Quicklet On The Charlie Rose Show: Anthony Bourdain

ABOUT THE BOOK

Charlie Rose has been a leading voice in journalism since the 1970's. He has worked for several prestigious broadcasting companies such as the BBC and PBS, but is best known for being the anchorman on shows such as CBS News Nightwatch, and as a correspondent on 60 Minutes. He is also particularly known for his calm, even demeanor, which has allowed him to become one of the best known interviewers on television.

It seems that Rose has always had an interest in interviewing as a journalistic style. Perhaps his most famous interview, and the one that may have paved the way for his current show, was his 1987 interview of Charles Manson, for which he won an Emmy award.

On his current show, simply called The Charlie Rose Show, he regularly interviews a wide variety of public figures; from politicians to movie stars. The focus of the show has remained intellectual and conversational, despite the current trend of inflammatory hosts and sensationalism in the media today.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Lynn Brown wrote her first book at the age of 6, to the wild acclaim of her kindergarten class. Sometime later she graduated from Naropa University with an Interdisciplinary degree in Writing, Peace and Indigenous Peoples Studies. She is a staff writer for DoGoodFeelGreat.com, and has been published in Colorado Daily News, the Bywater-Currents Magazine and Whoisisabella.com. In addition, she sometimes serves as a grantwriter for various nonprofit organizations. Lynn is currently working on an urban fantasy novel, entitled Wonderland, based on the city of New Orleans and its mythology. Her novel writing process and clips from this work can be found at: wonderlandnovel.wordpress.com

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

This interview centers mostly on Tony Bourdain's recent switch to writer and TV show host, from chef; as well as his most recently published book: Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. The conversation also seems to stray a bit towards mutual acquaintances that Bourdain and Rose have in common, such as French chef Eric Ripert and Ferran Adria, from the now closed elBouille restaurant. These instances are particularly interesting as they give the interview a more conversational feel, without ever straying too far from Bourdain's areas of expertise.

It starts off with an overview of Bourdain's career as a chef, and clips from his show No Reservations. However, it quickly moves into more intellectual territory, such as whether or not chefs need to have a media presence in order to be popular. They also talk a bit about the show itself, and how its focus is not always on food. Several episodes of Bourdain's show have seen him travel to areas like post earthquake Haiti, and Beirut during the 2006 conflict. Bourdain refers to the show as more of a "free form travel or culture show", rather than just a series about food.

They then move into talking about a chef whom they both obviously know personally, Ferran Adria, former chef of elBuille restaurant in Catalonia, Spain. The restaurant recently closed, which both Rose and Bourdain both seem to regard as a tragedy. Bourdain talks at length about the restaurant as well as, his experience with chef Adria during the last dinner ever served at elBuille. He also talks a bit about the overall process of making the show, including how places are chosen to be featured, and the difficulty in making what is essentially the same show, over and over in different and interesting ways.

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