"I'm just reaching out..."
Why DE&I needs to DI&E. Words by Jenny Lau. Illustration by Sinjin Li
Good morning and welcome to the new era of Vittles. Each Monday we will send you a different piece of writing related to food, whether it’s an essay, a dispatch, a polemic, a review, or even poetry. Today’s newsletter by Jenny Lau is part of our running column The Hater.
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“I’m just reaching out…”
Why DE&I needs to DI&E. Words by Jenny Lau
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 3:14 PM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Lunar New Year collab
Hey Celestial,
I’m reaching out as part of the DE&I team at InfiniteXposure, an award-winning 360 media agency based in Farringdon. We believe we can change the world through impactful communication and our approach is to place people and culture at the heart of our work.
We’re long time fans and love everything you do :) With Lunar New Year just around the corner, we’re looking to platform some ESEA food creators. We would love to collab with you on some IG content featuring a traditional ESEA recipe. Let me know if you’re keen and we can get the ball rolling!
Pippa x
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 5:44 PM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Dear Pippa,
Thanks for getting in touch. My name is Jenny – Celestial Peach is my project. I’d be honoured to be part of your campaign, though not sure if you noticed that I don’t write recipes. Would the collab need to be food related? Also I am sure you’re aware that Lunar New Year starts in eight days’ time … A month’s notice would be ideal in future!
All the best,
Jenny
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2024 09:08 AM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Great to hear back from you Jenny! Noted re: recipes – we just know that food is such a huge part of ESEA culture, especially this time of year. Could you suggest a few alternative ideas? Sorry about the tight timescale! Fingers crossed we can work something out.
Pippa x
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2024 09:58 AM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Sure! My work focuses on cultural storytelling in the diaspora, where food is just one way to tell that story. I’m keen that we don’t lose sight of the subtle details during these big festivals. How would you feel about an in-person talk or workshop with your employees, where I could talk about how I spend these festive junctures reflecting on and reassessing our relationship to identity and community?
Just a note: I would refrain from making generalisations about the East and Southeast Asian community because at best it is an ethnic categorisation that offers inclusion and solidarity for those who otherwise tick the ‘Other Asian’ census box. Not all ESEA people celebrate Lunar New Year. I always refer to myself as Chinese, rather than ESEA, and I am also inclined to call it ‘Chinese New Year’ when referring to how I personally celebrate.
Jenny
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2024 1:26 PM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Hey Jenny,
We love the sound of those topics and I’m sure our staff would find a storytelling workshop super enlightening. Would you still be open to keeping it food-focused? We find our employees are more likely to turn up if food is involved ;). Are there any traditional family dishes you could demo? Perhaps some recipes that your mother or grandmother taught you?
x
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2024 2:19 PM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Glad we’ve landed on something! Hmm, my relationship to food isn’t based on any familial lineage and I never learned to cook from my matriarchs or anything like that. This means that over time I’ve created my own CNY traditions.
There’s one recipe I do cook every year: lo han jai – a vegan dish with eighteen different symbolic ingredients (wood ear fungus, bamboo pith, black moss, fermented bean curd, etc). I could talk about the practice of eating vegetarian on the first day of New Year and why we do it? It’s a Taoist/Buddhist moral purification ritual.
What date were you thinking for the workshop?
J
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2024 18:01 PM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Sounds interesting! Let me check with the rest of the DE&I team and get back to you.
Our Lunch & Learn sessions are every Thursday, so 1st February is set aside for Lunar New Year!
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Friday, January 26, 2024 9:41 PM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Apologies for the Friday night email. Any chance you could move the talk a week later? 1st Feb is the first day of CNY – it would be ironic for me to be delivering a workshop about the importance of connection while not spending that time with my family.
The festival does go on for two weeks…
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 10:36 AM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Hey Jenny,
Afraid it’ll have to be this Thursday to avoid a schedule clash with our National Pizza Day masterclass on 11th Feb. We’re flying in a famous pizzaiolo from Naples just for the event – v exciting!
