Yes, Chef - Marcus Samuelsson

A delightful, pleasurable book!  Marcus Samuelsson was born in a very small, primitive village in Ethiopia.  When he was 3, he, his mother and his older sister contracted tuberculosis.  Against all odds, and with amazing strength and determination, his mother carried him and, holding his sister's hand, walked with them  to a distant hospital - she died, but Marcus and his sister survived.  In a few months, they were adopted by a Swedish family who already had one adopted black child - and now had three!  The book consists of two parallel  stories - Marcus' unusual life history, and his development as a cook.  He has a passion for different kinds of tastes and cuisines.  Through exceptionally hard work and a can do attitude "Yes, Chef" - he progressed  up the "food chain" rapidly; at 24, his talent and training, together with a stroke of luck, allowed him to become the head chef at a classy Swedish restaurant in New York, Aquavit.  He quickly garnered a three-star review from Ruth Reichl and went on to other noteworthy successes - and some serious setbacks and personal trials, recounted with candor.  Great insights into the diverse world of first-class restaurants, and a warm, winning human story.

Anthony Bourdain

So I'd never watched Anthony Bourdain and had never read Anthony Bourdain, but this spring ran across an interview he did with the DCist in Washington where he compares Alice Waters to the Khmer Rouge. I thought "well THAT'S a little extreme" but wasn't ready to form an opinion until (a)I had read some Anthony Bourdain, and (b) had learned more about Alice Waters and had eaten at Chez Panisse.

Both A and B have been accomplished. Ironically, I chose the Bourdain book where he attends a dinner party of vegetarians in Berkeley which is a HILARIOUS chapter. From his perspective, the Berkeley-ites come off as virtuous, hypocritic Alice Waters-disciples who tout a lifestyle completely out of reach and disconnected from the average US citizen. I see his point. Then again, I imagine that one of those dinner party attendees would say that 'Tony' is a chain-smoking and offensive vagrant who behaves badly for fame and a paycheck. Neither party is innocent.

But what he really criticizes at that dinner party is the vegetarian cooking. If vegetarian food is cooked poorly, it's not going to taste good. Period. However, Bourdain didn't actually eat at Chez Panisse. If he had, he would have had the best vegetarian meal of his life. Last month in Berkeley, Eric and I made a pilgrimage to the CP Cafe. The ambiance was relaxed, the service was attentive but not intrusive, and my vegetarian meal was divine. And no where did I see signs of communism or other subversive powers at work.

And I picked up Alice's "In the Green Kitchen". It turns out to be a compilation book of techniques by her favorite chefs, but the foreword is passionately written by her and illustrates that her philosophy is not meant to be virtuous, its meant to drive a return to local, homegrown and sustainable food. I see how that might be out of reach for some, but for many communities (including the impoverished SW corner of DC that just received its first Yes! Organic Grocery store) Alice's movement IS coming and it IS going to provide access to pesticide-free, responsibly grown food. How is that bad, Bourdain?

Bourdain backsteps on his Waters-hating by saying that he appreciates what she did for local producers. I found it ironic that he went on from Berkeley to eat a 16 course, 4 hour, over-the-top meal at French Laundry and couldn't find anything to criticize about that. If you want to talk about something completely out of reach for the average American, lets talk about THAT!

Regardless of the philosophies, I enjoyed Bourdain's travels (especially his time in Russia) and found myself laughing out loud at his inner-dialogue. The man is funny, and I don't think anyone can argue with that.

Related reading

While in Rome, I tried to focus my reading on books of direct relevance. So among others, I read Room With a (Disappointing) View, The Leopard (an Italian classic that is more moody and introspective than I cared for), Heat (great fun in Mario Batali’s kitchen and footsteps), and numerous others. I’m just started reading Rubicon, about the final days of the Roman Republic.

Aside from Italian subject matter, I also picked up a book about the UN, Emergency Sex. It is more substantive than it sounds, covering the heady New World Order days, when the UN/US were prepared to send troops to support democracy and human rights in Somalia, Haiti, and elsewhere. Despite the titular, titling elements that helped it become a best seller, the book depressingly chronicles the deflation of this idealism.