Gordon Ramsay was accused because he is opening a pan-Asian restaurant with no Asian chefs (Image: FOX / Getty Images)
And so it was this week when Gordon Ramsay was accused of this 21st-century, politically incorrect crime because he'd dared to open a pan-Asian restaurant that hasn't got any Asian chefs. He was slaughtered by one particular female critic who whined that at the launch of Lucky Cat she was the only Asian person in a room full of 30-40 journos. She also made a snide comment about head chef Ben Orwood's missus, referring to her as "the token Asian wife". I'm sorry, but Gordon Ramsay has earned the right to open whatever kind of restaurant he likes and employ whoever he likes.
The man's a Michelin-starred chef for God's sake and whatever food his restaurants serve up, it's going to be good. If it isn't, the punters will stop coming. So what if his food isn't what purists would call "authentic" Asian. I don't suppose it's meant to be, as all great chefs put their own twist on dishes wherever they're from. The point is if we live in a multicultural society, which we do, cultural appropriation is inevitable.
And it's madness to think we can't admire or even pinch aspects of other people's cultures. Or that we insult them by doing so. One writer hysterically described the
