Dîner en Blanc Singapore - The "White Supremacy"

With much coverage on the whole Dîner en Blanc saga, it'll be pointless for me to explain what had happened.

Like all other things in the world, there is no absolute right or wrong, just different degree of being wrong (or right for that matter). Someone is always more wrong than the other(s). I thought fellow food blogger, Daniel Ang's (Daniel's Food Diary) suggestions of white-coloured, local cuisine is ingenious and will infused some local elements into the event which will otherwise be predominately occupied/represented by "white ideas" (angmoh ideas).

However, frankly speaking, I don't know if I would want to bring a packet of Chicken Rice to the event if this huge hooha didn't happened. You get what I mean? I'm not suggesting that our local cuisine is not "atas" (high class) enough but seriously, would you really bring Chicken Rice to the event? Retrospective will not work here, you can't "un-know" something you've already know. No point looking back and say "I will" because somewhere inside the deepest darkest corner of your heart, you jolly well know you won't. Don't hate me, I'm just being truthful. =P Dr. Leslie Tay (ieatishootipost) wrote a better explanation and gave an analogy for this.

From how I see it, the local organiser seems to have "wrong" the most, that is assuming that they operate somewhat independently from the French organiser, hence don't have to report every single little thing back to the HQ. However, I don't exactly buy the long, grandmother story, explanation.
                [... requires that you enjoy a carefully prepared meal of your choice while encouraging you to shy away from commercially prepared ‘junk' or ‘fast' food. Anything else that is tasty, original or traditional is welcome.]

Photo courtesy of bestie

1. The food, in question here, is our local cuisine. Stating that the organisation does not equate local food with junk food earlier in the passage and later on refer it to "commercially prepared junk". I don't know what to think of it. If they had not categorized local cuisine as 'junk' or 'fast' food, why was the idea discouraged? Why is it "not on par" with the organizer's image? Plating/Presentation does wonders, just as cosmetics does to the ladies. Place a piece of foie gras in our styrofoam takeaway box, see if it'll still appear atas. I served Chilled Tau Hway with Sesame paste on my wedding and it look darn atas, taste atas too.
2. We do cook our own Chicken Rice at home. My mum does, and I grew up on it. And heck, it's tasty. If they had really meant for it to be the way they espoused, shouldn't they ask Daniel to edit his post, saying that the local cuisine should be "tasty, original or traditional" instead of asking him to remove the post?

What really bothers me about the whole situation is that the explanation given is illogical and does not add up, neither did it justify their prior actions. It appears to me as an desperate attempt to cover their tushes. 

If the local organiser is merely a puppet in the whole event, the real mastermind (and culprit) would be the French organisers. That is, of course, the assumption on the other end of the spectrum just to balance the equation. But in actual fact, does it matter? Local or French, they represent the same organisation. Period. When you err, admit it gracefully, pound on your chest, swear upon your good name not to repeat the mistake(s) and move on. The only thing the organisers openly admitted to have done wrong is asking Daniel to remove his post. Well and that the local organisers failed to exemplify the French organiser's value of respect and elegance. Giving a half-assed explanation and over justifying things does not go in line with how a respectful and elegant organisation should work. =)

We have a very strong and aggressive blogsphere in Singapore. A blogger has his/her pen (or keyboard XP) as weapon. A food blogger has his/her fork (sometimes knife, spoon and of course, chopsticks to poke eyes with =D) on top of the pen. This is something the organisers did not understand and misjudged the Singapore's media landscape. With that, another fellow food blogger, Alan Goh (travellingfoodies), has initiated "Make and Eat Tau Hway Day" on 30th Aug 2012, the same day Dîner en Blanc is to be held. He wishes for it to be a reminder to everyone, the importance of paying mutual respect and staying grounded. I will be participating and sharing his initiatives. Anyone can join us! If you maintain a blog, you're welcome to blog about Tau Hway. If not, you can share a photo of you or your friends eating tau hway, or even just tau hway itself on Facebook. As Alan mentioned, it is a spinoff of the "Cook Curry Day" which occurred last year, I hope this event will be as huge as its predecessor.

While enjoying the diverse cuisines readily available across the island, at the end of the day, it might be the "char-kway-teow downstairs your house" that evokes childhood memories, the "90 cents kopi" that really hits the spot or only the bowl of piping hot "ba-kut-teh", which Mum made with lots of love, can warm your heart (and tummy =P).

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