March 2018

Food Mirroring Identity in Diamond Grill

Food is not only essential for survival and life, it is essential for culture. People use food to symbolize different ethnicities, to celebrate birthdays, and to share everyday experiences. Food is also a large part of many holidays, such as Thanksgiving, where people often indulge in turkeys and pumpkin pies, and Hannukah, where people often have latkes and sufganiyot. Diamond Grill, written by Fred Wah, often includes food to symbolize culture and identity. Throughout the book, Wah incorporates many different aspects of food, such as their scents, how they taste, their colours, and some recipes. Combined, these anecdotes tell the story of Wah’s mixed identity of being a Chinese-Canadian.

Throughout Diamond Grill, it is apparent that food forms a cultural bridge for Wah and his family. In his book, Wah describes feeling a constant pull in two directions – being Chinese and Canadian. This blend of identities is symbolized through his text, by the use of a hyphen, and through the description of the Diamond Grill restaurant, by the doors to the kitchen, where the seating is largely Canadian, and the kitchen is largely Chinese. In his Afterword, Wah writes about the hyphen, and how it is “a real problem for multiculturalism… it’s frequently erased as a reminder that the parts… are not equal to the whole,” although Wah may believe that both parts are equally important to his identity (178). Wah also recounts the struggle of the “inbetweenness” that he has encountered in his life, and uses food to symbolize that in his work (179).

Mirroring Wah’s identity of “inbetweenness,” is the food that he enjoys making and eating (179). Food is often used for comfort and familiarity, and throughout Diamond Grill, Wah highlights his constant nostalgia towards food and his family’s recipes. An example of this is on page 67, where Wah emphasizes the absence of Chinese food when he leaves home, and how it is “an absence that gnaws at sensation and memory”. As food is both individual to taste and cultural, it is easy to tweak and modify to one’s liking, while keeping its original aura and character. Wah often challenges ideas of purely Chinese or purely Canadian recipes, and often adjusts them to his liking. An example of this is Wah’s Chinese recipe for Tomato Beef. Wah sentimentally describes both his and his sisters love for Tomato Beef, and reveals the cherished recipe. After stating the recipe, Wah ends with “spoon over top of rice and pick out pungent chunks of ginger and hide under bowl,” exemplifying his distaste for ginger, a crucial part of the authentic “gingery winter dish” (44). Wah also highlights his father’s offence when he does not eat the ginger in Chinese cuisine, and states that “ginger becomes the site of an implicit racial qualification” (11). Fred Sr.’s disapproval of his sons taste in traditional food may have caused Wah to feel isolated and pushed further away from his Chinese heritage and culture.

Food is an important part of cultures and traditions, and therefore an important part of the people who embodies those cultures and traditions as well. The “hyphenated” dishes serve as a reminder to Wah and his family of his mixed identity.

Work Cited

“Hanukkah Sufganiyot (Jelly Doughnuts).” Marthastewart, https://www.marthastewart.com/314744/hanukkah-sufganiyot-jelly-doughnuts.

“How to Make Crispy Perfect Latkes Every Time.” Toriavey, 18 Feb. 2018, https://toriavey.com/how-to/how-to-make-crispy-latkes/.

“Juicy Thanksgiving Turkey.” Allrecipes, https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/166160/juicy-thanksgiving-turkey/.

“Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie.” Simplyrecipes, https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/suzannes_old_fashioned_pumpkin_pie/.

Wah, Fred. Diamond Grill. Edmonton: NeWest, 2006. Print