Beef

Richman Fires Back at ‘Untalented’ Bourdain, Admits Les Halles Slam Was a Hit Piece

Photo: Courtesy of Ecco

A week after John Mariani fought back against Anthony Bourdain, another one of Bourdain’s targets, Alan Richman, unloads to Fork in the Road about the already infamous chapter in Bourdain’s Medium Raw, “Alan Richman Is a Douchebag.” Among other things, Richman calls Bourdain an “untalented cook,” “beneath contempt,” “a man without a vocabulary, capable of nothing except name-calling,” and a “living, breathing, low blow.” Okay, but what about reviewing Les Halles (which he here calls “an appalling restaurant, one of the worst in New York”) and not disclosing that Bourdain had called him a “douchebag”? Wasn’t that a bit much? Richman says “nothing I wrote in that review was untrue, unfair, or uncalled for.” He further explains:

As I said, I had every intention of not letting Bourdain get away with his slurs toward me and others. That comes under the category of “somebody had to do it.” The review was secondary. I admit that. But ultimately it was something I’m pleased I did. I hope it convinced potential customers to stay away and not be taken advantage of by the restaurant and by Bourdain’s fame. For me, it delivered personal pleasure. I know for a fact that for the last two years Bourdain has been seething, waiting to get even, which he attempted to do in his book. His discomfiture, which I always knew existed, has pleased me no end.

Of course, we’ll have to wait till the book is published on June 8, and the best seller list comes out, before determining the full level of Bourdain’s discomfort.

Alan Richman Responds to Bourdain: “He Is a Living, Breathing Low Blow” [Fork in the Road/VV]

Richman Fires Back at ‘Untalented’ Bourdain, Admits Les Halles Slam