I know he's no fan of Woody Harelson...and he's in good company.
As raw food zealots trickle into mainstream, chef does slow burn
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
BY ANTHONY BOURDAIN NEWHOUSE NEWS SERVICE
They call us "cooks." And we -- meaning everyone who's ever shaken a pan in a professional kitchen -- can trace our proud lineage to our ape-like predecessors, clustered around a fire, searing hunks of flesh over the flame. Through persistence and desperation, using knowledge passed down to us, we turn tough, unlovely bits of meat and scrap into beloved national dishes.
This thing of ours was always about transformation, about the strategic application of heat to make what was available somehow better.
But some would have us believe that the flames around which we've gathered do not make things better. They make them worse. Less healthy. Less pure. More likely to cause "mucus," toxins, lowered enzymes -- and generally diminished grooviness.
Advocates and practitioners of "raw food" eschew what's cooked for what is still raw or "living." Until recently, they've been viewed as lunatic fringe, espousing a philosophy so extreme as to make ordinary vegans look like libertines.
One typical work on the subject, Victoria Boutenko's "12 Steps to Raw Foods (How to End Your Addiction to Cooked Food)," assures us that "because cooked food does not have enzymes, our body cannot use it. Therefore, the body treats cooked food as a toxin and is only concerned with getting rid of it."
Who knew? I always thought my body treated food as a pleasure. She later claims "our body never makes mistakes. We all know what we need if we listen to our body."
I can only imagine that if I hear my body calling for a cheeseburger, signals have somehow been crossed. (Apparently what it really wants is a Boutenko patty of ground and processed nuts, carrots, onion, yeast and banana -- thickened with dried herb, yeast, psyllium husk powder and ground flaxseeds.)
Fortunately, the literature on raw food has, until recently, provided unpersuasive visuals: The cover photo of Boutenko's manifesto displays a truly hideous spread of such unappetizing, clumsy butt-ugliness as to frighten away any but the most fervently devoted.
Unfortunately, things have changed.
Raw food has gone legit. In an ominous development, a few top chefs have conspired to present raw foods so fiendishly styled and manipulated as to mimic real food.
With the skill and craftsmanship of jewelers and the guile of a Hollywood set designer, they have managed to move what was once rabbit chow from the chicken wire-enclosed pen to the hushed dining rooms of some of our best restaurants.
Last year, Charlie Trotter -- a celebrated Chicago chef and the author of some truly groundbreaking and beautiful cookbooks -- collaborated with Roxanne Klein on "Raw," a real "cookbook" in which absolutely nothing is cooked. Klein is a veteran of many fine kitchens, the chef/owner of Roxanne's in Larkspur, Calif., and perhaps the leading innovator and proponent of "raw food."
The book is imaginative, pretty to look at and a poke in the eye to the entire culinary profession. It represents a radical abrogation of the basic principle: that "cooks" presumably cook.
In his introduction to "Raw," Trotter makes a careful distinction between the roles of chef/seeker and that of advocate for some health-conscious agrarian future. He seems to be saying that raw food can be a cool thing -- but it's not necessarily the only thing.
Klein urges similar caution, saying, "I think it's presumptuous for anyone to tell others how they should live their lives."
Nice words. Nice book. Though my prejudices against vegetarianism and veganism are well-known, I thought that as intellectual exercise, this weird corner of the culinary spectrum might be as worthy of respect as any other.
Then I read Klein's introduction. She describes a fateful meeting in Thailand with former "Cheers" star and hemp activist Woody Harrelson.
"Every evening, our group would sit down to a fantastic feast of Thai vegetarian curries, noodles and rice dishes. Woody, however, would always order a bowl of fruit or a green papaya salad. We tried to get him to sample the wonderful cooked dishes we were eating, but he always declined. After more prodding, he explained why he maintained a diet of raw fruits and vegetables. Michael (Klein's husband) and I found the philosophy interesting and decided to delve more deeply into it."
This story is horrifying on so many levels that my enzyme-starved, toxin-laden, mucus-clogged body shook when I read it.
First of all, why would anyone listen to Woody Harrelson about anything more important than how to be a Hollywood actor or how to make a bong out of a toilet paper roll and tin foil?
And who would listen to anyone who can visit Thailand -- a country with one of the most vibrant, exciting culinary cultures on the planet -- and refuse to sample its bounty? What kind of cramped, arrogant worldview could excuse shutting oneself off from the greater part of an ancient and beautiful culture?
It's bad enough when you bump into a curmudgeonly fellow countryman in a foreign land. But to bring his Tao home with you is another thing.
"Raw" is a quantum leap in the realm of what's possible with fruits and vegetables. But by offering encouragement to would-be Woodys everywhere, Trotter and Klein have opened a Pandora's box of fissionable material.
At a time in history when Americans have reasons to turn away from this fabulously diverse and marvelous planet, the authors have made willful avoidance and abstinence a more attractive option.
I admire their skills.
But I fear for the planet.
