This podcast is about the San Francisco Chronicle food critic, Soleil Ho, who has previous experience in restaurants, food writing, and podcasts to bring progressive ideas to her reviews. As the grandchild of Vietnamese immigrants, Soleil had a variety of traditionally cooked Vietnamese food growing up while also being influenced by American food ways. With one step between both doors, Soleil is able to shed light on the racism and misogyny within the food industry through her written and spoken work. She encourages people to think critically about the food they choose to consume; not just what it tastes like, but also who is cooking it? Where are you eating? What is happening behind the scenes that led up to what you have on your plate? As she, herself, navigates new places and meets new people, she works to pull back the curtain for us to easily see. Soleil Ho is a master at starting conversation and creating new ways of thinking in people who care to see evolution and change.
As you listen, try to think back to your experiences in restaurants and see how Soleil’s connections and ideas are evident in everyday encounters. Part of understanding the complicated intersectionality of food and race, gender, and class, is to realize that we are not so far removed from directly impacting the future of these connections. I also wanted to acknowledge some of the other voices involved in this movement, not just Soleil Ho. There are so many other people of color within the food industry who are using their platforms to bring ideas of race, gender, and class justice into mainstream media, making these important conversations more commonplace. Awareness and education are the first steps to creating change and shifts in cultural ideals and, despite some resistance, I think we are definitely headed in the right direction with strong individuals constantly pushing the bar. The only thing we need now is one giant collective effort
I really enjoyed the podcast, Michele! I thought Soleil Ho’s perspective as the daughter of immigrants and how she uses her platform at the San Francisco Chronicle is incredibly effective. I found her perspective on respecting other culture’s foods and understanding their politics fascinating because this goes against the norms that white food media has created. Ho is a part of a bigger movement that combats racism and making food political in order to reveal the structural discrimination within the food world.
I really liked the background music and your delivery of the lines; it really helped create a chill vibe throughout the podcast. I also think adding in different clips from different people within food media also made this piece effective because it helped portray the idea that there are so many people talking about this. Using their voices within the podcast really helped strengthen that story, so props to you on that one. Great job!
I really enjoyed learning about Ms. Ho and hearing your personal perspective on the issues. I thought it was important that you included her background and upbringing, as those factors seemed to shape her current passions and projects. I found her separation of “is this well done?” and “do I personally like this?,” as well as the importance that she places on context, to be a very insightful and well-rounded way of thinking that is not as common as it should be, particularly in American food culture.
I really appreciated hearing about second and third generation immigrants’ experiences growing up in America. I feel like it’s not something we talk much about, so thank you also for sharing your own experience! In terms of technicalities, this was beautifully produced and flowed very well! Your voice is very soothing, and the audio is very smooth and flows very well.
This was a super well-done podcast, Michelle! The combination of transition music, audio snippets of other voices, and your information came together to produce a really nice listening experience. Truthfully, I didn’t know much about Soleil Ho and her role as a queer woman of color who serves as the San Francisco Food Critic, but it was definitely helpful to hear a bit about her background and how she hopes to alter the role of food critics all around. I also really appreciated that you were able to connect her work (of diversifying and appreciating our food landscape) to our larger scope of food studies on such a tangible but broad scale. Overall, I think this was a great, informative podcast!