The “melting pot” metaphor for immigration has worked hard in Nadiya’s American Adventure (BBC One), a two-parter hosted by Nadiya Hussain. As the introductory voiceover notes, the US is “home to the highest immigrant population in the world”. Similarly, when Hussain, a hijab-wearing Muslim woman from Luton, won The Great British Bake Off in 2015 it was hailed as a win for British multiculturalism.
Hussain has since established herself as the nation’s sweet-toothed sweetheart with a string of cookery series (Nadiya’s Time to Eat; Nadiya Bakes, Nadiya’s Family Favourites) and some culinary-themed travelogues (Nadiya’s British Food Adventure; Nadiya’s Asian Odyssey). Yet none has showcased her specific combination of guileless charm and British Asian backstory quite so successfully as this one, a food-culture story to which only Nadiya could truly do justice.
As she has travelled around, breaking bread with the people of Louisiana and California, it has become clear that what we are witnessing is not just a talented presenter at work (although surely there is no more wonderfully expressive face on television). Nor is this a simply an example of why increased onscreen diversity is an uncomplicated good. The commonalities that Hussain and her new friends share – being children of immigrants; being anxious parents; being members of a marginalised community – act to level the often uneven interviewer/interviewee dynamic, gifting her (and, vicariously, us) with special insight and access. That awkward outsider shtick can work, of course (see Louis Theroux), as can the authoritative foodie stranger (Anthony Bourdain). But American Adventure triumphs because, instead of trying to squeeze its presenter into a pre-established formula, it plays to her individual strengths.
In the first episode, Hussain connected with the current generation of Acadia-descended Cajuns trying to keep their grandparents’ traditions alive in the bayous. In the second episode’s trip to Los Angeles, where 40% of the population were born outside the US, the immigration experience is much fresher. It is as fresh as the tortilla dough at the Westlake night market, in fact. With local restaurateur Wes Avila as her guide, Hussain samples the poblano chillies and pupusas (stuffed corn tortillas) from El Salvador. She is impressed by the grit and entrepreneurial ingenuity of the vendors, some of whom are cooking on makeshift shopping-trolley grills: “These are women with babies strapped on their backs, saying: ‘I’m here because I need to survive!’”
Later, the cooking smells in Avila’s Guerrilla Tacos kitchen brought back happy childhood memories of helping out at her dad’s Indian restaurant. When Avila’s father tells his tale of leaving behind all he knew to make a courageous border-crossing by crawling through a water drain, Hussain begins to relate it to her own experience: “It made me appreciate the struggles that my dad went through. I’ve always thought about it from my perspective, but never really from the immigrant’s point of view.”
Hussain gets it. That is why she is as welcome pitching in at a family-run fortune cookie factory in San Francisco’s Chinatown as she is serving from a halal taco truck side by side with an imam, or weeping happy tears among the relatives at a Mexican American family’s $25,000 quinceañera. (The elaborate, tiered cake is the slightly tenuous food link here because, as every Latina knows, these coming-of-age dos, which celebrate a girl’s 15th birthday, are really all about the elaborate, tiered dress.)
It is not exactly unusual to see Hussain’s eyes brimming with empathic tears – crying and cakes are “on brand” – but this recognition of what unites us really is moving. Especially because it doesn’t necessitate erasing the differences. Sitting down over bowls of her sweet sharing nachos with an all-female rodeo team, she is surprised and inspired by the pride they take in their Mexican heritage, “because for me, being that age, being British was much more important than being Bangladeshi”.
It is also always a joy to watch Hussain taste new flavours. She is so awe-struck and appreciative that any home cook would be glad to have her at their table. Even if, in her enthusiasm, the two phrases “assault on the senses” and “tastebuds exploding” get overused to the point of parody.
And as for that melting pot? The bowl of warm chicken salad that Hussain throws together in Avila’s restaurant is probably most apropos the kind of community cohesion that American Adventure celebrates: one in which different cultures come together to enhance each other, while retaining the distinctive qualities that make them special.
