Good quote on fusion cuisine

Randomly was reading about fatty cue and didn't know who this guy Zak Pelaccio is cause I didn't read food blogs or magazines until this year. I just felt discovering things on your own is more fun and part of the food experience. Either way, I never ate at his restaurant but his answer to this interview question is really dope. I mean, his answers for the entire interview gave me a boner (no homo) but this one stuck out.

"TR: What is your philosophy on food and dining?
ZP: I believe first in the quality of ingredients, local purchasing and in cooking seasonally. I also think it’s really important for food to make sense and have a sense of place. It’s clear when a dish went through an uninformed creative process, when it hasn’t really been inspired by original, nostalgic, congruent thought. I don’t believe in fusion when it’s obviously out of place, which is really common here in the U.S. I think food needs some sort of base and it’s just as important to know where your ideas come from, as it is to know where your beef comes from. Because some states of Malaysia are former British colonies, it’s normal to find these British remnants in the form of fish and chips or beans on toast at Malaysian cafes. Historically, culturally, this sort of fusion makes sense and there’s a place for it on my menu."

http://www.starchefs.com/chefs/rising_stars/2006/ny/html/bio_z_pelaccio.shtml

Will be making it to fatty cue soon. One of the best answers I've heard concerning fusion. Its not bad if its an organic localization that makes sense in terms of the food as well as the culture and history.... For instance, I love Jamaican Chinese food that happened through Chinese immigration and Chinese people making homestyle dishes with what was available in Jamaica. Cooking Chinese to me is about technique less than it is about ingredients. Obviously, some are sort of indispensable like ginger, green onions, and soy, but if you don't have ginger, maybe grab horseradish? The best dishes I've made came out of not having what I normally would use and becoming a McGyver cook. Like cheeto fried chicken. I didn't have bread crumbs so I crushed up cheetos and it was the bomb. Ghetto, but still the bomb.