Anthony Bourdain was widely regarded as one
of the most influential American chefs around
the globe.
Along with his successful career as a restauranteur,
Bourdain found fame as a television personality
traveling to international, and at times dangerous,
cities to sample their unique dishes and culture.
Throughout his journeys Bourdain proved that
he had a stomach of steel, never backing down
from a taste test challenge.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at
the top ten times when Anthony Bourdain ate
exotic food!
Anthony Bourdain and Super Soup
Now becoming well known as an affordable and
exciting tourist destination, Thailand was
featured in Bourdain’s show Parts Unknown,
when Bourdain traveled to a small Thai town
to rub shoulders with the locals and test
some interesting food staples.
At a popular village restaurant where all
animal products are featured heavily on the
menu, Bourdain settled down with a friend
to get some grub.
Not one to shy away from anything, Bourdain
quickly amped things up by ordering the pig
blood soup, consisting of raw pig’s blood
combined with lemongrass, mincemeat, and pieces
of animals innards.
Upon seeing the soup for the first time, Bourdain
couldn’t disguise his shock, stating “You’re
not kidding, that’s like a horribly, like,
CSI soup!”
However, after trying his first bite he warmed
up to the creation, calling it completely
delicious.
Apparently Bourdain and his friends were impressed
by the flavor profile of the soup, explaining
to viewers that it didn’t actually taste
like blood, but was in fact sweet with a bit
of spice to it.
To follow up the soup, the men were then brought
the second part of pig product that they would
be tasting with the soup - this time pig brains.
While it may seem like a disastrous meal to
viewers back home, Bourdain thoroughly enjoyed
the brains as well, digging in and dubbing
it the best meal he’d ever had in Thailand.
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Bourdain and the Meat Slushie
Singapore has a lot of popular namesakes in
the Western culinary world, from Singapore
noodles sold at every Asian restaurant to
Singapore Slings made in every bar.
What’s not so common in North America is
the concept of a “meat slushie”.
Bourdain found this out for himself when he
traveled to Singapore for his series No Reservations.
One of his first stops was a food court, but
instead of hosting generic fast food restaurants,
it had a vast array of exotic meals and snacks.
Naturally Bourdain couldn’t be contented
with his first, more normal choice of chicken
and rice.
When out and about the next day he revisited
a food court and went a little wilder, opting
for the “sup tulang” otherwise known as
bone soup or a meat slushie.
Brilliant red and chunky, or as Bourdain himself
described it, it’s “an eerie, unearthly,
doesn’t-really-occur-in-nature bright red.”
While this may not sound particularly appetizing
to the average person, Bourdain excitedly
added that it has “all of his favorite things.”
Well, to each their own!
This wasn’t a typical soup that Bourdain
could spoon up, but he instead had to grab
each bone individually to suck out chilli-infused
marrow.
In the end he even had to stick a straw into
the bones to properly suck out all the blood.
Maybe not the best food for a first date!
Anthony Bourdain vs Living Food
It may seem like Bourdain spent all his time
exploring foreign countries, but he took a
break from jet-setting to pay a visit to Queens
to try some unexpectedly exotic and dangerous
food.
Bourdain stopped in at Sik Gaek, a barbecue
and seafood restaurant that seemed ordinary
but was in fact the opposite.
Not only did the restaurant specialize in
seafood, but it also specialized in serving
seafood that was still alive!
A plate of live octopus was delivered to Bourdain
and a friend, with tentacles still flailing
around and shifting all across the platter.
Of course, being the brave taste tester that
he was, Bourdain fearlessly grasped the wriggling
tendrils of octopus with his chopsticks and
swallowed it down without any hesitation.
He enjoyed both the food and the overall experience,
calling it “delightful!”
However, mid-chew Bourdain ran into a problem
when a tentacle grabbed onto the inside of
one of his cheeks, not ready to be eaten just
yet.
