Treme, running on HBO, seems to be quite the hit. Maybe because people like Anthony Bourdain are consulting for it. Here’s an insightful blogpost on the Treme blog, penned by none other than the man Bourdain himself, on scripting the restaurant scenes for Treme:
The whole “listen to your fish” incident in Brulard’s kitchen is lifted and adapted from a well known anecdote told by Blue Hill chef Dan Barber. He has describeda moment, early in his career working for the brilliant David Bouley, where he was instructed to “talk to your fish.” The Brulard character, by the way, is NOT otherwise a portrait or a riff on any one chef. He is a composite of characters and stories, many of them legendary by now among cooks and chefs.
If you like Treme and restaurants, or restaurants only, or Bourdain or, well, any other things even remotely related to the whole thing, read it.