Nice guys will always finish last while Anthony Bourdain is on the scene. If you don't the know the chef turned best-selling author and Travel Channel host, than you've been missing out. Bourdain brought gonzo to the kitchen, or out of the kitchen as the case may be. His first tome Kitchen Confidential was a Hunter S. Thompson-inspired machismo trip through the world of haute cuisine. Chefs are bad asses in Bourdain's world of sex, drugs and rock and roll. They are the magic men (and the occasional woman) who conjure the sacred from the profane. The journey between the raw and the cooked is not for the feint of heart.Now that Bourdain's got a few seasons at the Travel Channel under his belt, it's no surprise that he should feel compelled to hold forth on the relative merits of food on television.
Guest-blogging for Ruhlman.com, Bourdain takes the Food Channel apart - chef-by-chef. Not one to mince words, he calls Sandra Lee "pure evil" and Paula Deen's food a "true buffet of horrors." He pulls out some dizzying vocab for Rachael Ray and her viewing public - "crapulence." And, he's got his own list of suggested line-ups for Iron Chef America - all of which I want to see. Mario Batali (with one arm tied behind his back--and drunk) vs. Regina Schrambling; Martha Stewart vs. Rachael Ray (bare knuckle cage match); "Mikey" from Top Chef vs. Sandra Lee. Seriously, somebody get this guy a programming gig already.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-12-2007 @ 12:23PM
Akbar Fazil said...
At least he had some praise for the god Alton Brown.
But was that sympathy for Bobby "I stand on cutting boards" Flay? He may be a decent chef, but he is an ass. And not even and enjoyable ass like Bourdain is.
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2-12-2007 @ 1:44PM
Valerie St. John said...
As I have said, Food Network has way too much cooking and not enough eating - watching this network is like sitting in cooking class! It's nice to see a show like Bourdain's that takes the chef out of kitchen and on the road to discover great food.
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3-25-2007 @ 9:46AM
Sandra Smith said...
Uggh....can't stand that man. He is arrogant, insults everyone and is simply unpleasant to watch! Why oh why did they give him a show?
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9-13-2007 @ 2:05PM
Scott said...
He's an ass. Arrogant, ignorant, and insulting; a legend in his own mind. I wish I were even half as cool as he thinks he is.
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12-20-2007 @ 4:59PM
Jon Muse said...
The man is pure genious! I recently moved to an arrid wasteland known as Surrey county North Carolina. I previosly lived in Asheville where you have an endless array of culture from all over the world. Now, I have to eat sushi in a restaraunt filled with Nascar posters! I am a self taught chef and small time traveler. Anyone who doesn't appreciate tony's humor,insight, & crude honesty is probably culturless themselves. U think?
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