Originally posted July 2007
How does he stay so thin? On his Travel Channel TV series, “No Reservations”, author and Chef Anthony Bourdain wanders the world in search of “good” food. His 5th season is now in reruns, the 6th begins in August. Our traveling Chef doesn’t use the word “gourmet” – but, he does intone the word “simple” a lot. Plain simple French bistro eats, simple, fiery Indian street food, plain simple family style Italian food, and so on. He feels that the worst thing to be is a “tourist”. We should risk and explore, meet real people and find the good, simple food the natives eat. (It is sometimes unusual/bizarre – rattlesnake in Texas, assorted crunchy critters in a tasty sauce while in Asia, etc.) His favorite lines “this is sooooo good” ‘this is reeeealllly good”.
He has given up his cigarettes, but he still appears to eat tons of food as he explores the sights. Bourdain samples several courses, just about always has a dessert and washes it all down with the local brew, show after show – but, he doesn’t seem to gain a pound. Is it his metabolism or just the plain “simple” food? If it’s the food, I want what he’s having. (I really want his job 🙂
I also enjoy visiting the interesting places Chef Bourdain takes us – a food market in Thailand, the sewers of Paris, a Dacha in Russia, the bars of Iceland and even the wilds of New Jersey. Whether you are an intrepid world trekker or an arm chair/couch potato traveler, “No Reservations” can be a fun show.