Chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain, who moonlights as a relentless crusader against perceived food world injustices, has apparently dropped the hammer on grassroots food revolutionary Alice Waters in an interview with DCist:
“Alice Waters annoys the living shit out of me. We're all in the middle of a recession, like we're all going to start buying expensive organic food and running to the green market. There's something very Khmer Rouge about Alice Waters that has become unrealistic.”
Bourdain added:
“I'm a little reluctant to admit that maybe Americans are too stupid to figure out that the food we're eating is killing us. But I don't know if it's time to send out special squads to close all the McDonald's.”
Crankiness aside, Bourdain was likely referring not only to Waters’ recent open letter to the Obamas, but also her offer to serve in a entirely non-cheeky food policy position in the new administration, a so-called “kitchen cabinet.” Meanwhile, Bourdain, who has a habit of talking about serious things while exhorting people not to take anything too seriously, also told DCist, “The threshold for celebrity is so low these days,” referring to his own celebrity status. “Those people on The Hills make a f**king living off it. So I don't think I should be patting myself on the back about anything.”
