RAW
SPECIAL GUEST ISSUE: ANTHONY BOURDAIN
INSIDE THE BRAIN OF BOURDAIN
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SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
A NOTE FROM THE GUEST EDITOR
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CONTENTS
I know what you are thinking, “what
I am not trying to tell you what to do (ok,
Taking a look at the diagram below, you
I rounded out the issue with my first
does this guy know about designing
maybe I am), but just give this issue a
can see all that the issue entails and how,
passion of food and a little description of
a publication? Doesn’t he just travel
shot and if you don’t like it, fine, we can
how I arrived to where I am now provided
around the world eating food and
both move on to bigger and better things,
as said before, they all come together. I
complaining about things?” And you
but we can both at least say we tried.
are right. I don’t know anything about designing a publication and I do infact travel around the world “complaining” about everything, but isn’t that the fun of this whole thing? Trying something new? Something you have never experienced and taking the best out of the worst? It would be boring have the same people doing the same thing over and over again. I’m here to throw a wrench in
That being said, I wanted to approach this task from the angle of “use what you know;” and that I most certainly did. I centered the content around what affects me the most and what ultimately affects all of us in the long run. The aspects of life that are ever present that
started with the thing that I am engaged in the most currently: travel. I can only hope that my experiences from traveling around the world will influence any of
by my friend Euan Ferguson. Hopefully, the fruits of my labor are appreciated. If not, just go ahead and use this issue as the collector for your dog’s crap.
you to get out there and explore cultures beyond your own and make yourselves uncomfortable. After all, life itself is rarely comfortable. The next aspect is something near and dear to me, but you
all of us have experienced, hopefully, at
will have to flip through to find out that
some point in our short lives.
one (and you wont be disappointed).
this system. Now, I am a writer and chef, so that isn’t to say that I don’t know anything about how to compose something in a unique way to make it appealing to someone, but this is definitely foreign territory.
Which is something I embrace and you should too.
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SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
TRAVEL CHANGES YOU
For the past five or so years I have been living out of suitcases, enjoying the comfort of a less than luxurious hotel bed, and experiencing sicknesses and pain that I would not wish upon anyone, friend or enemy. Oddly enough, I wouldn’t change anything; these experiences of travel and culture have made me what I am today. It is for that reason that I share a few words on travel, hoping that you will get out there and experience the world and find something out about yourself in the process. Travel changes people for the better. The more you walk around in another person’s shoes, the more you’ve seen of the world, the better a person you are. If I can convince somebody who’s got the money to do it, the freedom to do it, and if one of our shows has inspired them to, then sure. I hear it a lot. People come up to me a lot and say, “I went to Vietnam, and I tracked down some of the same business that you ate at and I had a good time.” Sure. That makes me happy. I grew up with books and movies and I dreamed of seeing places like those I’d read about. It’s unimaginable to me that people wouldn’t yearn for a peek at the other side of the world, an undiscovered beach, a tiny little food stall that serves the perfect bowl of noodles. If you see how other people live – particularly when people who come from very
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TRAVEL
different backgrounds, with very different
But really? It’s all about me. The TV show is
belief systems are kind and hospitable to
just an excuse. My network enables me to
you, particularly when they have few means
do what I always dreamed of doing. Often,
to do so – or their generosity comes at great
I choose locations based on the “look” of a
cost. To be the recipient of random acts of
place – the notion that I can copy the cin-
kindness from strangers, to see how other
ematography of a film I loved and return
people live, how hard their lives are…how
home having helped “make” something
different – and how similar. To see a Saudi
beautiful and thought provoking.
family behind closed doors…to get drunk with Vietnamese rice farmers…presumably expands one’s horizons and level of tolerance.
“AS YOU MOVE THROUGH THIS LIFE AND THIS WORLD, YOU CHANGE THINGS SLIGHTLY; YOU LEAVE MARKS BEHIND, HOWEVER SMALL AND IN RETURN, LIFE - AND TRAVEL LEAVES MARKS ON YOU.” Lastly, don’t forget about trying to local food of where ever you are traveling. This may be a biased tip considering that is
I choose locations based on books I read,
what my show is about, but seriously, if
movies I’ve seen, the recommendations of
you miss the local and street food experi-
chef friends, idle bar room conversations.
ence, you have missed everything there is
If you meet someone who’s been living
about that place. Street food is the best of a
abroad and traveling for decades at the
country – and strangely, much safer for you
Heart of Darkness Bar in Phnom Penh and
than the spaghetti bolognese at the Hilton.
they tell you that Belem de Para is the most
Sure, there is always risk in eating the street
awesome place they’ve ever been – that’s
food, but that is part of the experience.
worth making note of. Of course, my moti-
Expand your food horizons to uncomfort-
vation is professional. I make travel televi-
able bounds. If you are going to travel well,
sion after all.
