Visiting
Orlando as a special guest of the Florida Film Festival, Anthony Bourdain arrived at
the Enzian in Maitland for a couple of quick interviews
and some schmoozing time with the rich folks that keep the film festival in
operation. Relaxed, with a beer in hand, the bad boy of the culinary world handles the attention with ease.
Watching
him handle the press, he’s well-seasoned for this type of
thing. Metromix gets a five-minute slot with Bourdain to chat about food, film and more.
You’re here as a special guest for
the 2008
I’m not
going for the nachos but I’ll, you know, eat some Almond Joys and that space-aged polymer butter popcorn — it’s part of the experience.
So you’re not sneaking in Oysters or
anything …
No, no you
know it’s like bringing really good food on a plane. Everyone will hate me.
So as far as films go, do you have a
favorite genre? Do you like these film festivals?
I’m a film
nerd. I like Italian neorealist cinema.
I like the early French nouvelle vague, I’m a
big fan of the '60s Golden Age of Peckinpah, Arthur Penn. I
love film noir. I love early David Lean. I’m a serious film nerd; I always have been and grew
up in a film nerd family. So I’ve been
waiting to get invited to a film festival ... but who really cares what I have
to say about film? I mean do you? Not really, but apparently somebody does!
That’s great. So while you’re out traveling the world, do
you ever just yearn for a 99-cent double cheeseburger and a big ol’ Coke?
No, er, I
yearn first for a pastrami sandwich or some utility pizza. There are the fish and rice cultures where
after a while you’re thinking I could really use a steak or some red meat. But that’s more of a kind of generic blood
lust. But as far as a nasty burger … no
it’s not really the first thing that I think of. It’s some utility pizza and a good pastrami
sandwich.
So as far as when you’re traveling,
do you prefer going on a book tour or doing your shows?
Oh, the
shows! Not even close. On a book tour if you get to eat some Pringles, you’re
doing pretty good. But the show, you know I’m traveling with friends, we go
where I want to go, we do pretty much whatever the hell I want to do, some of
the best places and the best meals in the world so you know it’s more fun. And
there’s no question I’m eating better on the show and at a more relaxed
pace.
Do you really enjoy all of those
intestines and things you eat on your show?
I like intestines. I tend to like guts and hooves and snouts and
those things, sure. You know, I’m not
going to pretend I like the fresh taste of Tarantula, but I don’t. If it sucks, I’ll look in the camera and say
‘this is really, disturbingly bad.’ The
business end of a warthog, I hated it and I told you so.
Do you enjoy the infamy of being the
cooking world’s bad boy? Because everyone’s always saying "That Anthony
Bourdain he’s so crass … he’s the bad boy."
You know, I
wrote a really obnoxious book, so I guess I’m known for that and no one expects
me to morph into Tyler Florence or a diplomat. Which is a pretty luxurious place
to be because I can pretty much say what I want whenever I want and nobody
expects me to do anything else. But I’m certainly not that bad anymore. I
wrote a lot of stuff that even when I wrote it I wasn’t doing [those things]
anymore and I’m certainly not a boy. But
listen, it beats working for a living, you can call me whatever you want — other
than Rachel.
Quick Run-Down
Regular or Menthol?
I quit
smoking, but regulars. At any point in
my smoking career I would have preferred to quit than smoke menthols.
Beer or liquor?
Beer
Blonde or brunette?
Brunette
Steak or chicken?
Steak
Boxers or Dobermans?
Dobermans
After our
interview, Bourdain finally had a chance to schmooze and eat. The mother of a featured chef from Café De
France greeted him with a plate of food “made especially for him.” He went over
to the chef and signed his book and took a picture with him. Basically, Anthony Bourdain is,
refreshingly, the person you expect him to be.
Anthony Bourdain is host of The Travel Channel’s "No Reservations" series and his new book, "The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Useable Trim, Scraps and Bones," is on sale now.
