Anthony Bourdain and crew caught in Beirut crossfire

[supernova]

The best-selling author of "Kitchen Confidential" flew to Beirut on Sunday with a camera crew from his Travel Channel series, "No Reservations," to do a show on the local cuisine. But after the thunderous assault on the city in response to Islamic extremist group Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers, Bourdain and his crew holed up at the Moevenpick Hotel while they waited for evacuation instructions from the State Department.

"Our network, our friends and our families just want us out of here as soon as possible," Bourdain told Page Six yesterday afternoon, as Israeli shells exploded in the distance. "We're not getting a show out of this . . . I just wanna hang out and drink at the bar. The mojitos here are great.

"They're bombing right now in southern Beirut. I can hear the explosions. The thing is, the people here are really, really nice and totally embarrassed by Hezbollah and horrified by the bombings."

http://www.nypost.com/seven/07142006/gossip/pagesix/pagesix.htm

Hang tight, Tony and crew. You will get out of there safely.

Also on HuffPo, but with a misleading headline. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/07/14/celebrity-chief-anthony-b_n_25079.html

[rucky]

1. I still want his job.

Stay safe!

[Fenris]

2. I love Tony and hope he and his crew are okay.

:(

[supernova]

4. Me too, Fenris!

I just love the way he writes.

[miss_american_pie]

3. Yikes

Hope they get out safely, and soon.

[ThomCat]

5. This dick is going to milk this for more publicity.

It's going to be just one more self-agrandizing story he's going to tell. And I'm sure he'll find a way to work in some snide criticism of somebody's food choices.

Screw you, Bourdain. You're a self-acknowledged scumbag, and you only got where you are because you were born wealthy, got a lot of lucky breaks, hurt a lot of people, and never got caught.

[supernova]

6. Wow.

Bitter much? :shrug:

[Chan790]

8. I'm with ThomCat on this one

Anthony Bourdain is really not a nice person. Kitchen Confidential burnt everybody who ever stuck their neck out for him or gave him a break; he repaid kindnesses with a knife between the shoulders.

And he's smug, judgmental, and while I can appreciate his curiosity and desire to expand his palate and knowledge of food, he is often unfairly critical of local customs and cuisines; usually in those places where people have the least choices due to poverty or oppression.

He tends to be bitter and make snide or outrightly-awful comments about others in his field and people he disagrees with. (See any one of his legion of comments on Emeril Legasse or his opinion on vegetarians or people who oppose veal and lamb consumption.)

[ThomCat]

9. You said it better than I did.

:)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. He's a good liberal too.

I'm looking forward to his comments on the issue.

And Emeril Legasse is a hack, and his comments on vegetarians are tongue in cheek.

[supernova]

11. Actually, I've found the opposite

And he's smug, judgmental, and while I can appreciate his curiosity and desire to expand his palate and knowledge of food, he is often unfairly critical of local customs and cuisines; usually in those places where people have the least choices due to poverty or oppression.

In this series, he's gone out of his way to get away from the tourist traps, visit the backroads and the never seen (at least to Western eyes). And, on camera, at least, he's been nothing but complementary to the people who have the least. So, I don't know what you're talking about there.

Now, he might or might not be an asshole. I don't know him personally. But that's not a biggie. If you've felt professionaly slighted by him, well that's between him and you. Lots of people have outsized egos. How is that any different than an asshole surgeon, or astronaut, or any other career where having a large ego matters. I'm not saying being a great chef or cook is in that same league as far as importance to humanity, but top of the line kitchens attract this type and I don't blame him for playing the game the way he found it.

His fights with Food Network are exactly a secret. Not everybody fits everybody else's work mill. And personally, I can't stand Emeril. He seems fake to me. Again, so what?

I find him to be honest and forthright in a way few people dare to be.

edit: Yes, he rages on vegitarians. So what? Why should you care about the opinion somebody you can't stand? It's not like he affects your life or anything.

edit2: This is a news thread about someone many people in the lounge enjoy. If you want to start an "I hate Tony Bourdain Club," start another thread.

[ThomCat]

12. I didn't realize

that just because you wrote the original post you could dicate what type of responses are acceptable.

[supernova]

15. I think it's worth pointing out

from my POV, that your comments on this thread sound a lot like "well, he's trash anyway. The world would be a better place if they bombed his hotel and Bourdain and & went to their eternal reward."

That's soooo not a classy thing to do. That's what pissed me off.

[ThomCat]

16. I would never wish him any harm.

However, I don't see the point of giving him any more of an audience. I certainly wouldn't be more concerned about him that with the poor locals who don't have all of his resources to call upon.

[supernova]

26. Well, that's good to know

And no I don't place anymore importance on him than on the people who live there and have lived with this crap for the past 50 years.

[tigereye]

13. I don't think he was born wealthy

if I remember from my reading of KItchen Confidential. I think he kind of came up the hard way in the food industry and paid quite a few dues.

[ThomCat]

14. He went to private schools at a kid,

Traveled europe, and only came up through the kitchens because he was a professional slacker.

[tigereye]

17. but he did pay kitchen dues -

my kid goes to private school. We aren't wealthy. And I think Europeans have a very different educational system than we do. So I guess I don't see the point of so much animosity driven by someone's background. ?

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

18. It's jealousy.

Bourdain's got the best food show on TV.

[ThomCat]

20. No. Alton Brown has the best show on TV.

Bourdain's show isn't even all that good.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

21. Alton Brown's fallen off.

They've ran out of ideas and they spend too much time on skits.

