The notoriously outspoken bad boy of the food scene is at it again.
Last week, No Reservations star Anthony Bourdain told TV Guide how he really feels about some of the Food Network’s biggest celebrity chefs, including Rachael Ray, Guy Fieri, and most notably, Paula Deen, whom he called “the worst, most dangerous person to America.”
The professional chef, author, and restaurateur went on to bash the Southern cook for her unhealthy recipes and her influence on an already-obese America. (He ended, poignantly, by saying Deen’s food “sucks.”)
Bourdain is hardly the first person to accuse Deen of fattening up her fans. Other public figures, such as Barbara Walters, have scolded her for the nutritional content of her recipes, particularly those aimed at children.
No one at the Food Network nor Deen herself is denying that her meals are buttery, fatty, artery-clogging, cream-cheesy, and just plain bad for you. But is she really captivating a nation to the point where we’re getting fatter as a result?
The American obesity debacle obviously can’t be pinned on a single celebrity chef. The reality is more complex. It’s true that many of Deen’s recipes aren’t good for your waistline, but you may not even need to eat her food to be influenced by it. A growing body of research suggests that our national obsession with food entertainment may be unconsciously affecting our appetites.
Earlier this year, I spoke with nutritionists and experts who have studied what exactly drives us to eat things like deep-fried butter balls (yes, that’s a real Deen recipe). And they told me that seeing a “desirable” food—whether in a magazine, on TV, or in person—can drive us to feel hungry even when we aren’t.
What’s more, high-fat food typically has a greater impact on us in this respect than healthier options. In one study, images of pizza and burgers triggered brain activity in women in areas associated with appetite, more so than fruits and salads. That’s bad news for Deen fans.
Deen wasn’t too pleased with Bourdain’s bullying, and in true Southern fashion she fired back, defending herself and her fellow Food Network personalities.
“My friends and I cook for regular families who worry about feeding their kids and paying the bills,” she told the New York Post.
By encouraging families to cook, Food Network stars—even Deen—may actually be helping in a way. They may not make Bourdain wish he had Smell-o-Vision, but if Rachael Ray’s half-hour meals make it possible for working parents to sit down for a family dinner with the kids, that’s great: Studies have linked family meals to better nutrition for the entire family.
Food, nutrition, and obesity warrant serious conversations, and if it takes Bourdain’s cutting tongue to spark the discussion, so be it. At the same time, Deen’s impassioned response—and the copious media attention it attracted—is a reminder that Bourdain and Deen are dueling all the way to the bank.
Their opinions on taste and quality couldn’t be more different, but whether they’d admit it or not, they are playing for the same food-culture, food-media, food-frenzy team. And in their own way, they both continue to feed—and profit from—our country’s mania for food.
As bystanders, we should be aware that all this talk about food may be stimulating our appetites. Our bodies and brains will try to trick us into eating, so willpower and dietary knowledge will have to win out over raw temptation—at least most of the time.
Comments (10)
Mr. B is not the most dipolmatic persona on the planet, but he nailed it with Ms. Deen artery clogging recipes. Ever seen her make a salad? Besides that Paula is nothing more than another example of opportunistic TV person, whose credo is “Make a pile of money as fast as I can”. Cook books, cookware, etc. Her food, the overprocessed image(the hair & fake teeth) are enough to make one want to vomit.
Bourdain can be overly undiplomatic in his delivery, for sure. And, Paula may appeal to the populist side of American food lovers. But, Bourdain nailed it. Americans do not, as Bourdain said elsewhere, “need (to be taught) to eat their bacon double-cheeseburgers between two donuts.” I couldn’t have said it better… nicer, maybe, but not better!
I blame all of the Food Network. While a good idea when it first started years ago, all it is now is a platform for products we don’t need (there is no such thing as a ‘special’ frying pan) and creating neo-celebrities who’s food, does in fact, SUCK. Bravo Bourdain! Bravo!!
Paula and Ratchel Ray are both wonderful cooks and yous and you can use less amounts of the butter and bacon fats. I”m from the south and still COOK WITH FATS AND BUTTER BUT IN MODERATION . RATCHEL RAY HAS TAUGHT MANY YOYOUNG PEOPLE HOW TO COOK AND AND DO IT HEALTHY. PEOPLE WHO GO OUT
Anthony Bourdain, I love you even more than before. It takes the kind of screwy guts you’ve got to take on these specious American heroes. Paula’s story is compelling, but her reliance on the “fat” of the land only shows that she still has so much to learn.
If only people could understand that most of your work centers on the food that poor people create and eat, that great nutrition and great taste do NOT depend on a rib eye or artificially cultured fungi. If only they would just watch “No Reservations” and learn from the people you visit…
The families you visit, the street food, the geniuses who turn poverty on its head with their miraculous repasts, the reverence for life and joy–there is so much more to your work than most people seem to detect.
Paula’s sweet smile, solid family and tempting food are, truly and paradoxically, a threat to subsistence, health and happiness. I’m sure her heart is as big as her smile, and it’s hard to resist, but the revelatory stories you channel from all over the world are better for us.
Don’t give up the fight. Never mind, I know you are too prickly to back down, and bless you for that.
An all round great blog post
Above all, a well executed blog post!
This post couldn’t be more precise..
That was a really fun piece of writing!
Exceptional article!