ABSTRACT

Exotic Appetites is a far-reaching exploration of what Lisa Heldke calls food adventuring: the passion, fashion and pursuit of experimentation with ethnic foods. The aim of Heldke's critique is to expose and explore the colonialist attitudes embedded in our everyday relationship and approach to foreign foods. Exotic Appetites brings to the table the critical literatures in postcolonialism, critical race theory, and feminism in a provocative and lively discussion of eating and ethnic cuisine. Chapters look closely at the meanings and implications involved in the quest for unusual restaurants and exotic dishes, related restaurant reviews and dining guides, and ethnic cookbooks.

part |59 pages

Let's Eat Chinese

chapter |14 pages

The Quest for Novelty

chapter |22 pages

The Pursuit of Authenticity

chapter |15 pages

The Other as Resource

part |40 pages

How I Ate Civet Cat and Lived to Tell the Tale

part |49 pages

Let's Cook Thai

part |67 pages

Toward Anticolonialist Eating

chapter |12 pages

Okay, Let's Stay Home

chapter |23 pages

The Skeptical Palate

chapter |25 pages

Eating in Contexte

chapter |4 pages

Returning to the Garden