Last night Jeff and I headed down to Union Square to attend Anthony Bourdain’s book signing for his new book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
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Not surprising, Bourdain was witty, funny, honest, and not politically correct as he read an excerpt from his book and answered audience questions.
Here are 2 of his best comments -
“Eating McDonald’s will make you a retard.”
In response to a question about how he teaches his daughter to eat good healthy food. To paraphrase Bourdain – companies like McDonald’s and Burger King use psychological tactics to lure children, so we should do the same. Children aren’t interested in statistics, nor do they understand them. What they understand is what they fear at a young age – getting cooties, being the outcast, etc. Hence Bourdain’s statement above meant to deter children from eating crap food. Fantastic.
“Show up on time and do the very best you can.”
In response to a question about advice for young chefs trying to make it in an extremely competitive industry. I think this is great advice for success for anyone.
Can’t wait to read his new book!
I’ve heard that this book, Jonathan Weiner’s The Beak of the Finch: A Story of Evolution in Our Time, is a must-read before visiting the Galapagos Islands. This Pulitzer Prize winner is a great introduction to Darwin’s theory of evolution and modern evolutionary science – evolution is real and it’s happening now all around us. Hopefully I’ll be able to finish it before we arrive in the Galapagos in just 2 short weeks!
“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly vegetables. That, more or less, is the short answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated and confusing question of what we humans should eat in order to be maximally healthy.”
This is the start of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. Along with Omnivore’s Dilemma, this book has shaped our attitude about food and healthy eating. Pollan presents some interesting background on the American food industry in a way that is easy to read and amusing thanks to his engaging style. He also offers some great advice about how and why to avoid the “edible foodlike substances” that have pervaded the Western diet and eat real food. We try to follow Pollan’s guidelines as much as possible and delight in trying new eats that are locally sourced and processed as little as possible (if at all).
Here is a summary of Pollan’s guidelines directly from In Defense of Food:
Eat food: Food Defined
- Don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
- Avoid food products containing ingredients that are a) unfamiliar, b) unpronounceable, c) more than five in number, or include d) high-fructose corn syrup.
- Avoid food products that make health claims.
- Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.
- Get out of the supermarket whenever possible– shake the hand that feeds you.
Mostly plants: What to Eat
- Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.
- You are what what you eat eats too.
- If you have the space, buy a freezer. (When you find a good source of pastured meat, you’ll want to buy it in quantity).
- Eat like an omnivore.
- Eat well-grown food from healthy soils.
- Eat wild foods when you can.
- Be the kind of person who takes supplements.
- Eat more like the French. Or the Italians. Or the Japanese. Or the Indians. Or the Greeks.
- Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.
- Don’t look for the magic bullet in the traditional diet.
- Have a glass of wine with dinner.
Not too much: How to eat
- Pay more, eat less.
- Eat meals.
- Do all of your eating at a table. No not a desk. A table.
- Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does.
- Try not to eat alone.
- Consult your gut.
- Cook and if you can plant a garden.