ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Anthony Bourdain is pushing back after another controversy over potentially offensive Canadian nicknames.
The celebrity chef’s CNN show, “Parts Unknown,” aired an episode on Sunday on the cultural and culinary heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador.
But, after it aired someone asked Bourdain on Twitter why two Quebec chefs were with him when he visited the province last fall, dining with local chefs on delicacies like moose meat and authentic fish and chips.
Bourdain shot back, saying the two “Frenchies” were the ones “solely responsible for enticing me there.”
He said the chefs — Fred Morin and David McMillan of Joe Beef in Montreal — were more effective advocates for Canadian tourism than the tourism board.
The “Frenchies” comment sparked an animated defence of Bourdain, with some Newfoundlanders calling the tweet idiotic, destructive and ”salty and rude,” while also apologizing to Bourdain and the Quebec chefs.
The latest kerfuffle comes after the show took online heat for using the term “Newfie” in a now-deleted tweet promoting the episode on Newfoundland and Labrador, with people informing Bourdain it is considered offensive and derogatory by many.
The Canadian Press