The Food Trends Anthony Bourdain Hated With A Passion

Few people in human history have acquired as great of an understanding of food and culture as Anthony Bourdain did throughout his life. By traveling the world and interacting with countless people from different cultures, Bourdain went out of his way to appreciate and showcase many unique dishes to a worldwide audience that has adored his open-minded food adventures even years after he died in 2018.

However, this doesn't mean Bourdain liked every food or drink he had. In fact, Bourdain was quite well known for disliking some beloved foods and drinks, with his well-documented disdain for the Chicken McNugget being one of many on his list. Thus, it should surprise very few that he also had a problem with plenty of food trends that he thought lacked authenticity and reason. 

The celebrity chef was asked about which of these trends he disliked the most during a Reddit Ask Me Anything thread in 2016. His answer was multi-faceted, ranging from products that many consumers swear by — including pumpkin spice products and juice cleanses — to things that food providers should change moving forward, be it prices or general designations.

To start, Bourdain called out pumpkin-spiced foods and drinks, which grew immensely in prominence throughout the 2010s and are still popular today. "I would like to see the pumpkin spice craze drowned in its own blood. Quickly," Bourdain wrote harshly.

What followed was comments about various health-related trends. Notably, juice cleanses and gluten-free foods annoyed Bourdain, though he also noted that people who medically need to stay on a gluten-free diet get a pass. "I don't really understand the juice cleanse," Bourdain stated before later adding, "I'm pleased that there are now gluten-free options, but these people who are treating gluten as ... an equivalent of Al Qaeda are worrying to me."

While those three trends come down to the demands of consumers, the subsequent trend Bourdain mentioned was a matter of frustrating branding on behalf of food companies. Bourdain added the overuse of the adjective "artisanal" to his list of grievances before giving an example of why it annoyed him. "An artisanal potato chip?" What does that mean other than it's an expensive potato chip?" Bourdain questioned.

Lastly, Bourdain voiced his frustration with food prices, but not in the way you might expect. The world-renowned chef believed that cultural foods derived from places like Mexico and India should increase in price, as they are higher quality than people ultimately give them credit for. 

"I think it's the most undervalued, under-appreciated world cuisine with tremendous, tremendous potential," Bourdain explained before later concluding, "This is frankly a racist assumption that Mexican food or Indian food should be cheap. That's not right."