Monday, April 11, 2011

WHO is Ruth Bourdain? Really?!!

It actually DOES make sense.

I’ve been away, so that’s my only excuse for not presenting this important story as breaking news. But this is HUGE news…WHENEVER you hear about it.

The real life identity of Ruth Bourdain has been the subject of speculation ever since she started Tweeting. The alternately poetically waxing and scurrilously cursing Tweetster has demonstrated a wicked sense of humor AND an intense, deep knowledge of food topics and issues. Who could this person have been?

I found it quite surprising for a couple of reasons to learn that Ruth Bourdain is no other than Alice Waters, chef of all that is good and holy and, hopefully, organic.   

Firstly, we don’t think of the Mother of California Cuisine as being foul-mouthed or particularly amusing, but, boy, is she! Apparently, she needed an outlet for the more base parts of her personality, while still wanting to express her foodie-ism. And secondly, she has an ongoing feud of sorts with Anthony Bourdain, which makes this whole taking-on-part-of-his-identity-thing even funnier.

Alice Waters said this about him and Ruth Reichl:
"Well, Tony has always been something of an ass to me. So there's that. But he also represents this tremendous dark-side of the human psyche. He is drugs, and sex, and rock music. Then to pair that with the lovely, idyllic musings of Ruth Reichl just seemed to make sense to me at the time. I'd had a glass of wine at that point, certainly."

Bourdain has said this about HER:
Alice Waters annoys the living shit out of me. We’re all in the middle of a recession, like we’re all going to start buying expensive organic food and running to the green market. There’s something very Khmer Rouge about Alice Waters that has become unrealistic. I mean I’m not crazy about our obsession with corn or ethanol and all that, but I’m a little uncomfortable with legislating good eating habits. I’m suspicious of orthodoxy, the kind of orthodoxy when it comes to what you put in your mouth.
The full story, or the up-to-right-now story, is here.

Alice Waters, AS ALICE WATERS, tweeted the truth on April 1st:

Yes, It's True. I Am @RuthBourdain

In the past, there have been reports that both Tony and Ruth Reichl loved Ruth Bourdain’s tweets. So far I haven’t found Tony’s response. Here is Ruth Reichl’s:
 
ruthreichl @lalioneyes If Alice Waters is Ruth Bourdain, I will follow in Herzog's footsteps and eat my shoe. Did I miss that rumor? Not a chance.    1 Apr  
ruthreichl @lalioneyes Yes, I do believe it's really Alice. She called to tell me that, no longer a luddite, she was about to begin to tweet. 1 Apr 

I’m kind of sorry to lose the illusion of Ruth Bourdain, but, at least, she’s still tweeting. One recent tweet: 
RuthBourdain
I just got Gwyneth Paltrow's new cookbook, and I have to say it's very illuminating. That's because I set it on fire. 7 Apr 

We’re lucky, though, that the Bronx Zoo Cobra is still active on Twitter, even after being found. She is still one of the funniest tweeters online. She reacted after the public voted to name her Mia:
@BronxZoosCobra So, the vote is in. They want to name me Mia. But in my heart I'll always know that my true name is Mrs. Justin Bieber.
7 Apr via web 

I guess the lesson from all of this is that funny tweets can come from anyone or anywhere - cook or cobra. 

9 comments:

Tracy said...

For some reason I've had this vision of Alice Waters being overly serious and holier than thou (although the story of Chez Panisse is by my bedside, waiting to be read). That she is behind Ruth Bourdain is incredibly cool. Those Tweets are about the only thing I've found to be worthwhile since I've been on Twitter.

Sue said...

Tracy,
That's not just you! I know exactly what you mean. This really humanizes her. And some of her tweets show such incredible food knowledge, it had to be a professional food person. I love how she admits she'd love to hit a fast food place once in awhile, but she would never allow herself to in case someone saw her.

Also Ruth Bourdain made such a big deal when Alice Waters herself started tweeting, that I guess we should have added her name to the list of possibilities.

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

Considering Bourdain's contempt for Waters I'm surprised she would want to take him on like that. Guess she has a better sense of humor than I thought she did.

Sue said...

Hey Rach,
I think she has a better sense of humor than lots of people thought.

Emily said...

I didn't know about this Ruth Bourdain scandal. Very interesting! I love her tweets. Very amusing.

I don't know very much about Alice Waters. I suppose I should read the story of Chez Panisse as well.

Lys said...

I would have never have guessed that it was Alice Waters - Brilliant! Seriously, I adore @RuthBourdain and find her tweets hilar. To find out it was Alice Waters, wow - kudos!

As for the BronxZooCobra (and the Honey Badger) - whoever is tweeting as them also gets the brilliant hat tip.

Cynthia said...

This post is one of the many reasons I love your blog. I am new to twitter and I did wonder who Ruth Bourdain was and now I know.

Aly said...

This was an April Fools' joke.

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/09/ruth-bourdain-wins-humor-award-invisibly/

Sue said...

Aly,
I think it's an April Fool's joke that it's an April Fool's joke. It makes perfect sense to me that Alice Waters is Ruth Bourdain or...maybe not...but maybe.