# Alton Brown slams Anthony Bourdain for his criticism of TV chefs... No, wait he didn't **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832 "2015-08-14T14:03:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/1 "2015-08-14T14:03:18Z")
I don’t know where to put this half-hearted pitting of Fox News. More like just pointing out how lame they are for posting a “Let’s you and him fight!” article about a CNN regular and a Food Network star. Anyway, Fox News headline screams, “Alton Brown slams Anthony Bourdain for his criticism of TV chefs”, then concludes the article with this: > [@](#): > > “I will say this: I think that [Bourdain] is probably the best writer about food. I’m jealous of his work,” Brown said. “He pokes a lot of things and that’s fine; you have to have critics, issue provocateurs, so to speak. I’m a fan, and the few times I’ve gotten to work with him I enjoyed it immensely.” Kind of takes the wind out of the mild criticism Brown offered up article. Yeah, I know: “Fox News sensationalizes offhand remark.” Shocking! ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/2 "2015-08-14T15:18:34Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I don’t know where to put this half-hearted pitting of Fox News. More like just pointing out how lame they are for posting a “Let’s you and him fight!” article about a CNN regular and a Food Network star. > > Anyway, Fox News headline screams, “Alton Brown slams Anthony Bourdain for his criticism of TV chefs”, then concludes the article with this:Kind of takes the wind out of the mild criticism Brown offered up article. > > Yeah, I know: “Fox News sensationalizes offhand remark.” Shocking! Linky maybe? This is not a Fox thing. Every news site I come across is getting more clickbaity by the day except for maybe the BBC. It is only going to get worse as the audience gets more fractured with a shorter attention span. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/3 "2015-08-14T15:22:23Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Linky maybe? :smack: [http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/08/13/alton-brown-hits-back-at-anthony-bourdains-disdainful-commentary-on-tv-chefs/](http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2015/08/13/alton-brown-hits-back-at-anthony-bourdains-disdainful-commentary-on-tv-chefs/) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/4 "2015-08-14T15:28:33Z")
According to the article, Brown also said: _“When was the last time you saw Anthony Bourdain actually cook anything? I’ve spent 14 years cooking my own food on television and I’ve never seen him cook a meal.”_ That’s at least a half a slam. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/5 "2015-08-14T15:33:31Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > This is not a Fox thing. Every news site I come across is getting more clickbaity by the day except for maybe the BBC. It is only going to get worse as the audience gets more fractured with a shorter attention span. One day someone read a clickbait-style article. You won’t BELIEVE what happened next! ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/6 "2015-08-14T15:34:24Z")
Man, people on this site sure seem to not like Fox News. Yet they seem to read it constantly. Weird. I did a google search and a bunch of places are talking about this. Here’s a link to a bunch of sites talking about it. > **[Google](https://www.google.com/webhp#q=alton+brown+anthony+bourdain)** > > Happy Mother's Day! #GoogleDoodle ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/7 "2015-08-14T15:35:44Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > According to the article, Brown also said: _“When was the last time you saw Anthony Bourdain actually cook anything? I’ve spent 14 years cooking my own food on television and I’ve never seen him cook a meal.”_ That’s at least a half a slam. And pretty much what I feel about Bourdain. I know he used to be an executive chef but he got out of the business a long time ago. He spends his time looking down his nose at others that are still doing what he can’t or won’t do any more. And yet I still like watching his shows. I do remember on one episode he went to Vegas and he ate in one of Bobby Flay’s places. I could tell he didn’t want to do it but he begrudgingly said the food was good. I’ve only eaten at one of Flay’s places and it happened to be one of the best meals I ever had. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/8 "2015-08-14T15:36:28Z")
> [@mratoz](#): > > one day someone read a clickbait-style article. > > You won’t believe what happened next! tell me! ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/9 "2015-08-14T15:40:53Z")
I didn’t know Bourdain was a chef. I thought he was another “travel the world and eat weird food” guy like Andrew Zimmerman. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/10 "2015-08-14T15:43:58Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > I didn’t know Bourdain was a chef. I thought he was another “travel the world and eat weird food” guy like Andrew Zimmerman. He became famous as an author. _Kitchen Confidential_ was a big bestseller. It was about his time as a chef in New York. ETA Andrew Zimmern also a chef. ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/11 "2015-08-14T15:44:21Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > tell me! You’ll have to click to find out. Number three will ASTONISH you! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/12 "2015-08-14T15:53:53Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Man, people on this site sure seem to not like Fox News. Yet they seem to read it constantly. Weird. I don’t read Fox News. I clicked on a headline in Google News without looking where it went. Does that clear up your confusion? Or do you want to get sarcastic because I fell for clickbait? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/13 "2015-08-14T15:54:00Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Andrew Zimmerman. [Andrew _Zimmern_](http://andrewzimmern.com/) ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/14 "2015-08-14T15:58:37Z")
