]

Some dude does a dumb japanese accent sometimes.

This is the whole article.

Am I supposed to be outraged?

Sure, the guy is a dick.

Did this really need to be an article?

Personally, I find it funny in its ridiculousness (i.e. who does that?). I believe him when he says he doesn't mean offense, but the article makes a fairly decent argument on why the behaviour is damaging.

 

[darkinstinct]

I don't get it.

 

[Stumpokapow]

Some dude does a dumb japanese accent sometimes.

This is the whole article.

Am I supposed to be outraged?

Sure, the guy is a dick.

Did this really need to be an article?

I agree, the level of mad we should be about this is above zero but below an article

And the level of mad we should be about someone being slightly too mad about this is certainly above the GAF post line

 

[Just_myles]

What's the big de--

Oh, he's white. yikes

huh hah.

 

[BennyBlanco]

i don't know how much you know about japanese culture, but this guy is an expert

 

[Don Draper's Hat]

everyone does this

jews poke fun at jews, black people poke fun at black people, white people are overly sensitive, yadda yadda yadda

oh, HE's white? i see. thats not good

HOW DARE YOU CALL ME OVERLY SENSITIVE, YOU BASTARD RACIST?!

I ought to punch you up the bracket!

 

[Korey]

My sister in law lived in Thailand for a year. She told me that when speaking with cabbies or other service people in broken English it really helps to adopt an exaggerated "Asian" accent. Hers sounds obnoxiously racist to me, but she swears it makes conversation way more convenient and that the Thais don't mind.

... The fuck? How does that help

 

[admiraltaftbar]

Some dude does a dumb japanese accent sometimes.

This is the whole article.

Am I supposed to be outraged?

Sure, the guy is a dick.

Did this really need to be an article?

Yes from an outlet called eater who specializes in food news this totally should be an article. There's tons of great sushi in NYC so people should know what this guy stands for and make a conscious decision on whether or not to visit his restaurant based on that. Just like the quality of the fish the actions of a sushi chef could ruin an otherwise perfectly good meal.

 

[Eppy Thatcher]

I agree, the level of mad we should be about this is above zero but below an article

And the level of mad we should be about someone being slightly too mad about this is certainly above the GAF post line

Imma need a chart and graph bruh...

I feel like this is the type of thing that if he came up to my table and did that I would give him the "Are you fuckin serious?" look... and then forget about it 10 minutes after leaving the place.

 

[BennyBlanco]

My sister in law lived in Thailand for a year. She told me that when speaking with cabbies or other service people in broken English it really helps to adopt an exaggerated "Asian" accent. Hers sounds obnoxiously racist to me, but she swears it makes conversation way more convenient and that the Thais don't mind.

i've seen people do this at chinese restaurants and wanted to commit seppuku out of 2nd hand embarassment

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Some dude does a dumb japanese accent sometimes.

This is the whole article.

Am I supposed to be outraged?

Sure, the guy is a dick.

Did this really need to be an article?

The whole article is actually about how fake, exaggerated Asian accents are used to emasculate and ridicule with awful stereotypes.

 

[Stormhammer]

No one knows who the fuck he is outside of NYC so he doesn't really matter. His sushi probably sucks.


For those that are like whatever what's the big deal:




Pretty disgusting this guy profits off of people that he turns around and mocks, but whatever.

are you saying his sushi being trash because he's white or because you're mad at what he's done?

 

[norm9]

I cringed and then laughed at the absurdity. He needs to not do it from here on out.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

What I love about Japanese, is that loanwords in katakana literally is "racist japanese impersonation time"

Saying department store in katakana for the first time in class was a trip.

 

[Linkura]

My sister in law lived in Thailand for a year. She told me that when speaking with cabbies or other service people in broken English it really helps to adopt an exaggerated "Asian" accent. Hers sounds obnoxiously racist to me, but she swears it makes conversation way more convenient and that the Thais don't mind.

Sounds like bullshit. When my father and I visited Japan together as a young teen, the locals were much more easily able to understand my dad than me because he spoke in a clear tone as opposed to my tween weeaboo mimicry of Japanese.

 

[wandering]

I agree, the level of mad we should be about this is above zero but below an article

And the level of mad we should be about someone being slightly too mad about this is certainly above the GAF post line

It's worth noting that Eater has done lots of material on him and won an Emmy with a video series in which he stars. So this is probably damage control.

But honestly, with how commonly accepted caricatures of Asian accents still are in America, I feel like bringing awareness to this stuff is needed. Especially, as the article points out, when considering the chef's particular cultural authority as a liaison between Japanese and American cuisine.

 

[capitalCORN]

But there's no such thing as being racist to an Asian!

 

[finowns]

The Japanese English accent is legitimately kinda funny.

 

[Etrian Oddity]

Yeah this is tacky.

 

[Stumpokapow]

It's worth noting that Eater has done lots of material on him and won an Emmy with a video series in which he stars. So this is probably damage control.

But honestly, with how commonly accepted caricatures of Asian accents are in America, I feel like bringing awareness to this stuff is needed.

I am sure NandoGip is going to come in to reply that you acknowledging this is excessive anger, but him getting angry at you acknowledging this is allowed. If you're having trouble detecting the exact right amount of mad you should be, Amazon Prime offers a variety of outrageometers shipped via Prime Now. Just don't start a thread about whether you should tip the delivery guy.

 

[Zoe]

Sounds like bullshit. When my father and I visited Japan together as a young teen, the locals were much more easily able to understand my dad than me because he spoke in a clear tone as opposed to my tween weeaboo mimicry of Japanese.

When you use loanwords when speaking Japanese, you need to say them the Japanese way, but what this guy is doing doesn't sound like the same thing.

 

[Takuan]

My sister in law lived in Thailand for a year. She told me that when speaking with cabbies or other service people in broken English it really helps to adopt an exaggerated "Asian" accent. Hers sounds obnoxiously racist to me, but she swears it makes conversation way more convenient and that the Thais don't mind.

Reminds me of Mackenzie Dern's evolution.

 

[Alex_Mexico]

What the hell is this? I dont get it.