http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/04/05/dining/05race.html?pagewanted=3

In Kenneth J. Arrow’s paper “What Has Economics to Say About Racial Discrimination,” he proposes that racism still exists in the workplace, though of course not to the same extent as half a century ago. This is very much true, and in the above article we are able to see such racism in the culinary world. Lance Whitney Knowling, chef and owner of Indigo Smoke in Montclair, N.J., is an experienced chef with a great resume. He recalls that five years ago he applied to an upscale restaurant in N.J., and the restaurateur was eager to hire him. However once the restaurateur found out Knowling was black, the conversation grew awkward. Though the article doesn’t explicitly say what happened after that, I think the Knowling was not hired because the according to the restaurateur, “I couldn’t have a black guy or a Latin guy back there, because it would make my customers uncomfortable.” And sometimes the insensitivity is even more blatant. Keith Williams remarks that he’s been told “The only thing you know about is fried chicken and collard greens.”

Arrow mentions in his paper that economic theories should predict that racist employers will be wiped out by non-racist employers due to the idea of competition. He admits that these market-based explanations tend to predict that racial discrimination will be eliminated, but in the real world racial discrimination is not eliminated. Therefore, other non-market factors must be involved. I found the news article to be at least remotely related to Arrow’s paper because the situation in the culinary world is a bit different from that of most other jobs. It is true that racism poses a threat to aspiring black chefs, but we cannot solely blame the employers for their reluctance to hire chefs based on color. Hiring black chefs doesn’t seem to be much of an issue for restaurants that have already had black employees. So if more of the aspiring chefs were black, this could potentially reduce racism in the future. However, this is easier said than done in this particular career. In 2006, only 85 out of 2,700 students at the Culinary Institute of America lists themselves as African-American. This small percentage is due to struggle with family members. For the most part black parents do not want their children to pursue a culinary career because since the 60’s and 70’s, kitchen work has became less attractive as other employment options arose. Therefore the scarcity of black chefs can also be attributed to disapproving family members.

However, the situation is getting better. With the boom of the cooking industry, food channel programs, and successful black chefs such as Gerry Garvin who has his own show, black parents are now less resistive. Also with the help of the scholarships given by the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program, high school students interested in culinary careers can receive the guidance and support they need to overcome barriers they may face. As Beth Setrakian, a graduate of Stanford who owns a multimillion dollar dessert industry says, “We’re on the verge of change. And thank goodness, because the heritage that we bring is a great addition to American cuisine as a whole.”