Anthony Bourdain

Last night, an old boss of mine (Mr D) wrote a note on Facebook –

“So we're watching Anthony Bourdain on TV and he states - his words, not mine: "There's a direct correlation between one's sense of humour and the desire to eat meat... vegans are the Hezbollah of foodies..." Just had to share (Ess Mick)! And for the record, I admire you.”

So I got a pretty good laugh out of this! And naturally I had to Google other thoughts and quotes of the lovely Anthony Bourdain, and here is a selection of what I found.

“Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food.”

– well Mr Bourdain, to me a life WITH veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese isn’t a life worth living. I am not your enemy (although I have a pretty good right hook), however I’m pretty sure that all the pigs, cows, ducks, chickens etc. out in the world view you as their enemy. And rightly so.

“Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”

– I couldn’t agree more! But I don’t feel right eating animal products, so this ride is going to be somewhat limited to some areas of the park. Vegetable County, Sorbet Square, Pizza World and Curry Lane are all fun, ethical rides to hop onto!

“What's the opposite of suck? Un-suck?”

 – This one just made me laugh!

“PETA doesn't want stressed animals to be cruelly crowded into sheds, ankle-deep in their own crap, because they don't want any animals to die-ever-and basically think chickens should, in time, gain the right to vote. I don't want animals stressed or crowded or treated cruelly or inhumanely because that makes them probably less delicious.”

– Is he for real? Perhaps he should watch this video?

But the real doozy to me was this one:

“I don’t have any understanding of it. Being a vegan is a first-world phenomenon, completely self-indulgent.”

 – Hang on… I’m being self-indulgent by choosing not to eat animals and their by-products, for not supporting the innocent slaughter of animals, for standing up for the rights of harmless animals. And for this I AM BEING SELF-INDULGENT???

With all due respect Mr Bourdain, you are a douche bag.

By the way, that last quote comes from an interview he did with Playboy. Enough said. This guy is clearly someone who just wants to be heard – and wants to be controversial so he stays in the news.

Next time that Anthony Bourdain comes to Australia, I would gladly invite him over for dinner and cook some ‘hezbollah’ food.