Book Review | “A Cook’s Tour” by Anthony Bourdain
By Sarah Ortiz
Listen: Book Review
Fideo: Nana’s fideo to be exact. I haven’t had fideo in close to 10 years, right before Nana passed away. If I could find someone who made it just as she had, I would be transported back to the tiny two bedroom house my dad grew up in, with his four siblings, that sits next to a railroad track, which makes the windows shake as a train roars by. I would be transported to the little kitchen, with the bacon grease saturated walls, to the table she crafted handmade cascarones on. I would give anything to go back to that place, to see my Nana just one more time so I could ask her, “How did you make your Fideo?” This would be my perfect meal.
“A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal” is Anthony Bourdain’s search for, you guessed it, the perfect meal as he travels the world, with camera crew at hand, to find magic. You may ask, “When is food magic?” When food transports you to past memories, like tasting Nana’s fideo would take me to my childhood; that is magic.
Bourdain leaves nothing behind as his snarky personality gives a detailed account of native cultures of the people he meets, the food he eats, and the adventure he seeks. Bourdain lays all his thoughts, feelings, and even actions on the line even when he, and the camera crew, experience dishes that may not settle with their American stomachs, such as the not too appetizing bird nest soup in Vietnam.
While “A Cook’s Tour” was named the 2002 Food Book of the Year by the British Guild of Food Writers, “A Cook’s Tour” is also a travel guide for the non-tourist parts of Portugal, France, Vietnam, Spain, Russia, Morocco, Japan, Cambodia, Mexico, and the French Laundry of Napa Valley.
Did Anthony Bourdain ever find his so-called perfect meal?
Well, you will have to read to find out.
Warning: this book is not for the faint at heart, Vegetarians, or Vegans.
My name is Sarah Ortiz and I am a student reporter for The Mesquite at Texas A&M University-San Antonio.
