# Quote — Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential

> Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, and an affront to all I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food. The body, these waterheads imagine, is a temple that should not be polluted by animal protein. It's healthier, they insist, though every vegetarian waiter I've worked with is brought down by any rumor of a cold. Oh, I'll accommodate them, I'll rummage around for something to feed them, for a 'vegetarian plate', if called on to do so. Fourteen dollars for a few slices of grilled eggplant and zucchini suits my food cost fine. (p. 70).

- Author: [Anthony Bourdain](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-bourdain.md)
- Book: [Kitchen Confidential](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-bourdain/kitchen-confidential.md)
- Source: [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anthony_Bourdain#Kitchen_Confidential_(2000)) ([CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/))
- Quote page: https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-bourdain/kitchen-confidential/vegetarians-and-their

## More from this book

> I wanted to write in Kitchenese, the secret language of cooks, instantly recognizable to anyone who has ever dunked french fries for a summer job or suffered under the despotic rule of a tyrannical chef or boobish owner.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-bourdain/kitchen-confidential/i-wanted-to-write.md)

> Margarine? That’s not food. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter? I can. If you’re planning on using margarine in anything, you can stop reading now, because I won’t be able to help you.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-bourdain/kitchen-confidential/margarine-thats-not.md)

> Good food and good eating are about risk. Every once in a while an oyster, for instance, will make you sick to your stomach. Does this mean you should stop eating oysters? No way. The more exotic the food, the more adventurous the serious eater, the higher the likelihood of later discomfort. I’m not going to deny myself the pleasures of morcilla sausage, or sashimi, or even ropa vieja at the local Cuban joint just because sometimes I feel bad a few hours after I’ve eaten them.

[Quote page](https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-bourdain/kitchen-confidential/good-food-and.md)