Here are some of the topics that were covered that evening:

Views on Vegetarians and Adapting to Culures
Right from the start, Bourdain makes his comments on how vegetarians are depriving themselves of what’s out there. He felt sorry for them and joked on about how could some people say no to meat. All jokes aside, he goes on to saying how his own personal values would be set aside when traveling abroad. The hosts of the countries he visits go above and beyond to cater to him. This reference made me think about a scenario where a vegetarian would be disappointing their host who hunted down a wild boar and roasted it just for them, by saying “No, I can’t eat this. Can I have a salad instead?” Is that right? How would you feel? Is it respectful? In my opinion, giving respect to a host is important. What would you do in that situation?

Good For the World – Bad For the World
It’s a love hate thing when it comes to celebrity chefs. There are the good and the bad. There are some that we love to see and others that just make us shake our heads saying, “Oh, no…”. Bourdain began to interact with the crowd as he asked for names of celebrity chefs to see if they were good or bad for the world. He tried to refer to celebrity chefs’ influence on cooking culture. The first name yelled from the crowd was Emeril Lagasse. Boos were heard throughout the auditorium. The funny thing was that despite the booing, Bourdain thought that Emeril had a positive impact. He said that he might not agree with Emeril all the time, but you can learn something from him. Other chefs that made the good list were Julia Childs, Mario Batali, and Bobby Flay. Someone mentioned Guy Fieri and Bourdain just laughed. He said, “Who cooks with all that bling on? I’m not eating a hamburger made from that guy.” I smirked thinking that with all the dirt trapped under Guy’s rings, I’d skip the burgers too. You already knew that Guy was on the bad list.

McDonald’s Is Taking Over
Bourdain quickly referred to a study that kids who ate food wrapped in McDonald’s packaging were more likely to eat them. In fact, he said that the study also showed that kids would like the foods even more, just because they thought the food was from McDonald’s. I haven’t seen the study myself, but it makes you think how such a big corporation has nearly brainwashed our youth. He mentioned that today, children have a higher risk of having Type 2 Diabetes, and that we should be careful. Perhaps, Bourdain had his own daughter in mind when he discussed this topic. The golden arches are bad for your health.

The State of the Restaurant Industry and Adapting to Change
Bourdain moved on to a more serious topic. He went on to discuss the failing restaurant industry. With the economy at its current state, he noticed trends of fewer people eating out at restaurants. The cost of food was rising and it’s hurting restaurant owners. Bourdain goes and mentions an article by Momofuku chef, David Chang about change. As far as change goes, Bourdain felt that the ratio of protein, vegetables, and starch, was a factor that needed change. With high food costs, your large cut of New York Steak was not going to take the spotlight anymore. He stated that we should look for more of a balance. Bourdain also felt that we are headed back to the Chinese style of cooking where one has to make do with what one has.

The lecture ended with plenty of questions from the audience. You had questions about the show, Bourdain’s personal life, advice on travel, and more. You even had a die hard Anthony Bourdain fan show off his tattoo in front of the crowd. It was definitely an amusing evening.

Being an Anthony Bourdain fan myself and listening to his words sparked more inspiration for myself in terms of seeing what’s out world. Cultures, food, rituals are just journeys waiting to be experienced. I think we only have one opportunity on this earth to see it’s offerings. We better make the best of it.

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