Anthony Bourdain Slammed This Controversial Chef For Being Out Of Touch With How People Really Eat

Never cross Anthony Bourdain. His feuds with Guy Fieri, whose Times Square restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen & Bar, Bourdain labeled a "terror-dome", and Paula Deen, who he famously called out as "the worst, most dangerous person to America," served as fodder for many gossip columns. Another famous chef he aimed his ire at was Alice Waters, whose Berkeley, California restaurant Chez Panisse launched the farm-to-table movement and pioneered California cuisine. "Alice Waters annoys the living [expletive] out of me," Bourdain said in a 2009 interview with DCist. "There's something very Khmer Rouge about Alice Waters that has become unrealistic," he opined. 

Admittedly, comparing Waters to Cambodia's former communist regime goes beyond tough love. Bourdain was referring to Waters' desire to get the U.S. government to take a more forceful approach in promoting healthier eating habits for Americans. "I'm a little reluctant to admit that maybe Americans are too stupid to figure out that the food we're eating is killing us," Bourdain said. 

Soon after, Bourdain somewhat tempered his criticism of Waters, calling her a visionary. He admitted to feeding his daughter organic food, but he complained that Waters — and other "wealthy suburbanites" — were out of touch and that an organic lifestyle was too expensive for many people. He was further incensed by Waters' letter to President-elect Obama that urged him to adopt her agenda, which he found "distasteful — particularly coming from someone who hadn't even bothered to vote in the four previous elections."

Waters does not seem to have directly confronted Bourdain, although she did defend her beliefs that people should eat more organic food and it's not all that expensive. Bourdain later admitted that he's conflicted about Waters. "I agree with the message," he said, "I just don't think she's the person to deliver that message." Waters' famous eatery may not have made Bourdain's list of his favorite places he loved to eat in the U.S. But he did count Waters as one of a dozen chefs he revered. 

To some degree, Waters was ahead of her time, or perhaps, because of her fierce efforts, eating organically grown foods is more accepted today than it was when she inserted herself into national politics. She urged the Clinton administration to grow an organic garden on the White House lawn as a symbol of their commitment to nourishing families with wholesome foods. But the Clintons only planted a small garden on the roof because they didn't feel that a large garden matched the aesthetic of the formal gardens. The Obamas took Waters' advice, and in 2009, Michelle Obama planted the first organic garden on the South Lawn. Known as the White House Kitchen Garden, it is still in use today. Despite Bourdain reportedly calling her "Pol Pot (Cambodia's former dictator) in a muumuu," Waters is still fiercely committed to ensuring that people's lives are improved by eating better.