The most “soul-destroying” meal Anthony Bourdain ever ate
Although Anthony Bourdain delivered many great meditative explorations of untapped cultures and cuisines, there were times when he outright hated food and wasn’t afraid to make it known.
Coloured by his uniquely cynical style, Bourdain’s accounts of culinary crimes were deeply personal. Often stating that these experiences kicked off spirals of depression and broader philosophical queries about his place in the world, specific moments provided a fascinating insight into his complex mental state and how he viewed the world. Given his death by suicide, they are tinged with ample sadness, going much further than the furious critiques of other celebrity chefs.
Several highlights of Bourdain’s TV shows counterbalanced the life-affirming wanderings into the world’s untapped corners. From being disgusted by fermented Icelandic shark and Namibian warthog rectum to making his intense disdain known for aeroplane food, the way the late gastronaut intellectualised his poor experiences with food stands out in the glowing legacy that he left behind following his tragic 2018 death.
When appearing on Conan in 2016, Bourdain was asked about one establishment he hated more than most, the 1950s-styled diner franchise Johnny Rockets. Known for its shlocky décor which includes vintage Coca-Cola advertising, life-sized cardboard illustrations of female service people in World War Two and jukebox stations and red vinyl seats, it wasn’t the interiors of the establishment that troubled Bourdain the most, but the “soul-destroying” nature of its food.
Asked what happened during this crushing experience at Johnny Rockets, Bourdain revealed that it was at an airport, a place that he spent more time in than at home, given the globe-trotting nature of his job. Recounting an intensely depressing moment, his anecdote is enough to make anyone unfamiliar with the franchise avoid it in the event of coming across one Stateside.
He said: “Look, I’ve eaten a lot of really nasty stuff on my show, but nothing as soul-destroying as my airport Johnny Rockets experience. I went into it like, there were like two managers, a cashier, three cooks, there’s no one else in the airport, I’m alone there. I’m hungry, you know, I order a burger, they throw a cold burger on a pathway on a bun, reach into the fry basket for some pre-cooked fries, they don’t need to dunk it in the grease, throw a limp pickle on.”
Continuing with this surreal tale, Bourdain explained: “They were all standing there in a row, nothing else going on, no other customers. They sort of slid it across at me, all looking at me, and we all sort of stood there silently for a second, kind of sharing this moment of perfect misery. None of us were where we wanted to be. Such things, rightly or wrongly, sent me into a spiral of misery and depression that lasted three days, so it was really the most all-destroying recent meal experience. Not a fan, no.”
Following this, the host, Conan O’Brien, wondered if Bourdain was to come across a Johnny Rockets in Switzerland, what would it take for him to eat there? Alas, he was unwavering in his position: “Wow. I can’t even think of anything that would. I don’t think I could overcome the fear and the terror and revulsion.”
Watch the clip below.
