Anthony Bourdain: "Alice Waters Annoys the Living [Expletive] Out of Me."

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I work at Chez Panisse, in pastry sifting through oranges and strawberries. The less perfect specimens are used in purees for sherbets etc. We don't waste, i can assure you of that and hungryton is obviously some kind of hater.

pastrygurl of CA 1:22AM October 26, 2010

I have pretty much stopped watching Bordain's Travel Channel show because he seems only interested in eating food that makes me gag. Has he had a meal this year that did NOT feature bone marrow? He must be keeping the statin pharmo industry in business by himself -- or he has a week to live! So give the sometimes politically incorrect but at least well-maining good food icon Alica Waters a break!

Ritxard of HI 4:38PM June 16, 2010

I think Anthony Bourdain is spot on. The city of Berkeley worships Alice Waters. Alice Waters is just another Berkeley limousine liberal who's never had to struggle a day in her life that takes the elitist attitude that the world would be a better place if everyone just believed like she does. If she was serious about her beliefs she would open a restaurant in West Oakland, or by the Oakland Coliseum. I highly doubt she's been to either of those places in her life. If she had, she would know that there are NO grocery stores of any kind there, let alone an organic one. People in those areas have bigger concerns than 'where do I buy Organic?' These concerns include "where can I even get food?," "How am I going to cloth my child?," and "Which way should I walk to public transportation in order to avoid being shot?" Alice Waters has no concept of what real life is and this is clearly the reason for her attitudes.

GFM of CA 2:58PM February 04, 2010

Chez Panisse serves beautiful organic food. You know how they make organic produce look so perfect? They ditch anything that doesn't look perfect!
Junior kitchen staffers at Chez Panisse are often tasked with sifting through oranges or strawberries and setting aside all but the most perfect specimens. Where to the left overs go? Compost.

Berkeley Hungryton of CA 1:02PM November 20, 2009

Khmer Rouge? Tony, overstatement may be your style, but come on.
Instead of expander her empire, like your buddies, by opening a Chez Panisse Vegas, or Maurice a Mer in New York, Alice has worked out a plan that pays the farmers and her workers a living wage. She encourages them to pursue other interests in their lives, in addition to restaurant work, and pays them enough to have the time to do it.
Also, she is actively trying to expose children to organic produce, teach them how to grow it and how to cook it.
As a Berkeley citizen, this opinion sounds like a complaint I hear often. Yes, we are an opinionated group. We tend to think globally and act locally, but MacDonalds beat us. When I moved here in 1974, there were no fast food joints in Berkeley. Now a couple have made it.
Do you eat at MacDonalds?

Jude LaBarre of CA 6:15PM May 08, 2009

It's true that we Americans may be too stupid to realize that we are poisoning our food before we eat it, but, no one is ramming any style of eating down our throats. All Alice Waters is doing is presenting an alternative and sane approach that deserves attention and can only be of benefit to this society. Hormone, chemical and pesticide-free food isn't the norm, but should be. Bourdain mouths off on all matters under the sun, yet seems reluctant to give that right to others.

Pinkie of NY 12:02PM March 20, 2009

when you include the cost of poor health due to poor eating habits, the price we pay for local, organic food is of great value. Alice Waters' vision is exactly the direction we need to go. The corporate processed food companies are getting fat off of the population getting fat. Wake up people!! Stop the abuse and be a victim no more!

Sandi Smith Davis of AR 10:10PM March 15, 2009

learn how to spell check and read before you write

Chet Everett of Illinois of IL 10:42AM February 06, 2009

Anthony Bourdain annoys the living [expletive] out of me. As usual, he speaks without thinking. Last time I checked, we're still living in a free country. We eat what we like and what we can afford.
Alice Waters has only brought to light the opportunities and choices we have for a better diet.
.

Julie Maxwell of WA 9:39PM February 01, 2009

The effort to move towards organic and/or locally grown produce does offer many benefits and does not have to cost more money. Individuals, coops and local farmers markets are all options for making more produce available to people at a cost which is no greater than the cost in local grocery stores for nonorganic options.
To those who say that sometime farmer's markets and organic choices are too expensive, I think it's important to realize this is not always the case.
I grew up in a suburb and my grandfather once kept a garden in our backyard. That was 40 years ago! There is something special about eating fresh, home grown, and... organic. Oh, and seed packets are far less expensive than anything else out there.

Caroline of TX 2:55PM February 01, 2009