Vote for Jim!

“Dear friends and colleagues,
I’ve entered a writing contest, and would like your assistance. Please click on the link below, if you find my entry to be worthy of a vote, I would appreciate it if you could sign in to the site and give me your support. There is no account required, and no junk mail will be coming your way. Just sign in the upper right corner of the homepage and create a password with 8 characters or more.

http://bourdainmediumraw.com/essays/view/893?sms_ss=email

Thanks,

Jim

P.S. If you really enjoy the essay, feel free to pass it along.”

And here is Jim’s submission, pasted below - please go vote for  him!

It is ALWAYS about integrity, flat out. Cooking, as in all aspects of life, is a direct reflection of what you put into it. Satisfied with garbage? Cut corners at your own peril by settling for something less. Over time, shortcuts seem more palatable, and extra effort seems to be a waste of energy.

Cooking, or the preparation of food, is the very most basic of human tasks performed for survival. Its really the first measure of just how lazy a slug you’ve become through years of sitting in a quasi vegetative state watching TV, absorbing shockingly obscene doses of mind numbing shows like “the Hills”, or the “House Wives of Who gives a Crap”. Of course, “No Reservations” and the Travel Channel represent the pinnacle of the medium, and should be revered for their educational contributions to society and moral high ground, but I digress…

Cooking well represents the sum total of your experiences during your very short time on this beautiful little mud ball we all share. It is, at the end of the day, a reflection of who you are, what you’ve seen and experienced, and most of all what have you learned.

Taking the time to speak to people that grow, sell, cook and serve you food. Having a genuine interest in the hows, whys and best ways. Avoiding at all cost the monolithic empires that are so big, they really don’t care about the eradication of small farms, bakers, butchers and people who skills were developed over a life time, and the loss of which, through age and economics, damages us all. Learn what they do, do it for yourself, and pass it along.

Travel to places that you love and eat in places that make you uncomfortable. Spend 5 minutes outside the Ritz and grab a bite someplace where there is nobody that looks like you, and discover things your pals at the country club will never understand. Again, learn something and share it. “ I ate this in X, it was prepared by a Y wearing a (insert native garb) and it was amazing. Mr./Mrs. So and So said the secret was (insert FDA prohibited ingredient) and that’s why I snuck it into the country and cooked it for you, my ungrateful hangers on and posers. Best to not mention the two days of diarrhea that followed.

Teach a man to fish……….

Tags: bourdain, cooking, fish, medium raw, Meltdown, Travel Channel