Immediately by looking at the cover of A Cook’s Tour, we are presented with images of Anthony Bourdain’s different pit stops around the world. What I see on those images is a variety of food, maybe a forced smile for the cameras, contemplations of culture and food, as well as a daring Anthony Bourdain willing to try almost any kind of food (except for monkeys). However, I have come up with these conclusions because I have already read a part of his book. Prior to gaining the knowledge of Bourdain’s cultural and culinary experiences in Morocco, Spain, Portugal, Vietnam and other places, I simply had a one-dimensional interpretation of these same images, seeing only the surface values.
At face value, A Cook’s Tour seems to be a book about food from different countries. The fact that the title is printed on an image of a restaurant check seems to drive this point home. However, upon deeper analysis of the text, one will come to realize that Anthony Bourdain is experiencing something much deeper than the cuisine and culinary styles of different countries. He is giving his readers a taste of the countries themselves, their cultures, their beliefs, their principles, their ideals, their values. Even better, Bourdain provides the connections between the two. He explains how in Russia, it is considered a disgrace to one’s country if not enough Vodka is consumed. He narrates the mechanical nature of a pig slaughtering in Portugal, which becomes a grand gathering centered on his arrival. He recounts his experiences with relearning his table manners in Morocco to conform to Muslim table etiquette of eating only with the right hand and not using napkins. Essentially, Bourdain tries to make one broad argument by presenting food in the context of these different cultures: The experiences we remember are further deepened by the foods we eat in those moments. Knowing these few essential facts about Bourdain’s book will make those images in the front cover a bit more meaningful, giving truth to the idea that the argument made by images depends on the context in which they are presented.