[grace0418]

31. That's your opinion. I love Alton Brown too but I think No Reservations is

the most interesting food/travel show on tv. I completely disagree with just about everything else you've said about him.

[ThomCat]

19. The animosity is towards his attitude,

his habit of insulting people, and his hypocritical snobbery. If he did his schtick without putting other people down I wouldn't give a damn.

[tigereye]

22. I'm just saying that background isn't a guarantee of a bad

or a good attitude, that's all. :)
It does seem to be an out of control supermedia chef thing. However, Julia Child never acted like that. At least I don't think so.


(ps, have you ever worked in a kitchen? It can be really evil in there when it gets busy)

[ThomCat]

23. Yes, I have worked in a kitchen.

And yes, it can get evil. I still don't like to see the evil bastards get ahead at the expense of other people.

[tigereye]

24. true

it would be better if nicer people got ahead. It's odd how our culture tends to glorify meanness.

[idgiehkt]

27. me either.

and a nasty chef makes everyone's job miserable. I once worked for a great one, and your post reminded me of something he did one time that just tickled the kitchen crew. People had come in right at closing and the salad bar had been taken down. Rather than have us drag it all back out like many managers would have done, he told the people it was too late, even though they weren't thrilled about it and kind of gave attitude. He came back in the kitchen smiling, saying 'this time, the assholes didn't win." I'll never forget that. I've had so many bad restaurant experiences, this is one treasured memory.

Btw, I just googled this guy, and he's exactly who I thought he was. ITA with your assessment, he gave me the heebie-jeebies the first time I ever saw him on anything (which I think may have been on "The Restaurant". I hated his attitude, I was like "oh great, another chef who thinks he's a goddamn brain surgeon."

[jobycom]

25. Bullshit. He's cool.

What, he steal your girl?

[Reciprocity]

32. Care to post a link to back up your rant?

scumbag,born wealthy, lucky breaks, hurt a lot of people, and never got caught

[flamingyouth]

7. I hope they all make it out okay.

Scary. :(

[zonkers]

28. Can't wait to see the footage. He is such a wired whacky guy.

[NYCGirl]

29. I LOVE Tony. Wishing him and his crew get out of there quickly! NT

[NYCGirl]

30. Further news from Tony originally posted on eGullet:

Here's an update from Tony on EGullet:

"I'm very aware of how flip my response to the Post was (made last Wednesday, very early in the crisis )as I sought to reassure family and friends that we were safe and okay and in good cheer. . It was--at the time--very representative of the (outward) attitude of Beirutis themselves, who pride themselves on their resilience and their determination to "keep the party going." Initially, many Beirutis were still going strong at nightclubs as jets flew low and menacingly overhead. Even that proud, famously world-weary attitude quickly changed, however, as circumstances here became even more appalling. I can certainly understand how offensive it might be to those on the ground here--or those with family and friends here--to read some of what's been posted on the other NR thread--and understand why it's been closed for now.
It is indeed heartbreaking and horrifying what has happened to this lovely country--to spanking new, lovingly restored,resurgent Beirut in particular, in only a few days of sustained and seemingly senseless destruction. A few days ago, this was a place where people were bursting with pride for the relative tolerance, progressive attitudes, and lack of conflict between groups. I was standing with a group: a Sunni, a Christian, and a Shiite--by the Hariri memorial when the gunfire started and the Hezbollah people appeared driving through city center and honking their horns in "celebration" for the capture/kidnappings. The look of dismay and embarrasment on all three faces...and the grim look of resignation as they all-- instantly-- recognized what would inevitably come next...it's something I will never forget. Of the three, our Shiite security guy, a tall, taciturn man, was the last to leave us, insisiting on staying by our side though he and his family lived in the much more perilous Southern part of Beirut. After witnessing many quick telephone exchanges between him and his family, and as more bombs and shells began to fall, seeing him nervously fingering his prayer beads, we finally convinced him to leave. His house was later flattened..We were soon relocated to a safer part of town.The sense of regret and ...shame we feel at being relatively safe yet witness to the carnage...and that we never got to show the world how beautiful this country and its people are--how much "like us" (yet uniquely and wonderfully not), how international, muti-lingual, multi-faith..how fantastic the food and hospitality is...will gnaw at us forever. WE will make it home. WE--unlike most Lebanese, have been (relatively) safe and secure during this. Trapped, yes--but trapped by a freaking swimming pool-not under the rubble of our homes. We may be only a few thousand yards or a few miles from the falling bombs-but we have an eventual way out. What hasn't been talked about much in the press, is how many young returnees there are/were here: young, educated Lebanese who'd emigrated abroad or been born aboad and only recenly returned..how filled with hope they were, how much they loved their country, how hopeful and enthusiastic they were that they could make a difference (and they WERE making a difference). That is all ashes now..
We (the NR crew) are indeed well--and well looked after. It's indeed frightening here, it's enraging, it's horrifying,and its frustrating..the classic "long hours of boredom interspersed with moments of terror" phenom they always use when talking about life during wartime. But we are relatively safe. And sooner or later we will no doubt be heading home.
We will never forget the Beirut that could have been-and will hopefully be again. Or what we saw here.

I fully hope and expect that the administrators/mods will allow this post--and immediately close it to further comment. The crew and I greatly appreciate all the previous comments and expressions of concern here and thank you all."