It turns out that eating live octopus can
be a risky business, because the suckers can
latch onto your throat and cause you to suffocate
mid-meal.
Luckily Bourdain taught the tentacle who was
boss and finished devouring it, but some diners
have actually died from this squirmy dish
in the past.
Bourdain and the Breakfast Porridge
A bowl of oatmeal isn’t an unusual thing
to sit down to in the mornings, but watch
what’s in your porridge if you ever find
yourself in Brazil.
Bourdain loved food markets, and decided to
tour around one during his visit to Brazil.
He quickly made a new friend when a local
boy tagged along, sharing his soda and meal
with the boy and his friends.
Bourdain started off easy with some grilled
meats and rice before delving into the stranger
foods.
At the next stall he visited, Bourdain tried
beef broth porridge, a thick yellow paste.
It consisted of beef scraps and broth, and
then thickened into a porridge with flour.
On top of the porridge Bourdain sprinkled
some salsa, definitely defying porridge norms.
He used the strange porridge as a palate cleanser
for the second act of the meal, a plate of
random meat chunks.
Bourdain couldn’t even distinguish what
exactly the meats were from, but that didn’t
stop him from digging in with enthusiasm.
While some people may cringe at the thought
of eating unidentifiable meats, Bourdain simply
said, “I pity the fool who doesn’t like
this.”
Bourdain got especially excited when he caught
a hint of organ meat in his dish, describing
it as wonderful and complimenting the owner
of the stall for a great meal.
Bourdain and the Snake Heart
During Bourdain’s journey to Vietnam for
his show A Cook’s Tour in 2013, he ate some
pretty questionable things, from squid soup
to pickled snake broth.
However, the most extreme food challenge he
faced was at a local restaurant well known
for it’s dish consisting of a beating cobra’s
heart.
Bourdain explained that certain foods supposedly
hold significant powers in Vietnam, and that
consuming a cobra heart will increase one’s
stamina and overall health.
It’s usually a bad sign when even the waiters
are afraid of the food that is being served,
but that didn’t stop Bourdain as a live
cobra was brought out into the restaurant
to be prepared as his next meal.
After watching the snake hiss and lunge on
the floor, Bourdain sat back for the main
attraction as the snake was prepared right
beside his table.
The heart was then dished out to Bourdain,
and he swallowed it down, still beating.
Reflecting on the dining experience, Bourdain
said that he could feel his meal pulsating
as it traveled down, and proudly exclaimed
that he did feel stronger.
Some people may prefer to just hit the gym
for a strengthening session, but Bourdain
clearly didn’t have time for that!
Bourdain and Bowls of Bile
Bourdain seemed to have a knack for finding
unusual soups throughout his expeditions,
and he managed to do it again when he stopped
at a restaurant in Pampanga.
Bourdain was dining with a fellow restauranteur
who convinced him to order a bowl of bile
soup with organs chopped up in it.
Bile is extremely bitter and not something
that most people want to taste more of, but
when in Pampanga one needs to get the full
experience, even if it’s not the sweetest.
On the plus side, bile is supposed to have
amazing healing properties, so maybe consider
switching out your chicken noodle soup for
some bile the next time you get sick!
Bourdain was not amused, and in a rare moment
admitted that a food was too gross even for
him!
He had tried it before, and summed up his
thoughts by saying, “My bile experiences
so far have not been so wonderful.”
That’s one way to say it!
His restauranteur friend tried to sway him
to Team Bile, saying it was just an acquired
taste.
And maybe he was right, because as soon as
Bourdain started in on his soup he was pleasantly
surprised.
He actually enjoyed the taste, taking spoonful
after spoonful and admitting “that’s good!”
Anthony Bourdain and The Golden Egg
While normally Bourdain was checking out ethnic
foods in casual cafes and local restaurants,
he decided to treat himself with some fine
dining when he went to Portugal.
He visited an upscale restaurant which produced
modernized Portuguese fares with a twist.
Although the food was high end, Bourdain’s
order was a little bizarre.
