Guest Post: Michelle Wong

            Food and tattoos? Those two words had no correlation years ago but nowadays,
chefs and tattoos are becoming more and more prevalent throughout the restaurant
industry and a huge part of this commonality is due to the recent acceptance of tattoos
in the workplace. An article that I recently read by Amy Scattergood actually discusses
a lot of the reasons why chefs have tattoos and a main reason that kept recurring was
the idea of expressing individualism. I can completely see where theses chefs are
coming from and though I am not going to discuss the tattoo aspect of the idea behind
chefs, food and tattoos, I just wanted to say that in general, tattoos are an expression of
yourself. One that is permanent and one that carries a story, a meaning a truth.

            I’ve seen several different food tattoos and I find that food tattoos are no different
from other tattoos. They all carry a meaning and a truth and a story behind them. The
chefs in the article have vegetables on their forearms or symbols of famous restaurants
around the world. Personally, I’ve always wanted to be a chef as a side job. I’ve
always enjoyed cooking and being in the kitchen mixing different ingredients and seeing
if the concoction that I just put together is good enough for others to try. When I think
about tattoos and food, if I were a chef, I would get one too. In a way, tattoos are a lot
like cooking. Both are an expression of yourself and your creativity. In tattoos, your
creativity and personality is put into the art that is on your skin. Whereas in cooking,
your creativity and self expression is found in your food, the flavors and the
presentation. In a way, I am surprised that it took so long for acceptance of tattoos in
the food industry because they are very much related to one another. Aside from the
hygiene aspect that people may fear from tattoos and food mixing together, tattoos are
not against professionalism as long as it doesn’t go against any dress codes.

            I think that a big reason why tattoos are now more widely accepted in the food
industry is due to the fact that they are becoming more and more popular to the public.
What was once a marking on your body to allow for others to be able to distinguish what
tribe you belong to is now the same marking that tells a story of your past and yourself.
It’s amazing how something that was once a tribal ritual is now a fashion statement.
Aside from the food industry, tattoos are now more widely accepted amongst schools,
families and the general workplace. An expression of self is something that many
people have a hard time doing and in ways, tattoos allow for them to express
themselves through art. Sometimes I think about getting a tattoo too but I want it to
mean something very important and until then, I am holding off.