Bourdain Predicts "Apocalyptic Shakeout"

Anthony Bourdain, the chef-cum-cable-TV star, offers a bleak forecast for the restaurant industry in a Q and A with Nation's Restaurant News reporter Lisa Jennings.

There is "going to be a very rude awakening for a lot of types of restaurants if they're not aware yet how drastically things have changed," he said.

But food itself may see a renaissance, thanks to the shrinking global economy. Hard times, according to Bourdain, breed good eats. "The engine of gastronomy through history has been poverty and difficulties, from the days of dealing with lack of refrigeration or having to work only with second-best ingredients," he said. "These are things that force people to cook well because they have no other options."

Still, for the industry, there is "going to be an apocalyptic shakeout," Bourdain predicted. "On the plus side, the bullshit will be the first to go."

What bullshit? Jennings apparently didn't ask. But the guy who copy-edited the article, Mark Brandau, offered a few of his own speculations on his blog. They include "bottle-service-driven nightclubs with loud music and crappy food," the "undifferentiated frozen-yogurt place," and "at least a couple pretentious 'chef-driven' and 'ingredient-driven' bistros that serve simple rustic New American comfort food made from the finest local, seasonal, freshest ingredients (simply due to the law of averages)."