My Love-Hate/ Love To Hate Relationship with Anthony Bourdain

I have to be honest: Anthony Bourdain kinda rubs me the wrong way.  During our reading of A Cook’s Tour I was consistently struck by his cultural insensitivity, his inflated ego, and his bluntness.  I found him to be entitled and a little bit of an asshole.  When I read his essay, Don’t Eat Before Reading This, I again was hit by his assuming and egotistic writing style.  Let’s start with the title.  When I first read it, it seemed to me that I was in for a disturbing account of behind the scenes kitchen going-ons, but instead I got a whole lot of what Bourdain usually brings to the table—condescension and elitist opinions.  It seems to me that he thinks a little too highly of his profession, just saying.  In the essay he describes brunch as demoralizing to “dedicated” cooks, and vegetarians as “enemies of everything that’s good and decent in the human spirit” (86).  He does not hold back and he condemns any cook who likes breakfast to mediocrity. 

I have issues with Bourdain.  Obviously.  But I do have to commend him on his honesty.  He knows he’s an asshole and owns it.  And people respond to it.  This goes back to what we have been talking about in class in regards to being a sincere narrator.  Even if I may not agree with everything Bourdain says, I know that all that he says is a true representation of his feelings and thoughts.  I can trust that he’s being his authentic self on the page, and I think this is what we as writers have to strive for. 

Bourdain has a presence that has propelled him in the restaurant and documentary business, and I have to say I think a lot of it comes from his brutal honesty.  He lets his audience see all of him—all of his elitist, condescending, privileged white male opinions.  This is what makes him popular and successful (ok, so I know I could totally go into how his white male privilege allows him to be confident in himself and also propels his success, but that’s not what I want this post to turn into, so let’s just stick to how we as writers can bring this to our own writing).  Regardless of my thoughts on his personal opinions, he does a hell of a good job bringing in readers and entertaining them through his blunt honesty.