Anthony Bourdain Loves the Holidays

Posted on September 17, 2007

Rolling Stone reports on what is surely going to be the weirdest holiday special ever.

Renowned chef Anthony Bourdain, star of the Travel Channel show No Reservations and vicious judge on our favorite reality show, Top Chef has teamed up with the band Queens of the Stone Age for some holiday cheer.

Here's the plot: While Bourdain cooks a traditional holiday feast at his Connecticut home, the Queens are rocking tracks including "Sick, Sick, Sick," "3's & 7's" and "Make It Wit Chu" at an ungodly volume in the basement rec room. When the band emerges, they're sporting appalling Christmas sweaters. "QVC graciously sent us the worst sweaters of all time," Homme explains. "I think someone Googled the word 'horrible' and that's how we found them." Bourdain, ever the arbiter of good taste, hasn't recovered: "Those Christmas sweaters were just the most terrifying things I've ever seen in my life. Beyond Sandra Lee on some really awful hallucinogen."

While Homme and Bourdain aren't giving up the whole story, they revealed the episode will involve karaoke, surly adolescents and a Japanese businessman. "It's a traditional Thanksgiving/Christmas meal with turkey, all the trimmings, cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie ... some Christmas carols ... and a vicious brother-on-brother knife fight," Bourdain said. "We spent a fair amount of time spraying stage blood onto my niece and nephew's face. What's a holiday special without violent mayhem? I think it's an honest reflection of the holiday season."

Though Homme is slightly worried the band has ruined "ten years of credibility" by participating in this holiday nightmare, it was worth it: "Most of the time, if you tried to suggest that we get into sweaters like that we would probably just drink you under the table and leave you for dead, but this is a special case. That bastard. I'll never forgive him and I'll never forget him."

And speaking of hallucinogens...what exactly is Bourdain putting in the turkey dressing, anyway? Because this really is the most bizarre holiday special we've ever heard of. We can't wait to see it.

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