In 2004 I came across a copy of A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain. I loved the book. I’m sure I knew who Bourdain was before this time, but this my first solid memory. I think I’d heard of his popular book, Kitchen Confidential, but it was Cook’s Tour that I read.
Since that time I’ve become a big fan of Bourdain. Dallas and I watch No Reservations on TV all the time. Bourdain spoke at Google once and he was one of my favorite speakers I saw in my time there.
Anyway, I finally went back to the book that started it all, Kitchen Confidential. Actually, I got it on audiobook and listened while exercising. Bourdain reads the book, which is really cool. I thought this was a great book.
Today Anthony Bourdain visited our Mountain View campus and we were able to watch in Chicago and even get copies of his latest book, “No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach.” This was one of my favorite speakers at Google. Bourdain was every bit as entertaining and blunt and funny as in his books and on his tv show. He had us all laughing hysterically. Some things I noted -
Bourdain never traveled anywhere until he was 44 years old. He spent 28 years standing in a kitchen day in and day out, nights, weekends and holidays. He seems absolutely thrilled now that he actually gets paid to travel around the world, eat everything in sight, drink like crazy, and then tell everyone about it. He said he doesn’t miss cooking at all.
He’s a big music fan. His best music experience was seeing the Ramones for the first time. His worst music experience was when Billy Joel called him up and wanted to come over for dinner. Bourdain had once said that anyone in his kitchen who listens to Billy Joel would be fired. So, Billy Joel came over and they had dinner and this came out. Now Billy Joel sneaks into Bourdain’s kitchens and gets photos taken with his cooks and mails them to Bourdain with notes like “See, I am in your kitchen.”
Bourdain’s worst food experience was when he ate warthog anus in Namibia. He says that he wouldn’t eat anything, that he draws the line between what is and isn’t really food. .. but then that he’d never ever want to offend his hosts.. so this is how he got roped into eating the butt hole of a warthog. He had to be on cipro antibiotics for two weeks after that. Note: Dallas and I saw this episode of No Reservasions and it was so disgusting, but if rectum is a delicacy to this Namibian tribe then I kind of respect Bourdain for even trying it. I couldn’t do it!
If he had to choose his last meal, Bourdain would request roasted bone marrow.
He says that writing about and describing food is kind of like shooting a porno. .. .there are only so many ways to do it before it gets repetitive.
Someone from the audience in Mountain View asked how often he gets sick. Bourdain said that by eating what locals eat he generally manages to avoid getting sick. He points out that a crowded place filled with locals, not tourists is a good sign of where to eat. Also, that they have a pool on the show where they bet who will get sick first and usually it’s the most phobic of the crew and lots of times it’s on something stupid like a club sandwich at the hotel. Bourdain says that most of his sickness is alcohol-related. Then he went off about how much Russia scares him because even 90-year-old grandmas can drink him under the table. They have drinks with every meal: 3 shots with breakfast, 7 shots for lunch, 17 at dinner. And they’re all personal. Drink to this, drink to that, drink to my mother.. you can’t just be like “fuck your mother!” and not drink. You just have to do it.
Bourdain’s writing influences are Hunter Thompson, William Bourroughs, George V. Higgins, Graham Greene. He rereads “The Quiet American” every year and reads Elmore Leonard when he needs to be inspired. Bourdain hasn’t taken writing courses or studied, writing comes naturally for him.
Bourdain enjoys cooking competitions on tv, although he’s suspect of some of the “stars” like Cat Cora and he really hates on Rachel Ray. The only competition show he doesn’t like is Hells Kitchen, even though Gordon Ramsay is a friend of his. He thinks that the show is pointlessly cruel, and this coming from Bourdain, who is known to not sugar coat anything. He also thinks the contestants on that show have the technical abilities of mollusks. He also added that he loves Top Chef. No surprise, since he appears on the show often. And he says Huang deserved to win, that his cooking was the best, and it doesn’t matter if he was mean or spilled truffle oil or whatever else he was accused of.
Up next on No Reservations, they’ll be going to Laos, back to Tokyo, Columbia, New Guinea, Spain and they’re trying to go to Tehran, Iran.
Everyone knows that Google has some pretty extraordinary benefits. One of the ones that I enjoy the most is when we get to hear world-renown people speak. Even when the talks aren’t in Chicago, we can almost always have them video conferenced in. I’m sure I’m missing a few, but the most memorable for me have been Arianna Huffington, Senator Dick Durbin, Senator and Presidential Candidate Barack Obama, Seth McFarlane, and Janet Fitch. Many of the talks are available online at YouTube.