“Secret Kitchen”™: An Amalgam of Family, Fortune and Fusion Food in Asian American Cuisine

Abstract

This essay provides a re-framed and in-depth view of the An family and Crustacean Restaurant as a space in which the elements of entrepreneurialism, ethnicity, family and food intersect on multiple levels. The essay poses the following question: how do Asian Americans negotiate these four dimensions, both in the public eye and the private familial space? In current ethnic marketing and advertising literature, the emphasis is on how mainstream practitioners can target and attract multi-ethnic consumers, including African Americans, Asian Americans and Chicano/Latinos. These works highlight the importance of introducing and promoting mainstream products to emerging ethnic groups.