So, I had a chat with the team this morning, all sounds great, they just had some feedback:
Some of those ingredients might be a bit unappealing to staff, like the fungus and moss. Some guys also raised health concerns about eating soy products?
I also ran it by our cultural sensitivity consultant who replied: “It’d be wise to avoid mentioning religions, and ‘moral purification’ could be problematic.”
It would be a shame if we didn’t pack out your session! How do you feel about demo-ing some easy veggie dumplings during your talk? Everyone loves dumplings – they’re universal! x
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 11:00 AM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
Thanks for the feedback. I just wanted to mention that dumplings are not in fact universal across Chinese cuisines. Eating dumplings at CNY is a northern Chinese preference and its adoption as a pan-Chinese dish to represent wealth and prosperity is in fact a fairly recent Chinese state-invented tradition.
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 11:04 AM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year collab
No worries, appreciate the thought you’ve put into this. Feels like an in-person event might be too rushed… x
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 2:28 PM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Lunar New Year IG takeover?
I’ve gone back to the drawing board. How about we simplify it – I could do an Instagram takeover for you in the days leading up to CNY, showing how I celebrate it with old and new traditions, diving deeper and debunking some of those myths etc.
Do let me know,
Jenny
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 2:56 PM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year IG takeover?
That’s a brilliant idea! I think your authenticity and voice will really shine through x
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Monday, January 29, 2024 5:09 PM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year IG takeover?
Cool :D! By the way, I should have checked whether you have budget for this?
From: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2024 08:22 AM
To: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year IG takeover?
Hi Pippa, just following up on my last email, as CNY starts tomorrow.
Kind regards,
Jenny
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Friday, February 2, 2024 09:28 AM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Re: Lunar New Year IG takeover?
Hey Jen, so sorry, it’s been manic. Just checked with the team and unfortunately as this is the first year that DE&I is doing a LNY activation we have no budget. But if you’re still up for the takeover we would obviously repost and amplify your stories :)
Pippa x
From: Pippa G <dei@infinitexposure.co.uk>
Sent: Tuesday, February 6, 2024 3:42 PM
To: Jenny Lau <hello@celestialpeach.com>
Subject: Gong Xi Fa Cai & quick q
Hey Jenny,
Just wanted to wish you Gong Xi Fa Cai and sorry our collab didn’t work out this time around. Really hope we can plan something for next LNY! Just a quick one, we’re sending out our first LNY-themed newsletter tomorrow, would you be up for recommending your top 10 Chinese restaurants in London to include? Would be great if you could send them by EOP! Cheers!
Pippa x
PS. Let me know if you want to come to the pizza masterclass this Thurs, I’ll put your name down for a guest visitor pass.
All the contents of this article are based on actual exchanges that have taken place in the past. Names have been redacted to preserve people’s humility, but the author’s resentment remains 100% real.
Credits
Jenny Lau is a writer and community organiser based in London. Support the I in DE&I by following her on Instagram, subscribing to her Substack and pre-ordering her debut non-fiction book An A-Z Of Chinese Food (Recipes Not Included). She is available for commissions and collaborations all fifty weeks of the year that aren’t Chinese festivals.
Sinjin Li is the moniker of Sing Yun Lee, an illustrator and graphic designer based in Essex. Sing uses the character of Sinjin Li to explore ideas found in science fiction, fantasy and folklore. They like to incorporate elements of this thinking in their commissioned work, creating illustrations and designs for subject matter including cultural heritage and belief, food and poetry among many other themes. They can be found at www.sinjinli.com and on Instagram at @sinjin_li
No offense to Pippa's, but I couldn't think of a better name...
Oh my god. That's exhausting to experience secondhand; I'm sorry you lived it. I particularly loved "no worries" in response to your correction. Ummm....WT...?