Ted Kefalinos, proprietor of Lafayette French Pastry in Greenwich Village N.Y. decided to “honor” the first African-American president on Inauguration Day by baking an unusual and controversial batch of “Drunken Negro Face Cookies.” The cookies feature huge red eyes, an enormous nose, and big thick lips. “I called them Drunken Negro Heads. What’s the problem with that?” says Kefalinos. Kefalinos, who admits he is not a fan of the new president’s policies, made about two dozen of the cookies and sold them all.”I’m sorry that people were offended by the cookie,” Kefalinos told the Daily News on Jan. 23.
(Source Daily News, NYDAILYNEWS.COM)
Lafayette French Pastry, a famous bakery in Greenwich Village, is under public scrutiny for its latest product, “Drunken Negro Face Cookies.” The story was investigated by Fox News after a customer reported the sale of the derogatory dessert.
Owner Ted Kefalinos created the cookies in honor of our 44th President Barack Obama, it was his inaugural creation. Kefalinos even changed the name of the cookies on the day of the inauguration, to “Obama heads.”
“I make cookies that look like drunken negro faces,” Kefalinos said. The cookie caricature resembled the depictions of African Americans during the minstrel entertainment era. The eyes, nose and mouth are overly exaggerated and honestly quite ugly.
Ironically, InStyle Magazine has mentioned Lafayette Bakery as a popular celebrity hot spot. Its cakes have appeared in “Sex in the City” and Spike Lee’s “Jungle Fever.”
When asked did he think that his cookies were a form of racism or singled about Black people, Kefalinos said ‘no.’ He mentioned his Dead Geese Bread that he created in comparison. “No one said anything about my Dead Geese Bread.” Kefalinos is referring to the recent U.S. Airways crash in the Hudson River.
Honestly Mr. Kefalinos, do you really think you can compare geese to a human being? Can a goose respond emotionally to comments made about it? Think about this. That is why you are on the Fox News “Shame List.”
During his apology Kefalinos said, “We were just trying to make a large number of people happy, and instead we made a large number of people confused and angry.”
Honestly, what did he expect?