“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating out in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonald’s? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.”
The world is a wide, wonderful and deeply diverse place. You may think that you have a relatively firm grasp on humanity and what it means to be a human being, but then you can go traveling to an entirely different culture and you realize that the people there have an entirely different way of living. What you thought was “Mexican” food isn’t at all what actual Mexicans in Mexico eat. You might think that your city’s metro system is advanced and then you see what they have in Tokyo. Go somewhere else and you’ll realize that you really take “clean” electricity and indoor plumbing for granted.
While I don’t necessarily agree with everything that Anthony Bourdain has to say, I do find myself identifying with much of what he does. And I completely agree that when you go out and see the world, you should make the commitment to similarly eat the world. Why on Earth would you go to Scotland and not eat the haggis? I’ve had sulfuric black eggs in Hakone, medium-rare goose gizzards in Paris, whole duck tongue on a skewer in Taipei, and kangaroo steak in Australia.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Anthony Bourdain, he was a chef for a good number of years, but he is far better known these days for experiencing the world through his stomach. Most of us know him from television shows like No Reservations, The Layover and, most recently, Parts Unknown. Through his programming, we are reminded that so much of a culture is ingrained in its food. You haven’t really seen a country or really come to understand a people until you’ve eaten their food.
Absolutely, there are all sorts of health risks involved when it comes to eating questionable food in a foreign land. I’m not saying that you should throw caution to the wind, but it is important to sample the local fare. Generally speaking, if the locals eat it regularly and the food item is reasonably cooked, you’re probably pretty safe. You might recall when Ed Lau ate raw chicken on purpose and he’s still alive and well. Given the right opportunity, I’d gladly try balut in the Philippines or deep fried water beetle in Thailand.
“If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel — as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them — wherever you go.”
I’m not 22 years old anymore, nor am I particularly all that physically fit, but I am hungry to learn and I am hungry to be better. I love to travel and it is one of the biggest regrets from my 20s that I didn’t do more of it. It wasn’t until this year that I took my first trip to Europe and it wasn’t until a couple years ago that I touched down in Australia. But there’s still so much more world to see and there’s still so much food to try. As authentic as your local restaurant may try to be, there’s nothing quite like eating Italian pasta in Italy or Peruvian ceviche in Peru.
Maybe it has something to do with novelty-seeking. That personality trait can be connected to troublemaking, but it’s also a predictor of well-being. So, if it means that I might get into some trouble for going out to see (and eat) the world, so be it. I’ll be all the happier for it.
In all things travel and food, Bourdain is the dude I strive to be. He’s like my food philosophy Buddha.
Ironically, the week after receiving a coronary stent in the main artery of my heart, I was off to no other than “Scotland”, the land of deep fired everything!
While sitting in a 900 year old hotel across the street from the infamous Rosslyn Chapel, I noticed on the menu “Deep Fried Haggis in Whiskey Sauce”. While thinking about my new shinny bare-metal stent, my immediate choice was “Let’s test this baby out!” The haggis was spectacular. If you have never tried it, I recommend the Rosslyn Hotel.
The entire trip was a passage through my heritage and there was no meal denied. That was 3 years ago and I’m still alive today… regardless of the fact that I have turned vegan in my own day to day food choices. (Perhaps a hilarious aftereffect of that trip?)
You may think stepping into the shoes of a vegan is a choice of bland and boring foods, but you would be completely mislead. It too is an exploration into a food fanfare that is often reluctantly untraveled. If you can’t afford to travel, simply close the cookbook you’re using and in the spirit of Bourdain, open one you would have never considered. What’s the worst that could happen?
Thank you Michael, love your taste in blogging.
David Wilson
Bourdain is the God of good Food TV. His programs have developed over the years into much more than food, as you say it is culture, the people. What the people eat is a byproduct of there diversity, their habitat and themselves as a culture.
I’ve learned a lot from watching his shows.