The McDonald's Menu Item Anthony Bourdain Hated With A Passion
Anthony Bourdain was anything but a picky eater. The late chef and TV personality once tried fermented shark in Iceland, iguana in Mexico, and a beating cobra heart in Vietnam. With a palate as forgiving as his, it takes a special kind of food to make the man say no. Though not as unhealthy as we once thought, that food was a McDonald's Chicken McNugget.
The "Parts Unknown" host was known to bash the popular fast-food menu item on various occasions without mincing words. In a People interview, Bourdain said, "I've had enough reasons in my life, many many many times, to hate myself in the morning, but you know the kind of hate I feel for myself after a big wad of chicken McNugget is pretty intense, and deserved." Bourdain's fiery disdain for the McNugget is not strictly related to the flavor of the breaded chicken pieces. After all, this is a man who has eaten a raw eyeball of a seal.
How McDonald's Chicken McNuggets Became A Symbol Of What Bourdain Hated About Fast Food
Anthony Bourdain had a somewhat complicated relationship with fast food. He believed that American fast food was appalling. Bourdain loved In-N-Out and Popeyes, but was opinionated about the fast-food industry and its role in lowering food standards. McDonald's, in particular, was high on his enemy list.
In a 2010 essay for The Guardian, he referred to the chain as part of the "evil empire," criticizing its marketing to children, from Happy Meals and toys to the ever-present Ronald McDonald. The chef was known to say that while the McNugget was not the grossest thing he had tried, he would never feed it to his daughter, as it would be irresponsible.
Questionable ingredients were probably one of the reasons behind Bourdain's war on McNuggets. In a 2008 interview with the A.V. Club, Bourdain was asked whether he'd rather eat a McNugget or experience his Namibian warthog meal over again. While choosing not to relive that experience, Bourdain said, "At least I knew what the warthog was. Whereas with the McNugget, I think that's still an open question. Scientists are still wondering." While one of the most popular menu items at McDonald's, the nuggets have had a bad reputation for years, fueled in part by rumors about what's in them. To clear the air, McDonald's released a "how it's made" video in 2014 that shows the process of making McNuggets.