Where There Are No Butchers, There Are Cinnamon Buns Bad Table Manners

This episode flips the script on caste and food by celebrating and exploring the food practices of caste oppressed communities. Is there such a thing as “Dalit cuisine?” Do Dalit chefs and food enthusiasts accept this term? What are Dalit recipes, and how have they been archived and reproduced? Can food be a site of caste abolitionism? The two guests on this episode – Vinay Kumar and Rajyashri Goody – who self-identify as Dalit, offer their own personal reflections on food and food politics.
Topics covered in this episode:

Min 0:48: The caste system in India
Min 3:38: Meet Vinay Kumar
Min 4:10: Meet Rajyashri Goody
Min 7:37: Caste and food
Min 10:14: Is there such thing as standalone Dalit cuisine?
Min 12:32: Access to food (and lack thereof)
Min 14:49: Where there are no butchers, there are cinnamon buns
Min 19:56: When elite words are applied to Dalit food
Min 25:49: The complexities behind the idea of a Dalit cookbook
Min 27:43: Limitations to a “recipe”
Min 31:19: Balancing moments of joy and struggle
Min 35:15: Food as protest and resistance

Learn more about this episode of Bad Table Manners at www.whetstoneradio.com, on IG and Twitter at @whetstoneradio, and YouTube at WhetstoneRadio.
Guests: Vinay Kumar (@thevinaygreen), Rajyashri Goody (@rajgoody)