Anthony Bourdain’s Top 5 Most Famous Feuds With Celebrity Chefs

After his untimely passing earlier today, June 8, Anthony Bourdain has spurred an outpouring of emotion from all corners of the television and food community, as well as from his countless fans that have been watching his programs and reading his books since his rise to stardom outside of culinary circles in the early 2000s.

Bourdain became well known from that time on for his no-holds-barred approach to food, travel, and interactions in general. His blatant honesty and disregard to hesitate in speaking whatever comes to mind are what solidified him as a star in his field.

However, that particular character trait is also something that, throughout his career, landed him in some hot water with other highly recognizable names in the culinary field. Compiled here is a list of five of the most iconic feuds the former No Reservations host engaged in throughout his time in the limelight.

1.) Wolfgang Puck: Although Bourdain had, throughout his career, stated his level of respect for Puck, calling him an important chef on several occasions, he still shared plenty of choice words on how Puck capitalized on his fame. In an interview with Playboy, he stated, “Listen, I’m not eating in his shi**y pizza restaurants. I think it’s bulls**t, and it breaks my heart to see him on QVC or whatever.” Bourdain also reportedly called out the famed chef for banning foie gras in his establishments in 2007.

2.) Emeril Lagasse: Emeril was one of the celebrities Bourdain’s had a feud with. When Bourdain was hosting his first show, Kitchen Confidential, he mentioned his “naked contempt for… the cooking of Ewok-like Emeril Lagasse.” The host then spent many years bashing Emeril’s various shows and restaurants, only after a good amount of time admitting that he “should have given him more credit.”

3.) Rachael Ray: Bourdain routinely dismissed Rachael Ray as a “bobblehead” or “freakazoid” who couldn’t cook a few years ago. His biggest gripe with her, however, was her advocacy for pre-chopped onions, through this basically referring to her as the “anti-Julia Child.” However, Ray apparently sent him a fruit basket after hearing about his comments, which led Bourdain to take back what he had said due to her apparent kindness to him.

4.) Paula Deen: One of the most blatant comments the celebrity food host made about another chef was towards Paula Deen, stating that “The worst, most dangerous person to America is clearly Paula Deen. She revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she’s proud of the fact that her food is f***ing bad for you. Plus, her food sucks.” Bourdain also made some comments about Deen when she revealed her diabetes diagnosis with the world, but surprisingly not during her massive public scandal in 2013 that took a large toll on her career.

5.) Guy Fieri: The most famous feud Bourdain has ever engaged in has to be with Guy Fieri. The feud had been so longstanding and bitter between the two that Fieri even tried to fight back at Bourdain’s charity comedy roast. However, Anthony says in Medium Raw that he does not actually hate Guy Fieri as a person, he just really hates “the idea that somebody would put Texas-style barbeque inside a f***ing nori roll.” The Parts Unknown host referred to Fieri’s Times Square restaurant as a “terror dome,” and even went as far as to claim that you’d get a perfect clone of Fieri “if Ed Hardy f****d a Juggalo.”

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