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Sally Krantz is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef who worked at a three-Michelin star restaurant in Paris before moving to Hong Kong and opening three Saffron Bakery Cafes, which she ran for 20 years. She recently moved back to Portland, Oregon to open up a bakery and restaurant. The plan was to serve “globally inspired dishes from the height of the British Empire,” a unique concept that makes sense coming from someone who spent two decades in the former British colony of Hong Kong.
Trouble is, the restaurant is called “Saffron Colonial,” and it happens to be situated in a historically black North Portland neighborhood that’s been the nexus point for Portland’s battle over gentrification. (That’s when rich people come in and start forcing out the traditional inhabitants — you know, sort of like colonialism.)
So, how’s that working out?
Have you been yearning for the days of yesteryear, when the white, impeccably dressed Englishman stood on a hill, surveyed someone else’s land and said, “Yes, I think I’ll take it!” and then took a sip of his tea and a bite of his biscuit, and spit the whole thing out on the head of the young native boy shining his shoes because it wasn’t lukewarm enough? [Willamette Week, March 17th]
“I am not sure what landmarks could make up for putting a “British empire” restaurant on the street. A restaurant that symbolizes how white people conquered Black and Brown people. On a street that “conquered” Black people by pushing them out. If that is not a giant middle finger to the Black community, I am not sure what is.” [Portland-based blogger Phmelody, March 15th]
“..for many of us, colonialism is not a cute dress up game or a brunch theme. Colonialism is about being told that we, as people of color, are lesser human beings because of the foods we eat, the traditions we follow, and the people we love. I can’t imagine what it would be like to dine with my father at Krantz’s restaurant, a man who was born in British controlled Tanzania.” [A Portland journalist on Medium, March 18]
A protest called Stop Romanticizing Colonialism! involving an estimated 75 people took place at Saffron Colonial on Saturday, March 19, and the protesters wrote an open letter to bakery-owner Sally Krantz. Among its demands, it lists an apology from Krantz and for Krantz to rename the bakery and restaurant. … Following the controversy, Ristretto Roasters, a local roaster with three locations, has severed ties with Saffron Colonial Bakery. According to Willamette Week, Ristretto Roasters will no longer sell baked goods from Saffron Colonial Bakery, and Ryan Cross, Director of Wholesale for Ristretto, said, “Since they released their colonial branding, we’ve been in the process of dealing with the repercussions of it.” [Eater Portland, March 23]
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Some of Krantz’ responses:
“I‘m not trying to incense anybody,” she said over the phone. “I’m just trying to make food.” She added: “The people who own the Rheinlander aren’t promoting Nazism, and the people who own the Screen Door aren’t promoting slavery.” [Willamette Week, March 17th]
“For me, it’s about the cultural melding of food around the world, focusing on how England has transformed and affected cuisine where they’ve been present, be it America, India or Sri Lanka,” she said. “It’s about good coffee, tea, craft cocktails and good food with local ingredients.”
“A lot of people are confused,” Krantz said. “Colonial is used on a lot of things: to describe a period of time with food, architecture and literature…It seems like some people have confused that word with American slavery.” [OregonLive, March 18th]
Sounds like sort of an agree-to-disagree situation, though you could also probably call it “whitesplaining.” Though it’s kind of hard to avoid that when you’re white and you’re disagreeing about the offensiveness of something.
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Oh, so then Saffron Colonial’s publicist called someone a c*nt.
Today, WWeek reports Saffron Colonial’s publicist wrote a now-deleted Facebook post that read, “So we had more idiot protestors at the restaurant this afternoon. I especially liked the one who thought he was all Wall St. Occupy with his hoodie up and covering his face for the teargas we had stashed in the shop! He didn’t like it when I told him he looked like a cunt.”
Hmm, that doesn’t sound like good… what’s the word…. uh, publicity. That said, the guy does sound like kind of a c*nt. And what better word to reflect the legacy of the British Empire than “c*nt” used as a non-gender-specific insult? (I refuse to give that up. Can’t we set misogynistic implications aside and admit that it’s a wonderful curse word? Possibly the best curse word. Just from a phonetic standpoint. Anyway.)
Which leaves us… where, exactly? You have to commiserate with the people from the old neighborhood who feel like this is adding insult to injury. At the same time, it sounds like an interesting restaurant concept and way for the chef to tell her own story through the food. I mean, I’d like to eat there. It sounds tasty. Does wanting to drink a gin and tonic or eat chicken tikka masala really condone the historic subjugation of native peoples? I don’t think so, and I don’t think it’s whitesplaining to express that opinion.
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That said, it seems pretty clear that it’s the name, not the food, that’s the problem (aside from the gentrification, but that’s a whole other can of worms that the city needs to deal with). Would it be so hard to admit that putting “Colonial” in the title of your restaurant might not have been the greatest idea? Are you really so married to the name? I’m not entirely onboard with the “everyone is entitled to their own personal truth” trend, but if your goal was to communicate an idea, and you find out that your restaurant name is communicating a different idea than the one you intended, wouldn’t the logical thing be to change the way you communicate it? That’s just the nature of conversation.
So, you know, maybe just change the f*cking name. I’m not sure this is really the hill you want to die on, and that goes for both sides. Aw, crap, poor choice of words.
Vince Mancini is a writer, comedian, and podcaster. A graduate of Columbia’s non-fiction MFA program, his work has appeared on FilmDrunk, the UPROXX network, the Portland Mercury, the East Bay Express, and all over his mom’s refrigerator. Fan FilmDrunk on Facebook, find the latest movie reviews here.
