Anthony Bourdain judges your BS artisanal sandwich & pumpkin spice latte
I like to cover Anthony Bourdain’s interviews whenever I come across one. I mostly enjoy Bourdain because he’s a judgy, sh-t talking curmudgeon and we need to stick together. Honestly though, I find Bourdain’s personality grating but I do love the shade he throws. He hates Guy Fieri, Paula Deen, almost everyone on the Food Network (except Ina Garten). He’s like the New Yorker version of Karl Lagerfeld – it’s probably easier to name the very short list of things and people Bourdain enjoys. Anyway, we have two new things to add to the massive list of Things/People Hated By Bourdain: pumpkin spice and BS “artisanal” whatever.
Anthony Bourdain has a point: The adjective “artisan” — which connotes an item produced in limited quantities, using traditional methods — is grossly overused. And he makes that point in a way that only Anthony Bourdain could.
“These artisans make beautiful things in a world where the word ‘artisan’ is cheapened,” Bourdain told The Daily Meal in a new interview. “Like big brand potato chips being called ‘artisanal,’ I mean come on, let’s get real.”
The Parts Unknown host proceeds to riff on McDonald’s new “artisan” burgers, a reasonable target considering the mass-produced nature of the fast-food chain’s offerings.
“Yeah, well, maybe the McDonald’s burger is made up of ground up artisans, but that would be the only way McDonald’s would be able to convince me that they make artisan burgers,” Bourdain said.
Another trend he can’t stand? Pumpkin spice. (Of course he decided to insert himself into the most controversial debate of our time.)
“I think pumpkin spice is disgusting. I certainly don’t want it in my coffee,” he told PEOPLE in September. “I like pumpkin just fine. I like pumpkin pie. Pumpkin tortellini. I make a decent pumpkin soup. But I can’t think of the last time I woke up in the middle of the night and thought, ‘You know what? I could really go for some pumpkin.’”
Oddly, I’m with him on all of this. The “artisanal” branding has gotten WAY out of hand. It’s a product of hipster culture too – the Brooklyn tastemakers have decided that “artisanal” is “in,” so the corporations follow suit. You knew the artisanal thing was over as soon as Blake Lively launched Preserve. And now it’s totally over because Preserve is dead in the water. As for pumpkin spice… yeah, I agree. I don’t get the pumpkin-flavored stuff. Around Thanksgiving/Christmas, I do enjoy some pumpkin spice candles, but that’s about it. Then again, I’m the kind of non-tastemaker who enjoys novelty Christmas and Easter candy, so what are you going to do?
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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