And you thought politicians had tough rhetoric. Witness the food fight between celebrity chefs Anthony Bourdain of the Travel Channel and Paula Deen of the Food Network. "The worst, most dangerous person to America is clearly Paula Deen," he told TV Guide. "She revels in unholy connections with evil corporations and she's proud of the fact that her food is f---ing bad for you." Also, "her food sucks."
Deen, whose specialty is down-home Southern meals, told Fox and Friends she was "shocked" and said she's never even met Bourdain. "You know, not everybody can afford to pay $58 for prime rib or $650 for a bottle of wine," she said. The Christian Science Monitor sees the feud in the context of the healthier food movement led by Michael Pollan and others: Deen is portraying Bourdain as "a member of an elitist group that has lost touch with the average consumer," writes Jackson Buckley, while Bourdain is pushing people to make food choices that won't lead to an early grave. (More Paula Deen stories.)