French pastry chef apologizes for offering “Ching Chong salad”

A famed French pastry chef has apologized after one of his outlets was caught selling a salad with a name that was in extremely bad taste.

Up until Tuesday, you could order the “Ching Chong salad” at Christophe Adam’s Parisian restaurant Dépôt Légal. Costing 19 euros, the salad was comprised of spring rolls, prawns, and the “wonderful” sauce for which the dish was named.

On Monday, one diner took a photo of the menu and shared it on Twitter, lamenting that this sort of thing could still happen in 2019. Her post now has more than 1,400 retweets.

Adam is best known as the founder of the French patisserie chain L’Éclair de Génie. The following day he issued a public apology on social media, claiming that the name was chosen “very clumsily” for its “Asian resonance” and that his team was “not aware of the harsh, offensive, and pejorative connotation of this expression.”

On his Facebook post, commenters expressed their amazement over Adam’s alleged unfamiliarity with the phrase. “Racists never understand racism… it’s sad,” wrote one.

Adam should likely try to familiarize himself with such slurs, especially considering his global ambitions. L’Éclair de Génie outlets have already opened in the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama and, last December, one also opened its doors in Shanghai’s Xintiandi district.

News of the salad’s name doesn’t appear to have yet made it to Chinese social media, however, if it does draw attention, Adam and company could be in for a world of trouble. Just ask rapper Lil Pump.

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