He started off with blood sausage, one of
Bourdain’s favourite dishes in the world.
This was followed up by pig trotters, otherwise
known as pigs feet.
Historically eaten as a peasant’s meal due
to the cut of meat, this version of pig trotters
was upgraded in a creamy kind of stew spread
that Bourdain ate with bread.
Bourdain loved this treat and called it the
perfect blend of textures.
But this was nothing compared to the main
attraction.
Bourdain finally got to engage in a little
bit of luxury when he was served a golden
egg.
Unfortunately the egg wasn’t solid gold,
but it was caked in actual gold foil that
Bourdain could chomp down on.
Now that’s one meal that his viewers can
probably get behind!
Bourdain Travels to the North
Bourdain grabbed his parka and went up north
for one episode of No Reservations, traveling
to Quebec to learn about the culture and culinary
traditions of Inuits.
During his stay Bourdain tagged along on a
seal hunt, braving freezing conditions in
order to secure supper for both himself and
his hosts.
Thanks was given for the lives of the seals,
and then enough meat was gathered to last
the families for many meals to come.
Every part of the seal is used for specific
dishes, and Bourdain was invited to sample
all parts of the animal from bits of liver
to slivers of kidney.
But the most extreme moment came when Bourdain
was literally seeing eye to eye with his meal
- he was offered one of the seal’s eyeballs
to snack on.
He later likened it to sucking out a grape,
and was thankful for the gift that his hosts
had offered him.
Anthony Bourdain - Talk Show Tasting
Although most of Bourdain’s wild food tales
came from his own television shows, reporters
and news programs were also eager to see just
how far Bourdain would go.
On an installment of CNN, host Piers Morgan
sat down with Bourdain and pushed him as far
as he could, looking for any sign of Bourdain’s
legendary stomach cracking.
He presented Bourdain with an entire spread
of bizarre dishes, from turkey testicles to
steamed pigs feet.
Bourdain dominated the challenge, never backing
down from any of the samples and often complimenting
them after he tasted them!
In fact he got so excited after being blindly
fed goose intestines that he swore he’d
order it at a restaurant if he had the chance,
and labeled it “good stuff.”
One of the weirdest things that Bourdain was
faced with however was balut, which is a bird
embryo that is boiled and eaten straight out
of its shell.
Bourdain immediately recognized it from his
travels, and turned the tables on Morgan by
grossing him out instead, describing the more
disgusting balut dishes that he’d had before.
In fact, Bourdain called the balut that Morgan
gave him, “Not that bad!”
Eventually Bourdain did admit that the taste
wasn’t one of his favorite things in the
world, but that it was more of an issue with
the food’s texture.
If Bourdain wasn’t even a fan, balut probably
won’t be becoming a popular food anytime
soon!
Bourdain and the Mystery Meat
Bourdain would eat pretty much anything when
challenged, but he must have drawn the line
somewhere.
Or would he?
During an episode of No Reservations Bourdain
explored the food of Namibia, and received
a dining experience that he would never forget.
His hosts went hunting and caught a warthog,
and then set about preparing it for Bourdain
to taste.
Of course, as a celebrity guest Bourdain was
given the most prized piece of the warthog:
the anus.
Bourdain politely described it as “the type
of amuse-bouche that you’re not expecting.”
Watching as the warthog was prepared, Bourdain’s
stomach started to squirm and he admitted
that he was doomed.
He had low expectations for the dining experience,
and took a stab at fortune telling by predicting
worried phone calls, doctor appointments,
and needing heavy medication to bounce back
from the warthog.
Bourdain’s translator stepped up and taste
tested the food before Bourdain, taking a
bite and then giving it the lukewarm endorsement
of, “It’s alright.”
When Bourdain was handed his piece of the
meat, he had no choice but to take a bite
too.
He didn’t say much except for describing
the food as chewy and okay - not exactly what
you want to hear from a famous chef.
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