I'm a chef and I've been living a lie about the quality and authenticity of my food

I've been a chef for 10 years. I've worked in a number of high end restaurants and have, for the last 5 years, run my own kitchen. It's fairly upscale, the food is creative, the ingredients are of the highest quality, and the presentation is consistently clean and beautiful. I'm not trying to sound high and mighty or boastful, I've just worked my ass off on every aspect of my resto and it's paid off, because it's become pretty well known and popular. I'm not a household name, but I am often the answer to the question "where should we go to eat in \[my city\]?" And I'm proud of it.<br><br>But everything isn't perfect. There are certainly people out there who don't like my food, who don't like the atmosphere, who don't like me. They express those opinions and that's fine. I can't please everyone. I take criticism from trusted sources seriously, and use it to try to make my restaurant better. I listen to negative comments, and use those to improve as well.<br><br>The thing that gets me is the people that claim I'm somehow bastardizing "authentic" cuisine because I'm not actually from the country my food originates from, and am therefore appropriating it for profit. I've dealt with this shit my whole career, and it's terribly unpleasant. I can't tell you how many times people have said some variation of "I traveled to \[country\], and the \[food\] there was way better than this bullshit!" or "You're ripping off traditional food and you're not even from \[country\]!"<br><br>The thing is, I kind of get where they're coming from. Yes, I'm making money off of food that is not traditionally from my country. I do use some elements of other cuisine in my food, and I mix it with other things to create what I consider my own style. I do charge a premium for my food, and I have been recognized for my work with several awards.<br><br>But what these people don't know is that I *am* from the country the food traditionally comes from. I was born and raised there. I've had the equivalent of a culinary degree from that country since I was 21. I moved to my current country when I was 29 with the dream of opening my own kitchen and cooking the food I grew up with. I have done everything I've done on my own. I've sacrificed every waking moment to my craft. I've ignored every piece of advice I've ever been given from people who knew better, and done it my own way anyway because it's the only thing that felt right to me.<br><br>And guess what? It fucking worked. It paid off. I'm happy, I'm successful, I'm fulfilled. And I'm not allowed to say any of this because I'm just some rich white guy cooking "ethnic" food and getting all sorts of accolades for it.<br><br>edit: Wow this blew up. Thank you all so much for your kind words. I've never felt so accepted being honest. Have a great night!<br><br>Edit 2: To clarify things, when I say my food originates from another country, what I mean is the specific cuisine of that country, not just general types of food. I don't just serve "rice and beans" or "pasta and pizza", I serve specific traditional dishes that are deep-seated in the heritage of my country.<br><br>Edit 3: To the people who are saying that it's wrong for me to keep my nationality a secret, I should be open about it, I owe it to people, I'm a coward for not being open. I shouldn't have to justify why I keep my nationality secret. I feel like I've been perfectly clear on why I do. If you think I'm a coward for not coming forward with that information, that's your opinion and I can't change it, but I feel like I've explained adequately why I do it.