Interview: Francis Lam brings The Splendid Table to Indianapolis

The award-winning food journalist Francis Lam is the host of public radio’s The Splendid Table. He’s known for his thoughtful storytelling and deep appreciation for the cultural and emotional connections we share with food.

Lam will be hosting a live taping of the Splendid Table in Indianapolis on January 31. WFYI’s Kyle Long spoke with Lam ahead of the event. They discussed Lam's entry into the world of food journalism and the role immigrants have played defining American cuisine.

Kyle Long: Francis, thank you for taking time to speak with me today. I'm a huge fan of your work.

Francis Lam: It’s so nice to be here. Thanks so much for saying that.

Long: Our listeners in Indiana hear your voice every Sunday at 4pm as the host of The Splendid Table, and from what I understand, your career as a food journalist started in a somewhat unconventional way. You were a student at the Culinary Institute of America in New York, and some emails about food that you'd sent to friends wound up in the hands of an editor at the Financial Times who offered you some work. Is that right? And had you been thinking about a career as a food writer prior to that, or were you just kind of following opportunity as it came to you?

Lam: I had always grown up being pretty well obsessed with food. You know, it's amazing now to see generations of young people today and how it's so normal, you know, for them to be interested in food to, you know, want to check out the cuisines of different places and go to different restaurants.

Like, when I was growing up, that wasn't really the case. I was a little bit of a weirdo. My parents are immigrants from from Hong Kong, and we grew up in a pretty white community. I totally had all the stories of going to school and kids being like, “What's in your lunch? That's weird.” So I always felt a little bit like, I really love food, but never felt like super connected to the people around me who were into it.

So when I got to culinary school, it was through a journey of like, finally in my young adulthood, being like, I really do love this, and I really want to lean into it. I had started a career, I was working at nonprofit organizations, but I just couldn't let go of my love of food. And I had cooked, you know, just for a job while I was in college, and one of my best friends from college and I were like, talking one day like, “You know what I gotta say? I’m thinking about going to culinary school.” “Oh, my god, me too.”

So we went together, and I didn't have a plan. Honestly, it was like, truly, a follow your dreams kind of moment, and like you said, I started writing these emails to friends and family about what I was learning, what I was seeing, what it was like. I was just so blown away by suddenly now being in a place where I'm completely surrounded by people who are obsessed with food.

Next thing you know, like you said, you know, one of my friends who I was sending them to, passed it along to her colleague at the Financial Times. And that's, that's what kick started my career as a food writer. Thank you so much Holly Yeager,

Long: I come from a music background, and sometimes there's a big divide between the critic, the music writer, and the musicians. Sometimes it's an adversarial relationship. Did you view it that way at all? Was this a big divide for you to cross going from being the chef to being the person telling the stories and sort of critiquing the food the culture?

Lam: Well, that's a great question, because one thing that I still run into are people who think all forms of food writing are food criticism or restaurant criticism. So I did a little bit of that in the past, but never as a full time restaurant critic.

And honestly, the thing I had said to myself earlier on in my career was I would never want to be a critic, because having worked in restaurants, knowing the stories of the people I've met, just knowing how hard it is to run a restaurant, I just have so much sympathy and, frankly, empathy for people in that role, and so much respect for people in that role, that I can give grace for someone having a bad day.

As a restaurant critic, you need to be an advocate for the customer. I need to point out those faults. And as someone who's been in that role, I always thought that, well, you know, we've all had bad days, yeah, like, I definitely sent out some salads I wasn't that proud of at one point.

Now today, and I'm not a restaurant critic now, so it's sort of water to the bridge, but I do think restaurant criticism is more than just, “This was good, this was bad.” I do think there's a role for really figuring out not just what a restaurant is about, but sort of like the role that restaurant plays in your city, your community, in the country, in the world.

Figuring those things out and writing about those things, I think, is really interesting. To me, my favorite restaurant critics do all of that, and they make you want to go there or stay away, as the case may be.

