Lo and behold, I opened the local paper this week, only to discover that recently Anthony Bourdain and his “No Reservations” television crew were in Alexandra, Victoria (the nearest town of any girth, about 20kms away) shooting an episode.
Why, oh why, Anthony, didn’t you call?
Don’t you know that I love you? Don’t you know that I too, am a traveling, wandering foodie, with a television show in me somewhere waiting to come out? And although I don’t smoke and barely drink , I can appreciate some good wholesome debauchery as much as the next person. You should have called.
But alas, you didn’t call.
No Reservations” was shooting an episode on Wagyu Beef, which is some of the most coveted strains of beef to be found in the world. This thickly marbled meat literally melts in your mouth when prepared properly – or so at least Anthony’s crew said in the interview as they devoured it to the eventual envy of many television viewers when the show airs.
And in Alexandra – as I discovered – there is a farm that specializes in Wagyu cattle, housing a few thousand steers.
I love Anthony Bourdain. He goes for the best of the best, in a style all his own. If he can find the best beef, you know his crew will show up and document it. If there is a tribe in Africa who cooks up the meanest ostrich eggs over a shit fire, he has eaten it (literally – it was a great episode). And it was Mr. Bourdain’s travels through the Hawker’s markets of Singapore that made it a necessary stop on my Southeast Asian itinerary. I even had a reflexology session there, just like Anthony.
And so I discover that my food celebrity hero (well, one of them: Jamie Oliver will always have a special place in my heart – and stomach) was actually in MY neck of the woods. I could have touched him had I known he was here. And since Alexandra is just off the beaten path enough, I would only have had to fight of throngs of three or four people to get up close and personal.
But surely this near-miss is not all bad; every cloud must have a silver lining.
The bad news: I was probably closer to Anthony Bourdain than I’ll ever be and I didn’t even know it.
The good news: Now I know where I can get some world-class Wagyu beef. I will be thinking of you fondly, Anthony Bourdain, when I eat it.
Bummer, we love watching him too. Would have driven up from Geelong to see him. Reckon he would be a great guest at the fantasy dinner party i.e. who would you invite for dinner if you could invite ANYONE?
Hmmm…who would I invite to dinner? I’d like to fill the table with Anthony Bourdain, the Dalai Lama, Robert Kiyosaki, Matt Harding, and have Jamie Oliver cook. Then, I’d sit back and watch them all duke it out. Ooh – and maybe we’ll throw Oprah in there too for kicks and giggles. That could be fun!
“tribe in Africa who cooks up the meanest ostrich eggs over a shit fire, he has eaten it” … saw that episode. It was in Namibia. The ostrich egg just had dirt in it. Then they roasted the pig and failed to clean out the intestines before cooking. Tony ate the thing still full of shit. Love Bourdain’s jihad against the Food Network!