international eating

Anthony Bourdain is a bad ass.

Yea, I think I'm on the late freight with this discovery, considering he wrote his books many years ago, has (had?) a television show and is considered a celebrity chef. It's amazing where life can take a person.

I just finished Medium Raw after spending a day reading his pissed off angry Kitchen Confidential biography/food writing book. I toyed with the idea of pursuing a chef's profession, but after reading what he has to say about the business, I was convinced-otherwise.

I will not go back to working in the food industry. Back? Yeah. I spent a couple of years working with food services while in college, I made hundreds of smoothies, pretzels, hot dogs, and popping popcorn for basketball games. After a year, I was promoted to cash manager and quit because of the stress of that responsibility. And I was nineteen years old! Things do not change when making food for others. People always complain. Food is not ALWAYS perfectly made, but made well enough to be eaten.

Medium Raw gave me such a better appreciation of describing food for people reading or listening to me describe. I read, and read...addicted to indulging on the words describing Bourdains' indulgent experiences in the various countries. I could almost taste the tacos he savored or the description of the fish that melted in his mouth.

Bourdain does seem to have a soap box of his own, attempting to educate people not only about the goodness of food all over the world, but also in food etiquette. When Anthony got on his soap box about the importance of manners and accepting meals no matter what they serve in whatever country we travel to.

This part of the text immediately took me back to Asilah, Morocco. My friends and I took a weekend trip to Morocco while I was living in Spain for a semester. We decided to go into town, knowing that most people would be at home-it being Ramadan and all.

The bell boy at the hotel invited us to his home with his family. His mother made us a delicious meal of I have no idea what. It was super exciting to taste everything on the table, in the different textures and flavors. I remember that I kept asking "what is that?" and eating it anyway because I was so excited to be in the coolest place with some of the most hospitable people I have ever met.

I think back at the four months I spent in Spain, indulging on paella, churros y chocolate, tortilla, fresh bread, and sangria. I also think of my "food allergy" of swine and how much that completely affected my trip. I feel so horrible to lose that experience. I wonder what it would have been like to taste jamon serrano along with my manchego cheese.

I probably offended the family I lived with when I explained to them that I didn't eat the best thing on the menu (according to them). At 22, I didn't think much of it. At 31 (and after reading Bourdain's justification), I understand that I could have sucked up the pain of eating "different" foods than my body is used to eating.

It is my intention to travel back to the motherland. I want to change my way of viewing particular foods (and maybe taste them) next time.