Long: I think that's what I appreciate most about your work. Storytelling is a big part of your approach. You're not doing the conventional criticism, or you're not just sharing recipes or cooking tips. You’re getting into the culture and the people behind the restaurants and behind the cuisines. On a recent episode I heard, you had a feature on Haitian food, and all of a sudden you're talking about the Haitian Revolution in Toussaint Louverture, and I really love that approach. Tell us about that approach to covering food. When did that kind of start for you? Has it always been built into the way you think about food?

Lam: You know, I wouldn't say always. I mean, like I said when I was a kid, it was like, “Ooh, yummy. Let me go there. Let me have that.” But I do think that, like as someone who has always kind of been curious about the world and curious about other people and their stories.

I remember thinking, like, very distinctly sometime in my teens, or maybe my early 20s or something, I was walking down the street, and wondering, how many people did I walk by on the streets a day? Was it hundreds of people? Was it thousands of people? Like, no idea, right? And then just really, like sitting and thinking to myself, “Every single one of those people has a story as important to them as my story is to me.” I like actually thinking about, like sitting down and just having that thought in my mind and just trying to try to chew on that a bit, no pun intended.

So that's just kind of my mentality about the world. You know, food is one of the few things that everyone shares, like, literally everyone shares some relationship with food. We all have some relationship with food. So to me, that's a way that I can talk to people. So yes, my interest in food started with my own love of food, but my interest in talking about food comes from an interest in people, and people's stories

Long: Francis, if you don't mind, I want to get your thoughts on a more serious question. We're entering a period of change in this country. We have a new presidential administration taking office, an administration that rose to power demonizing immigrants and refugees, spreading misinformation about immigrants in the United States. Of course, there's a lot of fear and anxiety in immigrant communities around the country right now. You celebrate immigrant cuisine on the splendid table. You were raised in a family of immigrants. Are there any thoughts you'd care to share on the current political climate in America? Even as it relates to food, immigrants play a crucial role in every aspect of food culture in this country. Any thoughts you'd care to share?

Lam: It’s certainly not the first time that immigrants have been demonized in our country. It is deeply painful and deeply ironic, both because, you know, culturally, I think we do celebrate the contributions of our immigrants, current immigrants and previous generations of immigrants. Like pizza is an American food, right? Pizza is one of the ultimate American foods. Well, we all know where pizza started from. At one point, Italian immigrant communities were demonized.

The hamburger is maybe the most ultimate symbol of American food. It comes from Hamburg, Germany, or the idea it was the “Hamburger” who was the person from Hamburg, and at one point, German immigrants were demonized.

So there’s a lot of uncertainty, certainly a lot of fear, as you noted. There's a lot of anger and hatred and scapegoating. I don't know where we go from here, but I do think that our country would literally be nothing like what we think it is today, and what we love about our country would not be here, were it not the contributions of our immigrants past and present.

Long: Finally, Francis, you'll be here in Indianapolis on January 31, and coincidentally, on the subject of the demonization of German immigrants, you'll be at the Athenaeum, which was originally known as the German House, but changed its name during a period of demonization of German immigrants in the country. I'm curious if this is your first visit to Indianapolis, and if so, do you have any preconceived notions about the food and culture here, bad or good? Is there anything you're looking forward to here? Any thoughts you want to share on your upcoming visit?

Lam: It is my first time in Indianapolis. I'm excited for it, you know, I do love the Midwest. I lived for a number of years in Michigan, but I have to say that I don't know anything about the cuisine of Indianapolis. I know that it obviously has a huge, rich history in meat packing, and obviously was a center of agricultural industry, it's right there in the bread basket of our country. So I'm really excited to come see you.

I guess the only specific thing I know about the cuisine of Indianapolis is that I want to go to the steakhouse where every person in the NFL goes to.

Long: St. Elmo?

Lam: Yeah, I do want to go there. I want to bask in that air, if nothing else. But I’m excited to come see the city.

Long: I know there's a lot of excitement among public radio listeners that you'll be here in Indianapolis on January 31. I really, really thank you for taking time to talk today. I appreciate it.

Lam: I'm super excited to come. Thank you so much.