It's easy to see that there is no genuine cultural foundation justifying Aramark's use of general terms like African, Spanish, or Latino. This title makes me wonder, what is so Latino about this Pilaf? The Latino identity is extremely diverse characterizes not only South and Central America, but also areas of the United States and the Carribean. If over 20 distinct countries each containing a variety of cuisines, and millions of people identify as Latino, what makes Aramark's Pilaf Latino? The fact that it may be submerged in a spicy sauce, or that it contains corn?
Does Aramark's use of these cultural identities demonstrate how uncultured or uninformed the organization is? The titles of these meals represent a lack of knowledge and care regarding the genuine traditional cuisines of these areas, and promote false notions regarding Latin American, African, Spanish, and many other traditional dishes.
I am glad that you drew attention to the labeling of our food options in Chase and Emerson because the majority of the time, although they are made with good attentions, the labels do not sufficiently provide us with enough information regarding nutrition facts, ingredients or what the food actually is. Also, I have never really taken time to think about the titles of the food, but you are right that quite often the labeling is extremely vague and lacks actual cultural ties to the location it claims to originate. I think that the question of what makes a certain food able to be categorized under a certain ethnic stereotype is very thought-provoking, given the fact that it looks similar to the pilaf served every other day.
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