Anthony Bourdain Says Trump's Presidency Would Mean The End Of Every Restaurant In America

During a recent interview on SiriusXM, Parts Unknown host and new Waffle House devotee Anthony Bourdain had some important things to say about Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, and his divisive stance on immigration.

"I rolled out of a prestigious culinary institute and went to work in real restaurants," Bourdain told host Pete Dominick. "I walked into restaurants and always, the person who had been there the longest, who took the time to show me how it was done, was always Mexican or Central American.

"The backbone of the industry — meaning most of the people in my experience cooking, preparing your food. Twenty of those years in this business I was an employer, I was a manager employer. Never, in any of those years, not once, did anyone walk into my restaurant — any American-born kid — walk into my restaurant and say I'd like a job as a night porter or a dishwasher. Even a prep cook — [there were] few and far between. Just not willing to start at the bottom like that."

Echoing sentiments that have been expressed by celebrity chefs like José Andrés and Geoffrey Zakarian — both of whom removed themselves from restaurant partnerships at Trump's upcoming hotel in Washington, after Trump's criticism of Mexican immigrants — Bourdain said simply, "If Mr. Trump deports 11 million people or whatever he's talking about right now, every restaurant would shut down."

Last month, Andrés also brought up the issue of Trump's plan to eliminate the restaurant industry's workforce, asking, "Who is going to be feeding America if we kick everybody who is feeding America out?"