Anthony Bourdain on the Real Le Bernardin

By Anthony Bourdain

The scenes in the kitchen of Le Bernardin were filmed in that kitchen, with its actual menu, and to a great extent, the actual kitchen staff.  That's as authentic as it gets.

I'd like to point out that the brilliant, brilliant Soa Davies, of Le Bernardin (the iron fist inside Eric Ripert's velvet glove) stepped in to make the plates at Brulard's look appropriately 2006 New York — and appropriately awesome. Notice the basting of the salmon in the pan. God is in the details. A lot of other really tremendous culinary talents were either on site or actually in the scene as actors and extras. Made all the difference.

As far as "is it necessary" to run a kitchen through intimidation and even abuse, Le Bernardin demonstrates that the answer is clearly "no." In the old days, many — if not most — great chefs came out of an even worse culture of abuse than Brulard's. It was an old and largely European system where that kind of autocratic and even physically violent ethic prevailed.  A few chefs, like abused children, eventually continued that tradition —  that cycle of abuse — when they came to command  their own kitchens. Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin has talked a lot about how he behaved in that manner when he first became an executive chef — but that he quickly came to feel that it was unnecessary and even destructive. Le Bernardin today is a particularly civilized environment where treating people at every level with politeness and respect is stressed.  Everyone addresses everyone else as "chef" — even waiters, I believe. 

One is tempted to think that this clean, civil, silent environment is due, perhaps, to Eric's Buddhist beliefs. But one sees this kind of thing more and more at the top level — where new generations of chefs have rejected the Old School system of rum, buggery and the lash.

More and more chefs have moved away from the Billy Martin school of management towards the Joe Torre style. Thomas Keller, I'm guessing, is more of the latter. He doesn't HAVE to yell at you. He doesn't HAVE to curse.

But if you've disappointed him and he doesn't look up and say "Goodnight, chef," I imagine that would be devastating. Enough respect from cooks and you don't need intimidation. Young cooks who’ve struggled their whole career to get to the point where they find themselves in the kitchen of a great chef, who know that they have beat out hundreds — if not thousands — of other applicants for the same position, want that chef's approval. They crave it. A raised eyebrow, a single stern rebuke, a sigh  — these alone can be far more devastating to a highly motivated stagiere than any hurled plate or screamed abuse.

Food Politics

MyPyramid R.I.P.

On May 26, the USDA announced that it will be releasing a new “food icon” to replace the foodless and useless 2005 MyPyramid:

The USDA’s press announcement explained:

The 2010 White House Child Obesity Task Force called for simple, actionable advice to equip consumers with information to help them make healthy food choices. As a result, USDA will be introducing the new food icon to replace the MyPyramid image as the government’s primary food group symbol. It will be an easy-to-understand visual cue to help consumers adopt healthy eating habits consistent with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

What will the new icon look like?  The USDA isn’t saying, but William Neuman of the New York Times did some sleuthing.  According to his account:

The circular plate, which will be unveiled Thursday, is meant to give consumers a fast, easily grasped reminder of the basics of a healthy diet. It consists of four colored sections, for fruits, vegetables, grains and protein, according to several people who have been briefed on the change. Beside the plate is a smaller circle for dairy, suggesting a glass of low-fat milk or perhaps a yogurt cup.

And WebMD scored an interview with Robert C. Post, PhD, deputy director of the USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, who gave additional hints:

“There will be a ‘how-to’ that will resonate with individuals. That is the behavioral part that is needed. We need to transcend information — ‘here’s what the science says’ — and give people the tools and the opportunities to take action.”

He referred to six how-to messages to guide healthy eating that were released with the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, and which I enthusiastically posted when the Guidelines were released (I was disappointed that they weren’t actually part of the Guidelines):

Balancing Calories

• Enjoy your food, but eat less.

• Avoid oversized portions.

Foods to Increase

• Make half your plate fruits and vegetables.

• Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk.

Foods to Reduce

• Compare sodium in foods like soup, bread, and frozen meals—and choose the foods with lower numbers.

• Drink water instead of sugary drinks.

A bit of history:

From 1958 until 1992, the USDA’s food guide was a rectangle illustrating four food groups: Dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables, grains.  In 1992, after a year of extraordinary controversy (recounted in my book Food Politics), the USDA released its highly controversial Food Guide Pyramid.

Why was it controversial?  The food industry objected that the Pyramid make it look as if you were supposed to eat more foods from the bottom of the pyramid than the top (which, of course, was its point).

Nutritionists objected that it encouraged eating too many servings of grains and, therefore, encouraged obesity.

In 2005, the USDA replaced it with the unobjectionable MyPyramid.  The food industry liked this one because it did not indicate hierarchies in food choices.  Most nutritionists that I know hardly knew what to do with it.  It required going online and playing with a website, and was unteachable in clinic settings.

I thought the 1992 pyramid had a lot going for it, particularly the idea that it’s better to eat some foods than others.  But MyPyramid was a travesty–hopelessly complicated, impossible to teach, and requiring the use of a computer.

Given this situation, the new image is highly likely to be an improvement.  If the new icon keeps the hierarchy, conveys concepts easily, and does not require online access, I will consider it a great step forward.

Fingers crossed.

Details about the release:

The announcement will be Thursday, June 2, 10:30 a.m. EDT. It will be live-streamed at www.usda.gov/live.   All information will be posted atwww.cnpp.usda.gov.

If you want to attend in person, it’s at USDA’s Jefferson Auditorium, USDA South Building (5th Wing Entrance), 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C.

I’ll be there.  Stay tuned.