"I’ve been around four generations in the restaurant business and I’ve worked with and know everybody. That’s why I can shit on Bourdain. He’s awesome. But at the same time we feud back and forth all the time. He’s mad at me because I made a comment about his new wife and so then she got mad at me.
You insulted his wife?
I made a comment about his first wife on The Braiser, and his new wife got pissed off. She wears the pants. Trust me. He’s always been dragged around by his dick. A lot of guys are. It’s nice that he always marries women with strong personalities to take care of him because then he can just wander around, get stoned, drink and tell stories. He’s like fucking Ernest Hemingway.
If you really have an intellectual debate with him, you’ll learn that he’s an amazing writer and storyteller and probably one of the shittiest chefs that ever lived. The guy can’t cook his way out of a paper bag. Everywhere he goes he makes Portuguese fish stew, beef bourguignon or he brings Eric Ripert with him to do something.
Look, what annoys me about chefs is fraudulent behavior, over-hyped food and ego, and I’ve been guilty of all of it myself. So now that I’ve gotten older, I just don’t want to be that type of person any longer. I’d much rather see younger, talented people do the projects that I’m not directly involved with, but yet be a mentor to them. It’s a valuable gift to be able to mentor younger guys to work hard and be honest about their work. My friends call me Yoda now. Because like, OK, I can kick your ass, but I’d rather sit in the corner peacefully and give sound-bites and good advice. I’ll be 60 in two years. Fuck it, right?"
Read the full interview at Playboy.
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