"anthony bourdain" news and stories

Ruth Bourdain, the Twitter sage we've all come to love for lines like "You haven't truly celebrated St. Patrick's Day until you've sous-vided a whole leprechaun" has entered the big leagues with a James Beard award nomination in this year's new humor category.

The hilarious persona is a mash-up of Ruth Reichl and Anthony Bourdain who quickly gained attention by reworking Reichl's zen 140-character tweets into raunchy Bourdain-like missives. But before this nomination, the persona was little more than a lark. Now Ruth Bourdain shares the same James Beard ballot as L.A. food critic Jonathan Gold and renowned chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The nomination is shaking up food circles, with some foodies saying it undermines serious food journalism, while others, like Saveur's Gabriella Gershenson, think it's all in good fun. (She gave the nod a "Bravo! (Brava?)" on her twitter account.)

Warning: this video is not suitable for minors or those offended by mentions of narcotics and foods made of animal genitals.

But if you are a fan of Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern, this one is right up your alley.

Bourdain took the stage at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival the other day and unveiled a new act in which he invited audience members to spin a wheel to determine which topic he would discuss. When a full-bellied fellow staggered up to the stage and spun, the wheel landed on "D**k Joke/Poop Joke."

The topic prompted Bourdain to start talking about Andrew Zimmern, whose show "Bizarre Foods" appears on Travel Channel along with Bourdain's "No Reservations."

"Something you need to know about Andrew and the reason I respect him a lot is we have a lot in common," Bourdain began. Zimmern happened to be standing nearby and, unbidden, hopped up on stage to join Bourdain. This did not stop Bourdain from continuing his rant, noting that he and Zimmern had both gone to Vasser and had both attended the Culinary Institute of America.

Oh, we could see it coming. And quite frankly, it was about time: A full Marcel meltdown. In a season full of overactive (mostly male) egos, the weasely little chef from season two has been tops on our list of Most Deserving of a Piping-Hot Serving of Humble Pie. And yet, he managed to survive the ax several times. We were starting to wonder if maybe we were being too harsh.

If overuse of food foam and the word bro were crimes punishable by law, however, Marcel would be given life without parole. And his interpersonal skills? We liken them to a three-year-old trying to share a Tonka truck at daycare. True, we admire his manic spirit -- but all too often, as Tom put it, "It's a weird energy" Marcel imparts.

Combine that energy with Restaurant Wars, and you have one hell of a super-sized episode. It was good to see our favorite cuss, Tony Bourdain, back, front and center, daring the chefs to butcher fish perfectly and cook only the leavings: heads, cheeks, skeletons, organs. This was a Quickfire the overconfident (but with the skills to back it up!) Dale cleaned up on, serving up not one but two dishes: a hearty bacon dashi made with cod collar, and a little fluke-backfin sashimi with fluke liver sauce. This provided one of the evening's choice Tony quotes: "Really dug that you used the liver, man!"

Spoiler alert: Winner and loser are revealed after the jump.

Anthony Bourdain was in fine form this weekend in the Cayman Islands, skewering sacred culinary cows with beer-fueled gusto during an hour-long "Chat with Tony." After being introduced by Gail Simmons, of Top Chef, as part of a the third annual Cayman Cookout on this Caribbean island, Bourdain revealed a behind-the-scenes secret about the show on which he also appears as a judge: "Who do you think really spends the most time in hair and makeup?" he asked an audience of 100 barefoot fans gathered on the island's famous Seven Mile Beach. "It's not Padma. It's Tom!"

Why Tom Colicchio, the show's folically challenged head judge [no pun intended] should require so much time in the grooming room makes no sense, Bourdain continued. "What does it take? A quick shine and go!"

Men like Alton Brown sink their big manly teeth into a bone-in chop; women like Nigella Lawson get to lick an ice-cream cone. Or maybe, like Paula Deen, just poise a forkful of cream pie in front of their open mouths, with just an eensy dab of cream clinging to their lower lip. Are photos of women with food just plain soft-core, and can we make it stop? Or at least have Tony Bourdain nuzzling up to an oyster? We love you, man. Head over to Serious Eats to get the full story.