Anthony Bourdain Goes Graphic with “Get Jiro”
When I first read Tony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential on a cross-country AA flight about ten years ago I laughed out loud all the way from NYC to LA. While I was only mildly impressed with his chef’s skills at Les Halles in New York, his tell-all semi-autobiography was a page turning riot. Soon Bourdain permanently left the kitchen to embark on his Travel Channel show “No Reservations” which took viewers to remote corners of the world for a look at Bourdain’s irreverent takes on local dishes in decidedly odd locations.
The show’s large audience prompted CNN to pick up the rights to the show and beginning in November, Bourdain will find himself on a much larger stage. Prior to that however, he has finished a graphic novel called Get Jiro set in a future where chefs essentially rule the world. There’s an absolutely hysterical sequence in which a sushi chef decapitates a customer for mixing Wasabi into his soy sauce. This is Bourdain’s vitriolic humor at its blood-curdling best. I can’t wait to read this compendium of dark and politically incorrect prose. The best thing this guy ever did was to step out of the kitchen and in front of the camera. His wildly creative take on all things food related is refreshing as it is controversial. And I guarantee you there will be hundreds of irate sushi chefs working in Japanese restaurants in the U.S. who will quietly cheer Get Jiro for giving voice to frustrations they have all felt!
Put this one on your must read list for the summer!
