Ikea stores in the U.K. recently added a jerk chicken dish to their menus and people are calling them out over it. It seems many Twitter users are unhappy they didn’t use traditional Caribbean ingredients in it.
Some Twitter users pointed out that Ikea’s version is the chicken served with a bed of white rice and green peas - unlike the traditional Caribbean jerk chicken dishes that are made with rice and kidney beans or gungo peas.Some are even accusing the Swedish retailer of cultural appropriation with comments like, “This is what happens when you try and cash in on a culture with no input from that culture whatsoever.”
Of course, not everyone felt there was anything wrong with the dish and some also pointed out that they didn’t really expect to get an authentic Caribbean meal at a Swedish furniture store. Still, Ikea felt the need to apologize. “Our intention was to create a dish for many people to enjoy but we appreciate that we may have got it wrong,” says Lorena Lourido, Country Food Manager for IKEA U.K. and Ireland.“We apologize and we are now relooking at the dish.”
Source:People