Chloe-Rose Crabtree

Prior to her re-entry to academia to study the history of American food culture at Columbia University's Paris campus, Chloe-Rose Crabtree was a Los Angeles pastry chef. Her research focuses on how 19th-century domestic science in the United States impacted the acceptance of women in higher education and the creation of a “true” American identity. She is currently based in London where she continues to bake compulsively and examine the ways in which cultural perceptions influence our relationship to the food we eat and the people that feed us. You can find her on Twitter @honeypiebaking. 

Chinese Food Helped My Family Recover from Cultural Starvation

How a woman of mixed Chinese ancestry used food to come to terms with her identity. 

When I moved from Los Angeles to Paris for grad school, I was relieved to find out that my apartment was in the 13th arrondissement: Chinatown. The fear of moving to a new country where I did not speak the language was alleviated by the promise that I would be able to find the foods that reminded me of sitting around the table with my family in restaurants throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Chinese food was always a staple for my family but was almost never cooked at home.