you’ve got to eat well. 5
SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
“ ”
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SPECIAL INTEREST
Ah, the local dive bar. Perhaps one of my favorite places on earth. Unpretentious, dirty, cheap, and completely bursting with personality. It is always one of objectives where ever I happen to be to find this local watering hole where stories, much like the drinks, are constantly flowing. Sure, the place is grimey and it smells of toilet cleaner and vomit, but this is where memories are made, friendships are formed, and lives are changed. It has always been a dream of mine to open a dive. If I could, these are the guidlines I would follow. 7
SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
“ What can I say, I happen to be an aficionado of the dive bar”
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SPECIAL INTEREST
Now, these aren’t the set in stone rules for starting and maintaining a dive bar, but these are just a few things that I (and my liver) have noticed in my many nights spent in the dark underbelly of any city’s bar scene. Also, of course a dive bar cannot simply be set up automatically; that would be like opening a restaurant like TGI Fridays and claiming that all the random crap on the walls is authentic and has been there for years before the restuarant even came around. The essence of the dive bar is time and excessive use. To open a bar and called it a dive before it has even had one local cross the threshold is doing a disservice to dimly lit local watering holes all around the earth. Cheers and go to a dive. Right now. 9
SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
IS
AND
It’s strange really, how much we take
moving away from your small town or
something for granted, especially when
your poor background. Families changed,
we are so caught up in the constant
populations moved, and everywhere we
movement of life. We forget that sitting
went there were cheap hamburgers and
down and tasting something delicious,
chicken without skin or legs. We weren’t
something that was made by hand and
forced into a situation where we had to
passed down from generation to genera-
find ingenious ways to make something
tion, can make us feel that much better
that was not very good, and there wasn’t
and sometimes bring us to tears. I think
very much of it, into something delicious.
this is finally coming back. A return to the
Where people have to cook well, or are
respect of food. Thank god.
forced by circumstances to cook well, they
How did we even lose this respect? I think it’s not high-mindedness. Post World War Two, we got lazy. We got spoiled. We could eat 20-ounce steaks. There were restaurants everywhere. It’s all about excessive portions and meat and potatoes. We lost touch with having to cook well because we didn’t have to. The nation had just been through a war, and suddenly there was a period of incredible prosperity, relatively, and it was all about convenience and things other than food. American culture is all about assimilating and moving away from your roots,
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learn to make the most of it. It was just as easy to go out to a Howard Johnson’s or a Horn & Hardart back in the ‘50s than it was to eat at home, in fact you were encouraged to do it. The TV dinner was seen as a godsend for people who had more
FOOD
important things to do than feed them-
What would happen if we were stripped
Food is a bonding experience. Sure, many
selves. That’s changing. We’re much more
of all the commercial food commodities?
of us eat alone, and this fine for whoever
aware of where our food comes from. I
Would we respect everything alot more?
wants to do that, but like most things,
hate to say it, but I think we will see it. As
Would we be calling our grandmothers
food is best when it is shared with some-
the price of raw ingredients rises, we’ll
more often to find out just how the hell
one. Not only is the experience of the
reach a point where a lot of working fam-
they made it work when they didn’t have
food shared, but life experiences in gen-
ilies will have to figure out how to cook
a supermarket or fast food chain wait-
eral. Stories of times past, flavors similar
again to make the most out of what they
ing for you just minutes away from the
to the ones being experienced at the
have. A lot of foods we take for granted
house? I think so. We would get closer
moment. Food is a gateway to emotions
now are going to be out of reach. We very
to our cultures and our land, because we
that peole sometimes supress or just
well might have to start cooking eventu-
would simply have to in order to survive.
plain forget about. Stuff your face and let
ally more like the Chinese, where meat,
This would make us appreciate each
those feelings out, people! Get to know
for instance, is less the main event than
flavor, each step taken to prepare, each
your food and understand where it comes
the garnish, the condiment, the flavoring
ounce of effort used to create a meal that
from. Or if you so choose, walk blindly
ingredient. So we might be forced to eat
would ultimately keep us from starving
and blandly into a world of food without
better, cook better, and eat healthier just
and in fact bring us all together. Which is
personality and respect. The choice is
by virtue of these food items we take for
another point that I want to address.
yours. Choose wisely.
granted being out of reach economically. Even at mid-range restaurants, any chef could put a big fat fillet of wild salmon on a plate. Now? Not so much.