> [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > Man, people on this site sure seem to not like Fox News. Yet they seem to read it constantly. Weird. I think it’s more of a point-and-laugh kind of thing. I have an extension in Fx to highlight and avoid the Murdoch press. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/15 "2015-08-14T16:54:34Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > And pretty much what I feel about Bourdain. I know he used to be an executive chef but he got out of the business a long time ago. He spends his time looking down his nose at others that are still doing what he can’t or won’t do any more. And yet I still like watching his shows. I do remember on one episode he went to Vegas and he ate in one of Bobby Flay’s places. I could tell he didn’t want to do it but he begrudgingly said the food was good. I’ve only eaten at one of Flay’s places and it happened to be one of the best meals I ever had. It’s not like Bourdain is posing as a practicing chef. He’s always been very open about the fact that he’s not cooking anymore. However, he is a food writer and he has every right to criticize the Food Network. I think he truly respects Alton Brown and has never made him a target, but I suspect Brown is just sticking up for the network providing his paycheck. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2015, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/16 "2015-08-15T03:25:09Z")
I’ve watched pretty much everything Bourdain has ever done on tv and I’ve seen him cook a bunch of times. Sometimes its when they’re having a big feast type meal at one of his travel locations and he makes a dish. He’s also done a few specials about cooking and chefs. I remember one where he got Jacques Pepin to demonstrate making omelets and he (Bourdain) did a beef bourguignon recipe. He also had a special where he and his good friend, Eric Ripert, went back to his old restaurant, Les Halles, and worked a full shift, including lunch and dinner service. Bourdain is not a great chef, and he’s never claimed to be. He’s said repeatedly that his famous chef friends would never have hired him to work their kitchens. But he worked in restaurants for thirty years and that’s something. He doesn’t do stand-and-stir type segments but trying to call him out for not being a professional, working, cook is off-base. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/17 "2015-08-16T03:06:46Z")
Fox News does not hype anything anymore than every other TV news network. Plus I think because it was an obvious light-news fluff piece it was over the top as a joke\*!\* ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/18 "2015-08-16T19:20:11Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > You’ll have to click to find out. > Number three will ASTONISH you! Only if it’s a weird trick for lowering my insurance rate. I _live_ for those. As for Bourdain: it’s perfectly possible to have useful and informative opinions about food and the food business without being a master chef. If people don’t find his opinions to be useful or informative, that’s one thing, but to demand (whether implicitly or explicitly) that all such critics be master chefs is silly. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/19 "2015-08-16T20:16:43Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > You’ll have to click to find out. > > Number three will ASTONISH you! Number 4 had me in tears. Then, I added bacon, but what came next…I’m running to the kitchen NOW! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832/20 "2015-08-16T20:39:26Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I know he used to be an executive chef but he got out of the business a long time ago. He spends his time looking down his nose at others that are still doing what he can’t or won’t do any more. > [@SaharaTea](#): > > It’s not like Bourdain is posing as a practicing chef. He’s always been very open about the fact that he’s not cooking anymore. However, he is a food writer and he has every right to criticize the Food Network. [QUOTE=Merneith] Bourdain is not a great chef, and he’s never claimed to be. He’s said repeatedly that his famous chef friends would never have hired him to work their kitchens. But he worked in restaurants for thirty years and that’s something. He doesn’t do stand-and-stir type segments but trying to call him out for not being a professional, working, cook is off-base. [/QUOTE] > [@Sherrerd](#): > > As for Bourdain: it’s perfectly possible to have useful and informative opinions about food and the food business without being a master chef. The only legitimate criticism of a critic is base on the quality of his or her criticism. It doesn’t matter whether Bourdain has ever seen a kitchen in his life. All that matters is whether he is good at commenting on food. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alton-brown-slams-anthony-bourdain-for-his-criticism-of-tv-chefs-no-wait-he-didnt/727832.md?page=2)