Newly Online: What's Happening With David Chang and All the 'Chili Crunch' Talk?
The chef's Momofuku brand is trying to trademark "chili crunch," sending small businesses cease and desists
With docuseries on Netflix and Hulu, restaurants in three major US cities, and a retail line available nationwide, David Chang is ubiquitous in the food world.
Despite having a decades-old reputation of fostering toxic work environments and berating staff in the early years of his restaurants (please go read Hannah Selinger’s Eater piece for more), Chang still remains a pinnacle of AAPI representation in the culinary space.
Don’t believe me? Just ask chefs and business owners themselves. (Eric Huang, chef and owner of Pecking House, told me what he thinks of Chang’s position in the industry for my initial story on TODAY.com.)
Michelle Tew, founder of Homiah Southeast Asian pantry staple company, was someone who admired and supported Chang as a leader in the space. Then, she was hit with a cease and desist for selling the pepper-oil-allium condiment found in so many Asian households. She called her’s a chili crunch, and so did Chang.
Tew’s was just one of the small businesses (she’s her only full-time employee at the moment) to receive a letter from Momofuku asking them to stop using “chili crunch” on their label.
For a follow-up piece on TODAY.com, she told me all about the moment she learned about the letter, her first few moves, and what’s been happening since. Tew told me how much she’s had to spend in legal fees so far, and what a dent it’s made in her profits. We talked about small businesses in these positions, and she shared her thoughts on what can happen if no one fights for their brand.
Learn more about the controversy on TODAY.com: