Food is Good Analysis

Exposition: When Anthony Bourdain starts to tell us when he realized food was something "other than a substance one stuffed in one's face when hungry" (63). He begins to tell us about trying Vichyssoise or soup that was cold. This is when his interest in food was sparked and the story begins.

Rising Action: The rising action of this story is drawn out as Bourdain tells us about his adventures in France with his family. He begins to tell us that his second epiphany also happened on his trip to France. He begins to tell us how at first he was largely unimpressed by the food. He states, "the butter tasted strangely cheesy, the milk was undrinkable, and lunch always seemed to consist of sandwich au jambon or croque-monsieur" (65). He talks about how he and his brother always ordered the same meal at each reastaurant, steak-frites and steak haché (hamburger and fries), and how much they complained to their parents. After several weeks, his parents finally decided to leave the kids in the car and eat without them. After being left in the car, he thought to himself what could possibly be so great behind the walls of the restaurant. After this incident, he changed his ways. He used his spite to fuel his appetite and challenged himself to try everything he possibly could no matter how gross. This is what leads to his big breakthrough.

Climax: The climax of the story is when Bourdain tells us about the first time he tried an oyster. One of their neighbors, Monsieur Saint-Jour, was an oyster fisherman and invited his family out on his oyster boat. Bourdain exclaims that he is hungry and this catches Monsieur Saint-Jour's attention. He asks if anyone would like to try an oyster, and after Bourdain's parents decline, Bourdain himself volunteered proudly to finally beat his parents at his own game. He then tastes the oyster and talks about how it was life changing, how it tasted of the future. This is when he knew the magic of food and this is when his interest in cooking blossomed and his life as a cook had begun.

Falling Action: He tells of how after this event, he would sneak off into the garden to enjoy his oysters and drink Kronenbourgs (alcohol). He also realizes that food has power and that it could "inspire, astonish, shock, excite, delight, and impress people" (70).

Denouncement: He jumps back to his present life and talks about how back then he had no plans to cook professionally but when he looks back at his life to find where he went bad and became thrill seeking when it came to food, this story always comes to mind.

Connect/Disconnect: One area where there is a value change in this story is when something negative turns into something positive. This happens when Bourdain is left in the car with his brother as his parents dined in La Pyramide. He was furious, but this anger was fueled into something positive. His anger led to the expansion of his palette. He turned something negative, such as sitting in a car "starving", into something positive by fueling his adventure in food.

Another area where there is value change in the story is when Bourdain talks about his positive time in France for the first couple weeks and tells of his friends and neighbors. Then he says he was "largely unimpressed by the food" which changes to value from positive to negative (64).