Cooking with Anthony Bourdain by Vijay Matheswaran
What thoughts I have of you tonight, Tony,
as I begin dinner this warm evening.
With a paring knife and plastic-wrapped meat,
pale potatoes and tired tomatoes
and wilting bunches of ugly spinach.
I saw you, Tony, hovering by me,
horror in your eyes. Disgust creased your face
as you seethed, ‘This is not the way to eat!
Screamingly fresh fruit, pristine pearl onions
and cold cuts and cumin and curry leaves
slapped with gooey, smelly French cheese – now that,
my friend, is how you learn to cook and eat!’
I heard you tonight, Tony, as you said
those words, and images ran through my head.
Chopping and peeling and sautéing and
dicing: images of hard work indeed
that stayed with me as I got my car keys
and floored it to the closest pizza place.
Vijay Matheswaran was born in Chennai, India. He is currently a PhD candidate at Wichita State University, and previously worked as a journalist in India.