“ food is an extension of nationalist feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma”
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SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
Ah, food and alcohol, could there be a better pair? I think not. Sure, both alcohol and food can leave you hurting the next morning, but ultimately they are the saving graces of any bad party, event, or travel experience. The food and alcohol act in symphony complimenting one another and creating taste experiences that leave you craving more. Oh and it definitely helps that one can be the cure for the pain of the other
Methodologies of cooking cover a broad spectrum from the contemporary practices of molecular gastronomy to the ages old method of charcuterie and everything simple in between. It’s important to realize that all are good ways to prepare a meal and to not get caught up in just one of them. The foundations will never leave and there will always be a maverick in the kitchen. It’s vital to understand and appreciate both
Whether hot dogs or squid balls, street food is the quickest way to discover the nuances of a culture. Sure, the food may not look to be the safest to eat, but looks can be deceiving. These vendors make this food because their life depends on it and it shows. The quality is better than that of any tourist trap restaurant and a much better experience
food as culture and history Food is everything we are. It’s an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. I guarantee that there is a culinary tradition that follows your family back for generations. Without food, history wouldn’t be the same
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FOOD
what really happens in a restaurant kitchen No, I want to tell you about the dark recesses of the restaurant underbelly-a subculture whose centuries-old militaristic hierarchy and ethos of “rum buggery and the lash” make for a mix of unwavering order and nerve-shattering chaos-because I find it all quite comfortable, like a nice warm bath.
celebrity chef phenomenon and its impact on the culinary world There was a time when chefs were invisible. They weren’t your best friend, their opinions didn’t matter and they, in turn, could care less about the opinions of others. Times have changed. People like Rachel Ray have taken over with their endorsements and “cooking techniques” that lead the world to believe that it’s the right thing to do. Sure, I milk the celebrity chef angle for all it’s worth, but for the opposite reasons that the food network flaunts to the masses. The best thing to come out of it: the greater appreciation of food. For that, I am thankful.
latin american influence on food industry not getting enough credit People have differing opinions on what we should do about immigration in the future. How open or how closed our borders should be. Fine. But let's be honest, at least, about who is cooking in America NOW. Who we rely on--have relied on for decades. The bald fact is that the entire restaurant industry in America would close down overnight, would never recover, if current immigration laws were enforced quickly and thoroughly across the board. Everyone in the industry knows this. It is undeniable.
vegetarian? VEGAN? why bother? cVegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold.
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SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
Anthony Bourdain is not your average chef: crass, opinionated, world traveler and suprisingly nice guy. However, his beginnings were much like that of any other chef, starting at the bottom and working his way to the top. I met with Tony, that’s what he prefers to be called after a drink or two, at a local pub and had a casual chat to discuss his path through life. The diagram gives a simplistice view of his path during the past few decades, if you dont want to read the discussion. “ Being a dishwasher, succeeding that
But there was quite a big downside to all of that.” His eyes are intently on me now, the background chatter receding. “I knew that my whole previous life was doomed. It was no longer going to be normal. I had seen that ... colour... and I knew that that
night as part of a group - that was the
had changed me, altered the way I would
first time I ever went home feeling proud.
look at things. And the first time I went
from the streets to the kitchen I miss the chef talk. Five or six chefs, all
back to America, I found I was right. Ev-
And in being that selfish I must have dis-
talking away about someone who’s a
erything was flat. Everything.” He doesn’t
backstabbing treacherous psycho, all
go into too many details, but his marriage
appointed people, and all my regrets are
agreeing, completely, and then into the
to Nancy broke up shortly afterwards.
anger someone just says, yeah, but he can cook. I miss that. Cooking is such an
thing changed. But ... look ... yes, there
intimate thing. There’s no lying in the
are regrets. But, also, and never mind this
kitchen. You can’t spin your ability: you
extraordinary change in life, the book - I
can’t even lie about your personal life,
have had so many things. So many other
because problems come through.”
things. I have loved with all my heart, and
His own personal life began to fall apart not long ago. You could blame the success of the book only in part: it was because of one physical place that success got him, and that was Vietnam. “ I’d read Greene. Conrad. Maugham. And Vietnam was just like the books, just like the movies, only better. The guileless generosity of strangers, waking up smelling those smells, seeing those sights. And having, once, one perfect meal, a confluence of everything good, a source of perfect happiness; I was almost ready to believe in God.
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“ She was the love of my life. But every-
I have been loved. I knew better people than I deserved. I had more fun than I deserved. What I do regret is letting people down. Not being able to be a complete human being. Long before I was even on TV I was always, somehow, seeing myself as if I was in a movie: selfish, narcissistic.
about disappointing people - as a friend, as a lover, being a letdown. Cooks. That explains why a lot of us go into the business in the first place. In there, there was something you could control, a way you could feel good about yourself.”
LIFE
and back again story by euan ferguson
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SUMMER 2011
SPECIAL GUEST EDITION
“ Maybe that’s enlightenment enough: to know that there is no final resting place of the mind; no moment of smug clarity. Perhaps wisdom...is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”
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