Extreme Eating: Serious Eats Goes There

Over at food blog Serious Eats, user PumpkinBear asks the big question: Would you ever eat human?

According to PumpkinBear, the idea was brought up by an episode of Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations in which Mr. Bourdain visits French Polynesia, an area that has been known for some cannibalistic activity. Check out a clip of the episode here. For the whole thing I guess you'll have to wait around for the rerun.

The discussion runs the gamut from the humorous to the serious, and brings up all kinds of pop culture cannibalism along the way (spoiler alert: Soylent Green is people.) "Fuman" is also discussed--hypothetical fake people meat that would allow you to experience the taste without actually eating human flesh.

So... would you ever eat human?

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My take: yeah, I'd do it. But only if it was prepared by a really good chef.

Extreme Eating, vol. 2: Live Octopus Tentacles

Now imagine this plate of food MOVING.

Koreans believe you can never have your seafood too fresh. In some cases, this means eating something while it's still alive. A chef will relieve an octopus of its head, and the diner is brought a plate of writhing tentacles which she must then pry from the plate--the suction cups make live octopus an extremely stubborn dish. The suction cups also make live octopus a risky delicacy. The tentacles are very chewy, and if not properly broken down they can be a choking hazard. The catch: the heimlich maneuver doesn't work on food that's actively clinging to the inside of the throat.

Watch video of Los Angeles Times reporter Liam Gowing chowing down on a very alive plate of octupus here.

Wikipedia article on eating live octopus.

Extreme Eating, vol. 1: French Songbird

An old episode of This American Life recounts the story of writer Michael Paterniti eating one of the world's most extreme foods: ortolan, a tiny endangered songbird native to France. Because this bird represents the "soul" of France, it is actually illegal to eat. Paterniti describes the process of finding a chef who would actually make it for him, and then its consumption. The experience, all done with a napkin over one's head, goes from tantalizingly delicious to "excruciating"--the bird is eaten whole. Listen to the 11-minute story here (but not at work, because Manos will hunt you down).

This American Life, Episode 343: Poultry Slam '07
Start listening at 11:45.

Story is introduced with a bit about eating prawn. Alive.