You Did What? Installment 2
Another installment where Mel reviews a ridiculous cooking video for your reading pleasure.
Happy Friday, Love!
We survived the first week of June. How did it treat you? More importantly, how have you been treating your belly? What have you been eating, friend?
As for me, I’ve been chewing on the idea of doing another fruit fast or anti-inflammatory period because my health condition has been flaring up! She’s just rude, always when I’m tired or a little stressed—she comes barreling through but I know food heals if I do it right. So, I’ll get back on the horse soon.
In the meantime and in between time, I have been saving this absolute recipe failure for another one of our collective WTF moments. If you missed our first installment of “You Did What?” Check it out. It’s hilarious, mostly lighthearted fun.
This one is so bad that I didn’t even have any comparable videos to pair it with and trust me, fam, I tried. I’ve been holding this one for at least two months. This one injured my Trini spirit and left me doubled over in disbelief.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
Disrespectful Doubling Down
If you’ve been here a while, you know that I love finding recipes online. Watching cooking videos is my favorite pastime. I’m even more dialed into plant-based and vegan alternatives to my favorite foods because I’m plant-based.
As such, I’ve seen more than my fair share of terrible recipes—things that miss the mark or just look like a very bad idea. It is rare though that I run across a bit of food cultural appropriation and disrespect so bad that it triggers me!
A couple of months ago, Instagram and TikTok user @Nomeatdisco published a ‘doubles’ recipe that was blasphemous at best. He seems to have removed the first recipe but dug his heels in with the one listed above.
First things first, If you are unfamiliar with doubles, it is one of Trinidad’s most revered street foods. A light and airy fried dough called bara is topped with channa (chickpeas), various chutneys, and sauces and then another bara is placed on top. It is a filling, naturally plant-based food as the traditional versions do not contain meat and it is the perfect portable snack as vendors typically wrap it in parchment or wax paper to allow patrons to eat it easily. It’s a cheap snack or meal at about 5-6 TTD per doubles. If you’re starving 3-4 doubles easily fill your belly for the low low cost of 20 TTD (2.97 USD) because of this fact it is an absolute favorite of Trinis of all socio-economic backgrounds. We take our doubles very seriously.
Yuh Start Bad
That said, this British food influencer, took it upon himself to do a terribly unresearched and def not Trini-approved version of doubles. It was thick and doughy--giving the impression of a Venezuelan/ Colombian Arepa or even a Salvadoran Pupusa without the stuffing. What it was not was anything resembling a doubles. And Trinis came from far and wide to let him know he got it wrong. Getting it wrong isn’t a crime in itself but what he did next was. Many Trinis cited blogs and vlogs that would help him get it right. BUT did he take their/our kind advice? NOPE.
The Real Issue
What did he do? He doubled down and released an even more insulting doubles recipe, this time, adding jerk mushrooms to the culturally appropriated shit show.
What's wrong with jerk mushrooms? You might be asking. Nothing except, jerk is Jamaican and Caribbean culture and food is NOT a monolith. He didn't tout this as some kind of Trini-Jamaican fusion dish.
Here in Trinidad, we actually have many Trini-Jamaican fusion restaurants that are beloved but we know and understand what fusion is. This thing he made was an abomination and quite frankly, a slap in our collective Caribbean faces. There is even reggae playing in the background of the video. [insert facepalm here]
After many complaints, he added the word “inspired” after doubles to the recipe title but it’s not even a distant cousin to Trini doubles so…
Bombastic Side-Eye, Criminal Offensive Side-Eye
I don’t know about you, but such disregard for the actual traditions of other’s cultural cuisines always makes me look at someone askance. I actually followed this guy briefly but his attitude and lack of accountability with this recipe, made me call into question all of the other ethnic/cultural recipes he’d showcased on his page. They might be just as inauthentic.
Try again
Anywho, if you want a real authentic version of Trini doubles to try, check out Cooking with Ria’s version.
Welp! That’s all I’ve got for this installment of You Did What? If you loved, liked, or hated it—share it! Everything is better when shared with loved ones.
Until we rendezvous again, remember, we can show reverence for people and things we admire without having to contort them to fit within our limited capacity to understand them. If you admire a person or thing, do so enough to learn what makes it/ them tick.
XOXO,
Mel
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