Mursal Saiq - Escaping War-Torn Afghanistan - Fighting Racism in Kitchens & Gordon Ramsay’s “Authenticity” Problem!

This week we sit down with the extraordinary Mursal Saiq for a conversation that goes far beyond food. Mursal takes us from a childhood shaped by war in Afghanistan and arriving in Britain as a refugee, to the devastating separation of her family at the UK border and the years that followed. She recalls the extraordinary places life subsequently took her — from Hackney to India and Italy, living on a fishing trawler in Portsmouth and even spending time with English showman families who couldn’t pronounce Mursal and instead called her “Roger” — before eventually finding her place in food.

Her route into restaurants has been just as unconventional. We hear how she immersed herself in American barbecue, eventually took Afghan-Texan BBQ to competitions in the United States and remarkably finished second at the World Food Championships in Texas — beaten by a team of US Air Force veterans. She explains how Cue Point was born, how it survived the pandemic and why combining the food of Afghanistan with the techniques of American barbecue became about much more than creating something delicious: it became a way of preserving recipes, memories and a culture she fears could otherwise disappear.

And then things get fiery. Mursal explains why Gordon Ramsay’s use of the word “authentic” infuriates her, and questions why an Afghan chef cooking outside Afghan cuisine can be challenged while celebrated white chefs are free to cook food from anywhere in the world. She reveals why her entire kitchen wears grey in protest at the hierarchy she believes traditional chef whites represent, discusses race and class within Michelin kitchens, the industry figures who told her to stop mixing conversations about race and heritage with food, and why she believes hospitality still excludes far too many of the people it claims to welcome. Funny, furious, moving and completely unfiltered — this is one of our most thought-provoking conversations yet.

You can book a virtual demonstration with Quooker to find the right setup for your kitchen and remember, until the end of August, if you use the code GO TO FOOD, you’ll get free installation and a free Quooker glassware set. Just head to www.Quooker.co.uk now!

Get 2 Months of Blinq For Free - With Code - GOTOBLINQ - https://blinqme.com/

Watch and Subscribe To Our Youtube Videos Here - https://www.youtube.com/@gotofood

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.