I think that this is something I once heard Gordon Ramsay say, where a person asked him "Does a chef need to respect the culture that a food comes from?" To which Gordon answered 'Yes, absolutly . Chef's have a responsibility to do so.'

I don't see why this is the case. Food is food. Just because a culture far away from you came up with a certain kind of food doesn't mean that I owe it to that culture or those people to understand anything, or even respect anything about them.

Much of our modern mathematics is based on thinkers from the Golden Age of Islam, who's work was taken from the greeks, and then would go on to influence later mathematicians. But I sure as heck do not need, nor would anyone say that I am obligated to learn Islamic or Arabic history, learn anything about the Islamic religion, learn any arabic, or even know the names of the specific mathematics who's techniques I'm learning.

I mean sure I know the name Pythagoras, but I couldn't tell you anything about him beyond that he was Greek and probably a pagan. And he's the only one who's name I even know. There are probably hundreds of other mathematicians who's work informed what I was taught in school, and I don't need to know about any of them.

Why should food be any different? Why would I need to give a crap about anything regarding Thai history/culture to realize that orange, spice, and cashews are a fantastic combo? Why would I need to learn anything about Italy to appreciate a good pasta and red wine?

I'm not saying it's bad to know these things of course. A richer understanding of history and the world around you is a good thing in and of itself. But it's not any kind of obligation. So I don't see a problem with a chef cooking 'authentic' cuisines and having zero interest in learning about that part of the world.