I’m with Bourdain on this one:
Bruce
A tempest in a toque.
He offered his opinions of her cooking, etc. His eating is hardly healthy.
See no reason to “side” with anyone here…apples and oranges.
He’s entertaining, but what has he done from a strictly culinary sense? His act is to throw acerbic opinions out there, but to paraphrase noted critic Anton Ego; criticism is ultimately less worthwhile than the meanest dish.
Meh, maybe I’m just jealous that he gets to travel the world eating stuff. ![[worship.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/9/99a8907a1d5b3c023582052741dc72dc9823c044.gif "worship"){kind=small}
(and the only time I ever ate at Les Halles, it was pretty ordinary)
The biggest percentage of food/cooking/eating TV shows are for ENTERTAINMENT, that’s it. Paula Deen entertains, so does Bourdain. Paula is fun, pleasant, and polite. Bourdain is a prick. It’s very simple. They both entertain in their own ways. Calling out another entertainer like that is bush-league.
I agree with Francis. When is the last time Bourdain has cooked anything of note? He just travels the world (i’m jealous) eating exotic foods and spouting pretentious words of wisdom that stupid foodies gobble up.
Interesting quote by him
Bourdain also criticized Food Network personalities Rachael Ray ("Does she even cook anymore?),
zzzzz
I haven’t seen his TV shows but I’ve read his books and he pretty much agrees with you. He was fortunate to be in the trade and have some talent and desire to write when the trade had no voice. That his persona successfully translated to TV was a thick layer of icing on the cake.
Ditto. I have friends from Savannah who would not let me eat at the Paula Deen restaurant because they said it was absolute garbage.
He comes off in that link lke a jerk, but his criticism of Deen’s food re the obesity issue is dead on. She slathers things in salt and fat… of course it tastes good. Deen’s also a bit of a one note cook so I don’t think the “What has Tony done?” comment really stands up. He’s a decent chef of French bistro fare. Deen’s a decent chef of US Southern cooking.
I totally agree with his take on Sandra Lee. “Tablescapes???” /gag.
I don’t agree much with the criticisms of Fieri as a personality, but just as Bourdain plays to his acerbic side, Fieri plays to his big goofball side. I can’t take Guy seriously as a chef, but DD&D can be fun occasionally.
Rachel Ray… well… She’s terminally perky, but most of her food is decent stuff that people feel comfortable doing. IN the same manner that some wines are gateway bottles to bring people into wine as a hobby, she’s a gateway cook - unintimidating, even reassuring.
The No Reservations episode on Iceland is ART and should be in the Television Hall of Fame…
Speaking of art, check out this chopped and screwed Paula Deen vid:
Enough to give anyone the heebie jeebies…
Bourdain is a dikhead. I might not be a Deen fan, but in this case he is acting…like a dikhead.
He has become tiresome to watch lately. There is a show on BBC with Ramsey called Gordon Ramsey’s Great Escape that is similar and blows ‘No Reservations’ AWAY. Ramsey actually comes off humble and true. I am so tired of the ‘secret chef club’ and druggie past that Bourdain pushes.
http://www.bbcamerica.com/content/371/gordon-ramsays-great-escape.jsp
+1.
The iceland episode is television gold. Actually, a lot of No Reservations is pretty entertaining.
At what point does he begin to become a caricature of himself though?
Miles freaking DAVIS was a racist, misogynistic dickhead at a level WAY beyond Tony B, sometimes you get some seeds and stems in your bud and you just have to live with it…
I’m not taking sides on this one, but I continue to give Bourdain his props for this blurb from a few years ago about Sandra Lee. The woman suggests we use Cool Whip for chrissake.
“Pure evil. This frightening Hell Spawn of Kathie Lee and Betty Crocker seems on a mission to kill her fans, one meal at a time. She Must Be Stopped. Her death-dealing can-opening ways will cut a swath of destruction through the world if not contained. I would likely be arrested if I suggested on television that any children watching should promptly go to a wooded area with a gun and harm themselves. What’s the difference between that and Sandra suggesting we fill our mouths with Ritz Crackers, jam a can of Cheez Wiz in after and press hard? None that I can see.
This is simply irresponsible programming. Its only possible use might be as a psychological warfare strategy against the resurgent Taliban–or dangerous insurgent groups. A large-racked blonde repeatedly urging Afghans and angry Iraqis to stuff themseles with fatty, processed American foods might be just the weapon we need to win the war on terror.”
They both suck!
Bob, I am with you for the most part, but…
She does no harm other than crappy/cheese whiz recipes. No harm is no harm, right?
BTW, there is no accounting for taste, and she is quite popular in her circles…
He on the other hand is acerbic, snotty, somewhat pretentious and not quite a Michelin starred chef himself. More like a line cook.
Cheers!
And the problem with acerbic and snotty is . . .? ![[berserker.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/8600bbd4810d342b8fbd4ffb62b4f0026275fd37.gif "berserker"){kind=small}
Seriously now, Paula did me in when she battered and deep-fried some perfectly smoked ribs. But she really does seem like a nice lady who deserves every bit of success she’s had. She’s come from somewhere south of nowhere to be a big star, and God bless her.
Sndra Lee does do harm. The entire “buy prepared foods, tweak them a little and pay attention to how pretty the table is” stance perpetuates the silly ‘cooking is hard’ crap. People are eating unhealthily and a LOT of it is that they aren’t eating fresh foods but instead stuff their faces with prepared garbage.
That’s why I don’t have much of an issue with Rachel Ray or Giada, etc. They cook straightforward, good food. Ray’s stuff is more mid-American but it’s mostly fresh, real food that real people can cook.
Oh and… Really Mike? You defend Lee but then try to ding Bourdain for not being a Michelin starred chef? Um… contradiction much?
On the TV Guide website, Bourdain admits in a brief interview that when he finally did meet Sandra Lee face to face, it did not go very well… for him. Here’s the quote:
SANDRA LEE
“There was an incident with Sandra Lee when I ran into her [after criticizing her publicly]. It was deeply terrible. Don’t mess with her. I rarely feel uncomfortable, but she has a powerful force. I hate her works on this planet, but she is not someone to be dismissed, clearly.”
Regardless of personality, I have to say that I side with Bourdain on this one as he is a trained chef. Yes, he never Michelined but the fact is that he has education and experience that are superior to that of Lee and Ray which IMHO qualify him to blast Deen and Lee and Ray’s cooking.
I actually also hold DeLaurentis to much higher regard as my understanding is that she is also trained and has worked as a chef in restaurants just as he did before really breaking out. People often forget that due to her being known first for her catering and food styling businesses and later for her looks and perky personality on her TV show.
She seems to have over the years been somehow downgraded to the level of mere cook, but I don’t think she should be lumped together with Ray and Lee. I think she has far more skill than that though I certainly don’t think she’s on the level of Flay, Batali, Morimoto or Cora and I believe she has even acknowledged such.
On the flip side, I also gotta give props to Deen, Lee and Ray for making it as celebrity cooks given their lack of credentials compared to the others.