I wanted to write in Kitchenese, the secret language of cooks, instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever dunked french fries for a summer job or suffered under the despotic rule of a tyrannical chef or boobish owner. Anthony Bourdain More Quotes by Anthony Bourdain More Quotes From Anthony Bourdain You realize after you travel enough that there's some things that, no matter how good you are at making television, no matter how good your cameras are, how well it's edited, there's no way the lenses could have captured the moment, and there's no way you will ever be able to write about it and do it justice. Anthony Bourdain cameras justice writing Without new ideas success can become stale Anthony Bourdain new-ideas stale ideas I did go into the Amazonian region of Brazil. They have prehistoric river fish that weigh in at around 600 pounds, which you don’t see anywhere else. And foods that cannot be exported or even found in other parts of Brazil. Anthony Bourdain brazil pounds rivers Cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards. Anthony Bourdain rewards excellence doe Doing graphic novels is cool! It's fun! You get to write something, and then see it visually page by page, panel by panel, working with the artist, you get to see it fleshed out. Anthony Bourdain artist writing fun I am a delightfully evangelical guy about things I love. I am that annoying guy who sits everyone down and forces them to read some book I like. I'm looking across the full spectrum of genres. Anthony Bourdain things-i-love guy book Norman Mailer described the desire to be cool as a "decision to encourage the psychopath in oneself, to explore that domain of experience where security is boredom and therefore sickness and one exists in the present, in that enormous present which is without past or future, memory or planned intention. Anthony Bourdain boredom memories past I'm never a reliable narrator, unbiased or objective. Anthony Bourdain narrators unbiased objectives I'm evangelical on the subject of some chefs and writers. Anthony Bourdain evangelical subjects chef I just do the best I can and write something interesting, to tell stories in an interesting way and move forward from there. Anthony Bourdain writing interesting moving I don't think people should be encouraged to look like Kate Moss; I think that's unreasonable. I think the normal human body should be glorified. By the same token, if you need a stick to wash yourself, you're not healthy. Anthony Bourdain healthy people thinking Southeast Asia has a real grip on me. From the very first time I went there, it was a fulfillment of my childhood fantasies of the way travel should be. Anthony Bourdain childhood real way I am in no way supportive of hunting for trophies or sport - would never do it and don't like it that others do. But if you kill it, then eat it, it's fine. Anthony Bourdain hunting supportive sports As Americans, we tend to look at Mexican food as nachos, which is not Mexican food really - they don't eat them. Anthony Bourdain nachos mexican looks The mishandling of food and equipment with panache was always admired; to some extent, this remains true to this day. Butchers still slap down prime cuts with just a little more force and noise than necessary. Line cooks can't help putting a little English on outgoing plates, spinning them into the pass-through with reverse motion so they curl back just short of the edge. Oven doors in most kitchens have to be constantly tightened because of repeatedly being kicked closed by clog-shod feet. And all of us dearly love to play with knives. Anthony Bourdain knives cutting doors Only desperation can account for what the Chinese do in the name of 'medicine.' That's something you might remind your New Age friends who've gone gaga over 'holistic medicine' and 'alternative Chinese cures. Anthony Bourdain chinese medicine names When I was writing 'Kitchen Confidential,' I was in my 40s, I had never paid rent on time, I was 10 years behind on my taxes, I had never owned my own furniture or a car. Anthony Bourdain car writing years I like telling stories, and I tell stories that interest me. It would be boring to have to go to nothing but the best restaurants. That would be a misery to me. Anthony Bourdain misery would-be stories The cooking profession, while it's a noble craft and a noble calling, 'cause you're doing something useful - you're feeding people, you're nurturing them, you're providing sustenance - it was never pure. Anthony Bourdain noble cooking people I’ve been really fortunate in that I guess I was hired to do A Cook’s Tour, I was already a known quantity, meaning I had written a really obnoxious book and nobody expected me to be anyone that I wasn’t already. Anthony Bourdain obnoxious cooks book
