Tony Bourdain, Alice Waters and that whole local food thing ...
I had a great time Saturday night.
I got to hear one of my heroes, Anthony Bourdain. Now, those of you who know me personally, and even those who know me primarily through this blog, might be shocked to hear me call Bourdain a hero. As he said himself, partway through the evening, "I'm no role model".
Well, not in the traditional sense, no.
If you're offended by language, he's not your man. If the fact that he's made some really poor choices over his lifetime bothers you, um, yeah, not a good role model.
The thing I love about Anthony Bourdain, though, is that he always, always, always leaves me thinking. And he's honest. Even brutally so, even maybe over the top for effect sometimes, but the honesty is refreshing in today's world, and maybe especially in the kingdom of upper echelon foodies. He also admits when he's screwed up. I admire that.
Apparently, he's been having an ongoing conversation with Alice Waters in his head.
To see my take on his take, see my blog at a2eatwrite.blogspot.com
Comments
Jennifer Shikes Haines
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 4:22 p.m.
I didn't quite take it as his saying that - I saw him as being more pragmatic about it. I may also have misrepresented my own thinking. I'm striving for responsible choices and sustainable practices, but I'm also wondering about whether all-or-nothing wins in the final analysis - as I said, it just made me think. And I am a huge fan of Alice Waters and all she's done - it's just that I think it's also easy to oversimplify sometimes.
Jessica Webster
Mon, Nov 9, 2009 : 10:22 a.m.
Hi Jen! I enjoyed the Bourdain performance as well. I found myself seething a little the next day, though. I worry that he gives people permission to not make responsible choices with their food. He admits himself that even though he's the first to say: "Who cares, as long as it tastes good," but he only feeds hormone-free milk and organic produce to his own family.