Anthony Bourdain Gets It

I didn’t really want to write a blog on Anthony Bourdain. However, Anthony Bourdain is hard not to write about as I agree with his philosophy on the restaurant industry on a fundamental level even though according to him, in his book Medium Raw, I am too old to aspire to be a chef. In the book he writes, “How old are you? Nobody will tell you this, but I will: If you’re thirty-two years old and considering a career in professional kitchens? If you’re wondering if, perhaps, you are too old? Let me answer that question for you: Yes. You are too old”. I am 33 years old. That being said, his words do not discourage me, Anthony Bourdain does not know me from Saturday. His arrogant bravado and sometimes pretentious words hold no sway on my desires.

Back to my original point, I agree with his philosophy about the culture of working in the restaurant industry. I recently read an interview he did in 2002, and something he says really jumped out at me. What he says is the reason why I disregard his ageist attitude. The interviewer poses the question: “Your kitchen staffs have been amazingly loyal and productive under the most brutal conditions. How do you account for that?” Bourdain begins his answer by referring to Chef Auguste Escoffier's "brigade system." Eschoffier served in the army during the Franco-Prussian War, so as a result he ran his kitchens with “military precision”. Bourdain’s response to the question goes as such:

The military model is no accident. When people are working under difficult and even degrading conditions, it's very useful to make everyone concerned feel like a member of the elite, however debauched. The very things that are hardest and most uncomfortable and make your job appear unbearable to outsiders are the ones you take the most pride in. The negatives become a plus. So if you had the harder, more degrading day—that makes you better.

To me this quote speaks volumes. As a veteran of the United States Marine Corps I can uncompromisingly relate to this statement. There is a mind set in the Corps that closely mirrors what Bourdain is saying. In the Marine Corps the hardest job you can have is being an infantryman. They are called Grunts. I myself was not an infantryman by trade but I was a field radio operator attached to an infantry company; I was a battery operated Grunt, the title given to radio operators who are on the line (infantry= line company aka front line and if taken further line cook). We took tremendous pride in being Grunts. We even had a name for those who were not one of us; we called them P.O.G.s: Person Other Than Grunt. It is this reason why Bourdain speaks to me on a different level. It is the reason why my girlfriend could intuitively know that I would relate to his book and mentality. Some of us don’t necessarily want to be in the trenches, but once we are there we revel in and almost enjoy it. We take pride in doing what we know that most couldn’t do, and if they were able wouldn’t voluntarily do it. That is the essence of the quote above. Bourdain may have his faults but his philosophy and intuition is something I can’t disagree with.

         DISCLAIMER: This blog was by no way an endorsement for Anthony Bourdain. To be honest after reading Medium Raw I think he is a one hit wonder. He is still riding the wave from Kitchen Confidential but it doesn’t change the fact that his philosophy is sound.

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