Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw

I got this book as a graduation gift from my dad. He is well aware that I am a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain’s show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. I discovered in this book a guided tour of many worlds. Those worlds all use food as a medium of expression.

            Bourdain’s lingers over the portrayal of certain people cannot be ignored, and sometimes his portraits are blunt. However, they can be balanced as well. Bourdain portrays these people with his own opinions about them. The reason why Bourdain writes about these people is because they are powerful people in the food realm. It matters that Bourdain writes about these people because as someone who has been “in the restaurant business for twenty-eight years [and] much of that time as an employer” (49), he must know a lot about the food world.  For example, he describes one of the shows that Brooke Johnson, the head of the Food Network (8), approved of airing, the “Food Network Awards” (8), as “humiliating [and] painful-to-watch” (8). An opinion of her work on the job is an indirect opinion of her and her capabilities as an important figure in the television and food worlds. Bourdain can even be blunt to the point of “call[ing Alan Richman] a douchebag” (168) not only once, but “repeatedly” (167). This man is described as the “respected elder statesman of restaurant criticism, winner of an armload of James Beard Awards, and writer-reviewer for GQ” (167). His honesty about who Richman is shows that he doesn’t mind showing how much prestige the man possesses. This balance also manifests itself when he writes about Alice Waters. He writes: “Let it be said that, on balance, I would like the world to look, someday, much like Alice probably wants it to look like” (129). While he agrees with Waters on that specific point, he point out one detail that makes her dream unrealistic. Bourdain emphasizes a specific point by writing the question in italics: “Who will work these fields?” (130). Alice Waters is deemed “the “Mother of Slow Food”” (127), which suggests that she gets a lot of media attention. This assertion is most likely correct because she appeared on a well-known show called “60 Minutes” (135). She may not possess any cooking credentials (136-137), but she does own a restaurant, “Chez Panisse” (137).

            Bourdain also explores the world of eateries big and small (91). He focuses on a particular food for each place. For example, he writes about a pastrami sandwich being made and eaten “[a]t the deli on Houston Street” (89). He describes the sandwich as “so moist and tender you wonder how the guy gets his knife without mashing it” (89). He not only reveals how delicious the sandwich is, but points out the skill that goes into making it. Another example is “the baguettes” (91) from a “tiny Parisian boulangerie” (91). The term “boulangerie” means bakery (91). The combination of bread and butter are so amazing that he describes “[t]he reaction [due to eating them as being] violent” (91). These two examples show that Bourdain is interested in illustrating how amazing simple foods can be. And yet, he refuses to reveal the names of the places where these foods are prepared. He also lingers on certain restaurants by detailing the courses he has had at places such as Le Bernardin (248-252) and Momofuku Ko (216-219). For example, he writes “a tiny plate of oyster, caviar, and sea urchin to start” (218), which he declares as “three ingredients born to be together” (218) and “An extraordinary poached halibut with braised daikon, baby radish, and turnips in a sesame court bouillon” (251). What is revealed is glimpses of life through Bourdain’s eyes. His detailed memories show that he cares about a lot of the ways that food can be presented. This trait in Bourdain is another reason why the reader should trust him in this book.

            Bourdain also uses his personal experiences with food to impart wisdom to his readers. For example, in his chapter “So You Wanna Be a Chef” (49-58), he writes “I’m not going to tell you here how to live your life. I’m just saying, I guess, that I got very lucky. And luck is not a business model” (58). And yet, his expertise shows through his spent years in certain culinary institutions. He is “a graduate of the finest and most expensive culinary school in the country, the CIA” (49). He also “was in the restaurant business for twenty-eight years – much of that time as an employer” (49). The culinary school and restaurant are institutions where handling food is important. In both institutions, there is a lot of practice involved, which eventually makes a trainee an expert. Expertise, however, is not the only factor that is needed to trust Bourdain. Bourdain is also very passionate about food. He cares about the production of “meat” (101), for example. He even uses rough language to emphasize how much he cares about this issue (101). His language reveals who he is, such as “It’s my birthright as an American, God damn it” (100). We learn from this sentence that he curses, pays attention to God, and is a patriotic American. All of this is revealed in one sentence, which indicates a skill with words.

            Bourdain, as a trustworthy writer, shows us what food can do. It creates institutions and people that are dedicated to it as an art form. The presence of this food world is more prevalent than any outsider would have thought before reading Medium Raw.