Paper #4: Eating from a Distance (Final Exam)

In the last chapter of A Cook’s Tour, “Perfect,” Tony Bourdain writes,

“The whole concept of the ‘perfect meal’ is ludicrous. ‘Perfect,’ like ‘happy,’ tends to sneak up on you. Once you find it—like Thomas Keller says—it’s gone. It’s a fleeting thing, ‘perfect,’ and if you’re anything like me, it’s often better in retrospect. When you’re shivering under four blankets in a Moroccan hotel room, the perfect meal can be something no more exotic than [the] breakfast…you had four months ago. Your last Papaya King hot dog takes on golden, even mythic proportions when remembered from a distance” (272). 

So for your final paper assignment, I want you to describe the best meal you’ve ever had. Now “best” could mean the same as “perfect”: it might not be the absolute best, but for some reason, it was the best for you. Explain where you were, who you were with, what you ate, and what made this food, or this experience, your favorite meal. Could you replicate this meal today if you ate the same food? Or was it frozen in a specific moment in time that can never be truly relived even with the same food, people, and surroundings? 

QUOTE a passage from A Cook’s Tour to help explain what made this meal so wonderful to you, and how it helped you look at food, friends, family, or something much larger. How did you have your own “Tony Bourdain” experience somewhere out in the world with food? 

MUST be at least 3 pages double spaced, but can be longer

CITE and INTRODUCE according to MLA format

DUE no later than Friday, December 11th by 5pm (no later papers accepted—that’s the absolute last day I can accept it, so be careful! You can turn it in earlier, of course!) 

Last Questions! Read "Fire Over England" and "West Coast" in A Cook's Tour

These are the last questions I'll give you for the class! So after this, you'll only have Paper #3 and the Final left to finish. Amazing how quickly it went! We'll discuss these last chapters on Tuesday/Thursday, and I'll give you an idea about what to expect on the Final as well (not a traditional final where you come to class, of course).

Answer 2 of the following:

Q1: Both of these chapters concern the "Evil Axis" of the food world as Tony sees it--the people who are actively trying to ruin the traditions and passion of food. Who are they, according to him? Why do they threaten the future of cooks both in England and America?

Q2: In "Fire over England," he showcases the chefs who continue to make "simple, unassuming, unpretentious--and absolutely and unapologetically English" dishes. Why is he so impressed with these chefs? And what, in his mind, makes them 'saviors' of their country's traditions? 

Q3: In the "West Coast" chapter, Tony berates those who look down on meat-based cultures by writing, "Being able to read these words, no matter how stupid, offensive, or wrongheaded, is a privilege, your reading skills the end product of a level of education most of the world will never enjoy" (240). Why does this underline one of his main grievances against groups like PETA and in some way vegetarians in general? Do you think he's fair in saying this, or is he missing the point? 

Q4: Clearly, he worships at the shrine of the great French chef, Thomas Keller. But why, specifically? How does he embody exactly the kind of chef Tony most strives to be, who makes the kind of food he thinks the world--and specifically America--most needs to eat?   

Reading & Questions for Bourdain's A Cook's Tour, Chapter 8: "Tokyo Redux"

NOTE: Be sure to watch the Writing Workshop #6 video below and respond with a comment sometime this weekend or next week. The Paper #3 assignment is in the post below that one (the video will help you with that, too). For next week, just read Chapter 8, "Tokyo Redux" for class. We're almost done!

Answer 2 of the following:

Q1: According to Tony, why are the Japanese as a culture so obsessed with making pleasure an art? Why do activities like eating, relaxing, and even drinking tea become rituals that have to be followed religiously? Another way of answering this question is, why aren't we built this way? What characteristic makes Americans and Japanese so different?

Q2: Somewhat related to Q1, when Tony goes to the ryokan retreat, he feels like the clumsiest, most uncouth barbarian. As he writes, "We are big, hairy, smelly, foreign devils, unsophisticated, loud, clumsy, overexpressive, and overfed, bliundering thoughtlessly through life" (143). Though he's only half-serious here, what makes him feel this way? Why might a lot of Japanese culture produce this effect on Western tourists?

Q3: When forced to eat a "mountain potato" and natto, Tony is unpologetic about how disgusting he finds both of them, even writing that "I thought I would die" (153). In general, what makes one culture find another culture's food disgusting? Does he explain what he objects to? Is taste culturally constructed like language and religion? 

Q4: On page 144, Tony lists some (but not all!) of the taboos to avoid during the kaiseki meal. As Westerners (and Americans, especially) we have relatively few taboos about the eating of food beyond "don't use your hands, don't burb at the table, etc." Do you think these rules can actually increase one's enjoyment of the meal? Or are they merely a way to exclude people who don't understand them (making a division between "them" and "us")? 

Writing Workshop #6: 'Barbarian' Customs

This video is meant to introduce (and give you ideas for) your Paper #3 assignment in the post below. Be sure to respond as a comment to the question at the end. I'll also post some questions for Chapter 8 of Bourdain's book by Thursday. 

Paper #3: You Guys Actually Eat That?!

“The Japanese love natto, an unbelievably foul, rank, slimy, glutenous, and stringy goop of fermented soybeans. It’s the Vegemite of Japan, dearly loved by everyone there, for reasons no outsider can understand…There’s just no way to eat the stuff…All I wanted to do now was hurl myself through the paper walls and straight off the edge of the mountain (152).  

INTRO: In Tony Bourdain’s A Cook’s Tour, he explores how different cultures eat, relax, and approach life through some of their strangest (to Western eyes) events, rituals, and meals. Each one tells us something about who these people are, and by extension, who we are (since we find these customs so strange). But some of them even shock Tony, who doesn’t hesitate to tell us how weird, disgusting, horrific, and physically nauseating some of his experiences truly are! Though sometimes, he learns to appreciate something ‘bad’ through the context of the culture itself (but not with natto!).

PROMPT: So for this assignment, I want you to write about the strangest, most confusing, most disturbing, and possibly most disgusting event, ritual, or meal in your own culture (it doesn’t have to be food). But it should be something that you see as normal, and that many people you know think is normal, but that isn’t normal to people outside of your culture/circle. What makes this experience so strange and so unappealing to others (and so wonderful to you)? What would they not understand? How would it make them feel (about you, about themselves)? And if this was someone’s only experience of your culture, what would they walk away thinking about you? Would it be a fair assessment? Is that who ‘you’ are?

Remember, you can write about a strange food that you and your family loves...or you can write about an American tradition that people in other countries would find odd or downright appalling (Okie noodling??). Try to see through someone else's eyes as you look at your own life.  

IDEAS: Can’t think of anything? Our next Writing Workshop video will discuss this very topic and give you some ideas…stay tuned!

SOURCES: Try to bring at least 3-4 sources to your conversation, other people who are talking about the same experience. What do other people think this experience says about your culture? ONE of these sources MUST be Bourdain’s book: show us how his experiences in other cultures relate to your own. Use his book as a model for how to look at your own culture.

REQUIREMENTS:

• 4-5 pages double spaced
• 3-4 sources
• MLA (or other) citation throughout along with a Works Cited page
• Due THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19^th for TUESDAY CLASSES
• Due TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17^th for THURSDAY CLASSES