Building Home, Building Success: Oaxacan Chefs in Columbus, Ohio

This article examines how Oaxacan chefs from Columbus, Ohio make their home and build their success. Prior scholarship shows how chefs establish home to offer themselves a springboard for future success, how chefs foster home through cooking and enjoying familiar dishes, and that food is only truly ‘at home’ when found outside of its original context. Ethnographic interviews with Oaxacan chefs working in food hall stands, taco trucks, bakeries, and restaurants in Columbus demonstrate how they move and adjust to the city; obtain their eateries; and shape their menus and future goals. Oaxacan chefs in Columbus have cultivated a sense of belonging and established a foothold in the city by employing strategies that combine preservation of cultural heritage and adherence and adjustment to local tastes.