Libby Dulski
9/27/16
9/27/16
Reading Response
#5
A Cook’s Tour
I found the second half of A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain to be
just as intriguing as the first half of the book. Bourdain’s very human and
connectable voice continued to shine through the pages of his book. In the
chapter “Tokyo Redux,” Bourdain’s voice is evident as he heads to the Nibiki
restaurant to eat Fugu. Fugu is a deadly puffer fish and a delicacy in Japan.
Bourdain explains that “you must be licensed by the state- after a long and
comprehensive course of training and examination- to prepare and service it. It
can kill you” [153]. Bourdain wanted to have an exhilarating near-death
experience while eating Fugu. However, Bourdain is disappointed by the meal as
he was expecting it to be thrilling. One can hear his voice clearly as he
described that “had I not been expecting a brain-bending, lip-numbing,
look-the-devil-in-the-face dining adventure, I would have been thrilled with
the meal” (155). Always wanting adventure and danger in his pursuit to the
perfect meal, he is dismayed to find that what he is eating is perfectly safe.
On a somewhat related note, while in
Japan, Bourdain got to witness sumo wrestling. He describes what they eat:
“Old-school chanko cuisine,
four-legged creatures were rarely served, the idea being that sumo wrestlers
who use all four limbs during a fight have lost the fight. Chicken- which stand
on two feet, like a good wrestler- and fish were the preferred main
ingredients” (158). Just like Bourdain, I assumed that the wrestlers would be
eating a fat-filled diet. However, this is not the case as they eat well,
often, and they sleep in between meals.
I am glad that towards the end of the book,
Bourdain talks about vegetarianism. I am thrilled that he mentions that “our
basic design features as humans, from the beginnings of our evolution,
developed around the very real need to hunt down slower, stupider animals, kill
them and eat them” (239-240). I make this argument whenever my best friend, a
devout vegan, tells me that I should also become a vegan or at the very least a
vegetarian. While people all over the world are starving, I get preached at to
eat less meat. Some people would kill for a crispy chicken finger or a rack of
ribs, yet all I get are scary stories of where that crispy chicken finger came
from, or how the cow I am scarfing down probably had a family. Ha, good luck convincing
me.
I liked how Bourdain ended his book. In
every chapter, I was searching to see if Bourdain would clarify his definition
of the “perfect meal.” And, in the last chapter, I finally got to see what his
thoughts on “perfect” were. He says that, “The whole concept of the ‘perfect
meal’ is ludicrous” (272). He summarizes what he means by perfect by stating
that “when you’re shivering under four blankets in a Moroccan hotel room, the
perfect meal can be something no more exotic than breakfast at Barney
Greengrass back in New York- the one you had four months ago” (272). I thought
that Bourdain was actually in pursuit of the “perfect meal,” but really there
are going to be many seemingly perfect meals.
His relationship with vegetarianism is mostly hilarious--and I'm glad you felt vindicated by his stance. This seems to be a subject many of you are interested in, so I'm glad to say we'll address it more thoroughly in the last weeks of class. Nice reflection on the idea of "the perfect meal." It's an illusion, certainly, an impossible pursuit. Pretty fun and interesting to try and chase it though, don't you think? I wouldn't say no to that job.
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