Anthony Bourdain, the often snappish food critic who took his life in 2018, apparently had a soft side as well. He traveled around the world highlighting some of the world's finest cuisines—which is why he surprised his fans when he came to the defense of a fellow food critic in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Ninety-two-year-old Marilyn Hagerty wrote a raving review of Olive Garden in the Grand Forks Herald. She called it "impressive" and commended the "generous" portion of chicken Alfredo she received. When her review went viral, food snobs around the country mocked Hagerty and her unsophisticated food tastes. But Bourdain quickly rose to her defense. He met with Hagerty and published a book of her columns to which he wrote the foreword.

Hagrety said, "People were saying what a funny strange thing it was for anyone to write about the Olive Garden, and all of a sudden Anthony Bourdain came to my side. He said he agreed with the people at first, and as he thought about it more, he seemed to appreciate the fact that for people in Middle America, it's part of how we eat."

In the book's introduction Bourdain wrote, "This is a straightforward account of what people have been eating—still ARE eating—in much of America … Anyone who comes away from this work anything less than charmed by Ms. Hagerty—and the places and characters she describes—has a heart of stone."

Possible Preaching Angles: Although Bourdain did not appear to express any faith in Christ, but at least in this instance he demonstrates how to rise above snobbery and elitism.