Chef Danny Bowien of Mission Chinese: "we're living in a post-authentic world"

Award-winning chef Danny Bowien has never fully fit in. Adopted from Korea, Bowien was raised by a white, Christian family in Oklahoma, in "the buckle of the Bible Belt." In 2010, a young new chef in San Francisco, he started the first pop up restaurant ever as an experiment – it became wildly popular for turning Szechuan Chinese food upside down. He now runs two successful Mission Chinese restaurants in New York. Bowien is known in the food world for subverting not just Chinese cuisine, but also what chefs should look like and the rules they should follow. He speaks with Lilah about why authenticity is no longer the benchmark for good food, what it has been like to publicly fail, and how a restaurant becomes an institution. Also: we want to hear your stories about astrology! Do you have a memorable experience to share with us? When do you turn to it? And if you're a skeptic, what doesn't sit right? Record an audio message with your thoughts, and email it to culturecall@ft.com. You can also chat with us on Twitter @FTCultureCall. –––– Links from the episode: –Patricia Lockwood's hilarious essay on John Updike in the London Review of Books https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n19/patricia-lockwood/malfunctioning-sex-robot –Tickets to the FT's NextGen festival, in London on November 16 (where you can hang out with Gris!) https://www.ftnextgen.com/ –Danny Bowien's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dannybowienchinesefood For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

Om Podcasten

Life and Art, from FT Weekend is the twice-weekly culture podcast of the Financial Times. On Monday, we talk about life, and how to live a good one in one-on-one conversations. On Friday, we talk about ‘art’ – in a chat show. Three FT journalists come together to discuss a new cultural release across film, TV, music and books. Hosted by Lilah Raptopoulos, together with the FT’s award-winning writers and editors, and special guests. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.