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Food, his first love

Catch up with the culinary rock star, Anthony Bourdainin, on Discovery Travel and Living

He's eaten the live, still beating heart of a cobra in Saigon. After munching through a handful of crispy fried tree worms he likened them to "a deep fried Twinkie. Only wormier." He's executive Chef of Les Halles, a traditional French restaurant in Manhattan. Anthony Bourdain is probably the world's first culinary rock star. With his travel show, featuring extreme cuisine, and action packed books, the Chef-turned-author-turned-TV presenter, has been traversing the world for the past six years, followed intently by a large brigade of foodies, travel buffs and breathless women.

In a telephonic interview, organised to promote his latest show "No Reservations" on Discovery Travel and Living, he seems thrilled with his life, cobra hearts and all. "I am aware of what a great job I have," he says.

This time, Bourdain's discovering India, wandering through Rajasthan, Kolkata, the Sunderbans and Mumbai. "My first impression was that India's both beautiful and frustrating. It's so big that you can't rid yourself of the sense that you're missing most of it." Saying that although he and the TV crew tried to see as much as they could, he adds, "I could easily spend the rest of my life making television in just India."

While his travels threw up a number of surprises ("Royal food in Rajasthan, and the fact that though I'm a vocal proponent of the carnivorous diet, India is possibly the only place I can eat a vegetarian meal"), he seems most excited about eating vada pav on the Mumbai streets. "I'm a big fan of the Bombay burger — Potato in a bun."

Unfortunately, Bourdain was forced to leave out South India, as another TV show was recently shot there and the producers felt it would be repetitive. "I was very frustrated about that," he says, "I haven't ever been there. It was one of my first choices. I've heard so much about the seafood... The whole region has a high reputation food-wise... ."

On his quest for the `perfect meal' ("I wanted the perfect meal... I wanted adventure. I wanted kicks... I wanted to see the world. And I wanted the world to be just like the movies") Bourdain tends to concentrate on everyday food because "people are proud of their local food. It's the purest expression of a culture." Categorically stating, he's not interested in fine dining, ("The world is so globalised now. Fine dining chefs tend to cook like fine dining chefs, irrespective of where they live... fusion food in Mumbai isn't too different from fusion food in Melbourne"), he says, "people from all income levels are beginning to crave the authentic. They're less snobby about fine dining."

Meanwhile, his forays into extreme cuisines, he insists, certainly aren't for shock value. "People eat very differently around the world. What someone in America finds shocking is everyday food for people in Thailand. I'm interested in whatever is good." Bourdain also believes that food and travel are inseparable.

His writing is equally down-to-earth. "I don't try to be an authority or an expert. It's not a priority for me to describe the entire history of the food," he says. "I come from an oral story telling experience in the kitchen... I try to give people a sense of what things looked like and smelt like at the time." Discussing the world's best chefs, he names "Thomas Keller in California and the chefs at French Laundry in Napa Valley," and then adds, "Every chef who shows up at work everyday and cooks well. Anybody's mother who cooks well. I think cooking's a noble activity."

("No Reservations" will be telecast on Sundays at 9 p.m. The Indian episodes are on November 5 and 12.)

SHONALI MUTHALALY

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