"Saffron Colonial Cafe & Restaurant" in Portland serves food "from the height of the British Empire." Hope it ends quicker than colonialism.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) March 19, 2016
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? Well, you’re in luck, old chap! According to PDX Eater, Sally Krantz’s Saffron Colonial bakery and restaurant at 4120 N Williams Ave. is now “softly open.”…. Eater says the new Williams spot “serves the globally inspired dishes from the height of the British Empire” and that Krantz, a Portland-area native, was inspired by her time abroad, where “she’s been lording over a mini bakery empire in Hong Kong for years.”
This is truly one of the silliest, most pointless protest movements I’ve come across. Use the word “colonial” in the name of a restaurant in Portland, and it seems all sorts of self-righteous busybodies with too much time on their hands will crawl out from under their rocks and vent their considerable righteous outrage.
Regardless of your feelings about the British Empire (Bastion of civilization? Instrument of racist oppression?), all Sally Krantz wants to do is make food that interests her. Whether or not there’s a market for this sort of thing in an open question, but Portland is a city that (usually) welcomes new and unique food concepts. Krantz has made it clear that Saffron Colonial wasn’t intended to extol the virtues of colonial era or the various and assorted atrocities and acts of oppression committed by the British in the name of Queen and country. What “controversy” there is appears to have been created out of whole cloth by some of the amazingly hyper-vigilant and über-sensitive sorts Portland is famous for. Even the local chapter of #BlackLivesMatter accused Krantz of glorifying colonialism.
WTF????
Portland has a significant homelessness problem, as well as a housing market that’s pricing many residents out of having any hope of buying a home. These are significant problems, and well worthy of righteous outrage…yet these folks are protesting the name of a restaurant and accusing the owner of “glorifying colonialism?” Really?
Perhaps I’m missing something, but I’m having difficulty understanding where the fire is. How is a restaurant dedicated to the food of an era “glorifying” colonialism? Would anyone have given it a second thought if Krantz had named her restaurant “Bangers and Mash” or “The Gandhi Grille” while employing the same concept? Of course not; the restaurant would have been exactly the same and the hyper-PC crowd would be venting their spleens elsewhere.
Thankfully, it seems I’m not the only person gobsmacked by the epic silliness and abject ridiculousness of the protests against Saffron Colonial. Beyond that, I find it difficult to escape the conclusion that the protestors have adopted a narrowly-focused view of history conveniently tailored to justify their anger and opprobrium…especially since the “controversy” has attracted international attention. It would appear some folks have become quite fond of their 15 minutes of fame and are seeking to extend it as long as they’re able.
Eater says the new Williams spot “serves the globally inspired dishes from the height of the British Empire” and that Krantz, a Portland-area native, was inspired by her time abroad, where “she’s been lording over a mini bakery empire in Hong Kong for years.”
Before the restaurant opened, WW spoke with Krantz about her project. She told us that she’s always been fascinated by “historical food” and that many of the menu items at her Hong Kong cafe developed because she was “surrounded by the British,” who asked for things like molasses cookies and sausage rolls.
“One of the things I find intriguing is colonial food,” she told us over the phone. “Things that are a mix: old world, old style, whether American or English or even Asian, where the English brought their food and then mixed it.”….
[Krantz] told us that she isn’t a racist and she doesn’t understand the backlash. “I’m not trying to incense anybody,” she said over the phone. “I’m just trying to make food.”
How far has this silliness gone? How about people marching down Williams Avenue in protest? What’s next- burning Krantz in effigy?
Though she’s made it clear on multiple occasions that Saffron Colonial is not an attempt to glorify colonialism or whitewash the oppression and atrocities committed, Krantz continues to be harassed by those convinced she’s a tool of the oppressing class and/or an apologist for British imperialism.
Krantz told the Oregonian she would not change the name of her restaurant. She said, “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.”
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) brought together Krantz and one of the protestors in an effort to better understand the “controversy.” Ultimately, nothing was solved; not surprising given that those protesting believe they have the right to present a list of demands to Krantz, which include:
1) Change the name of the restaurant immediately, and remove references to plantations throughout the restaurant[.]
2) Apologize for the pain you’ve caused black/brown communities and take the necessary steps to repair that relationship. It was suggested on the event page that you host or attend a listening session on gentrification and I think that’s a great idea.
3) Require your chef to apologize for his ignorant remarks and require him to take sensitivity or unconscious bias training. (And make his continued employment dependent on these actions.)
What? No demands for gender-neutral restrooms, free range eggs, humanely-killed and locally-sourced meat, GMO-free milk, and gluten-free English muffins??
Beyond the arrogance of assuming they possess any right to make demands of Krantz, protestors have gone to great lengths to justify the “righteousness” of their cause. While they’re certainly free to their opinion, the outrage projected by protestors is as presumptuous and self-absorbed as it is overblown. They don’t have to like Krantz’s concept, but neither are they required to patronize her restaurant. To believe that they have the right to stage protests, disrupt business, AND make demands of her seems the height of self-importance, self-righteousness, and world-class arrogance.
Granted, Saffron Colonial is located in a neighborhood deeply impacted by gentrification. Many long-time residents and small businesses have been forced out by rising rents and property taxes. Sally Krantz may well have been done better to site Saffron Colonial in a neighborhood less resentful and ill-tempered over feeling trampled by the onslaught of gentrification. This is nothing if not a case of those who feel powerless doing something that allows them to feel powerful…even it comes at the expense of someone just trying to make a living by making and sharing food that interests her.
Protestors might think they have a valid argument, but this is a restaurant, not a political statement glorifying the joys of colonialism. It’s about food. It’s also about a group of people willing to misappropriate history in order to vent their considerable frustration and righteous outrage in a manner which allows them to feel powerful, as if they have a voice that matters. They’ve simply taken their “cause” from the sublime to the ridiculous, and along the way they’ve become addicted to the attention generated by their protests.
I understand both sides of the argument, but I can’t help but feeling as if this contretemps is a manufactured controversy that’s taken on a life of its own, with neither side covering themselves in glory. What may at one time have been a reasonable question has evolved into a mean-spirited mob mentality driven by people who feel entitled to assume they have the right to force their point of view on someone merely trying to run a business. Krantz made it clear that she’s about the food, not justifying or glorifying colonialism; why that isn’t enough for the zealots is something I can’t begin to understand.
Perhaps it’s a good time for protestors, who I’m sure in their own minds mean well, to get over themselves and channel their considerable energies and capacity for faux outrage in a more positive and productive manner. There’s no “controversy,” merely people divining ill intent where none appears to exist. From where I sit, this is a clear-cut case of manufactured outrage looking for- and finding- a place to happen…and it’s beyond time for the silliness to end.
Erin and I might never have given Saffron Colonial a second thought, but now both of us are planning to go there, as much out of curiosity (it’s not far from home) as to support Krantz, who deserves better than to be harrassed by a cabal of screaming ninnies looking to vent their considerable rage and frustration.
If you believe that Saffron Colonial is an egregious affront to your tender sensibilities AND a barely-camouflaged attempt to glorify colonialism and it’s racist excesses and oppression, there’s a very simple solution available to you- don’t eat there. There are a plethora of good restaurants in Portland- including up and down Williams Avenue- worthy of your patronage. It’s time to lose the manufactured outrage and the hyper-PC penchant for taking offense where none is intended or implied.
