Medium Raw, By Anthony Bourdain
Posted on | July 13, 2010 | 2 Comments
Anthony Bourdain's most recent book
Anthony Bourdain is mostly famous for writing a book – a scathing non-fiction memoir of the restaurant industry. Since then it seems that he’s lightened up a little bit, but the voracity of his opinion still keeps him in the public eye. Mr. Boyfriend got into him by watching “No Reservations,” a traveling restaurant review show that aired on the food network and now on the travel channel – it’s a show that combines two things that many people love – exotic travel and eating. Geez, how could you go wrong with that combination?
In any case, Bourdain gets to enjoy a life that most people only dream about. But instead of gloating about it, he’s actually pretty snarky on the show. The best episodes include a mix of bizarre travel discoveries and hole-in-the-wall eateries that are surprisingly scrumptious and reveal something about the disparities of the rich versus the poor in terms of how we eat, AND many moments where Bourdain is reacting to cheesy, tourist oriented hype or staged “exotic events” with his own particular style of sarcasm. (By that formula, I think an episode in Orlando, Florida is way overdue.)
So what about his new book? Is it anything like the show?
Uh, Not really. If you are looking for passages on his world travels, there is really only one, and it gets lame pretty fast. The book is really more about the cooking industry in the U.S., especially on the high-end side. It’s a series of essays, really, about his life, how he’s changed in the past ten years, and what’s changed in the world of cooking. I find it ironic that the cover features him sitting at a table with wooden-handled knives – he proclaims in several sections of the book that he no longer considers himself a chef, so why is he in the presence of so many cooking accouterments? Perhaps the key symbol here is that they are knives. He holds on in his hands, the tip of his finger on the blade. He’s wearing a dark suit, and hunches over the table, his face stoic, mouth unsmiling. Who cares if he’s a chef or not, he looks like he’s ready to cut YOU into tiny little pieces for just suggesting that a meal at Applebee’s wouldn’t be so bad.
There’s a lot of anger in the book – His targets include Alan Richman (the critic) and Alice Waters, co-owner of Chez Panisse and the mother of the California food movements (he cuts her a little slack for having a nice personality.) Sections of the book read like a who’s-who of the cooking industry, with carefully crafted arguments as to why you should be for or against that celebrity’s existence. He also offers profiles of working chefs and cooks that will leave you surprisingly impressed with the people who handle your food when you dine at an expensive restaurant. The profile of Justo Thomas, the man who prepares all the fish for Le Bernadin, is beautifully crafted homage to the people who get up very early in the morning to create the processes that make this hold capitalism thing work.
The most moving sections, however, are not about the torrid careers of celebrity chefs, but his personal memories that shape how he approaches life today. The essay titled “The rich eat differently from you and me,” sticks out as dating adventure gone horribly wrong, and a unique transformation born out of terror, regret, depression, and anger that you can still feel in every sentence of the piece. This is Anthony Bourdain before we knew Anthony Bourdain, and in a very raw state. In a very different mode, “I’m dancing” is a very personal essay regarding his transformation from a hard-living, chain smoking rebel to a father completely dedicated to his little girl. “If Stiv Bators were still alive and put his filthy hands anywhere near my baby, I’d snap his neck–then thoroughly cleanse the area with baby wipes,” he writes, as an example of how much he’s changed. “She’s never going to look for validation from some predatory asshole,” he assures us, proof that his sense of fatherhood is truly about preparing his daughter for the future.
who should read this book: People who want to be cooks or chefs, fans of Anthony Bourdain (the person, not the show).
If you like the show, you should probably read A Cook’s Tour instead.
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My friend was entertained when reading this line on your post “… little slack for having a nice personality.) Sections of the book read like a who…s-who of the cooking …” it makes me to feel more intelligent after reading it.
A metaphor is like a simile.