At Tribeca, Bourdain Reluctantly Plays The Role Of Activist

The countless meals shared on his years of TV, from "No Reservations" to the soon-returning "Parts Unknown," are chiefly feasts — both through the food on the plate and the discussions held over them — of larger cultural conversation. [...] what was it that lured him into combating food waste? A lifetime in which the cooking principle "use everything, waste nothing" was instilled in him, and driven deeper by "one brutal kitchen regime after another." "The intent of this film happens to align with something that I feel very strongly from the point of view of just a classically trained cook who came up in a system where the whole idea of waste was abhorrent," said Bourdain. The film showcases those using creative solutions to the problem, like a beer called Toast made out of leftover sandwich bread, or a budget grocery store of donated excess foods. The film also preaches the flavor and thrift of dishes that use typically tossed parts of produce or animals. Most glaring, though, is the waste of supermarkets where aisles are intended to showcase abundance, even though that means stocking shelves with the intent to not sell all of it. "In order to have their aisles look a certain way and give an impression of abundance with only the freshest and best, they've deemed it necessary to waste tremendous amounts of food that in another situation would be vital to people," said Bourdain. Being a "film nerd," he says, is "a necessary qualification" for his "Parts Unknown" crew.