Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert at The Riverside

I’m no food expert, but I know Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert. I have an obsession with Top Chef, the Bravo cooking competition they frequently appear on. I love No Reservations, Bourdain’s recently canceled show on the Travel Channel. And I just love food.

The reasons are many, but the result is the same: a desire to see these two culinary Gods “duke” it out on their Good vs. Evil tour, which visited the Riverside Theater Friday night. I wasn’t disappointed. Their showdown, played out as a series of fierce interrogations, was entertaining, brutally honest and downright hilarious.

In case you aren’t familiar with either chef, let me give you a quick rundown: Anthony Bourdain ran several kitchens in New York City and then catapulted to fame with his first nonfiction book, Kitchen Confidential, the must-read where he revealed the secret underbelly of the culinary world. French-born Eric Ripert has a slightly different story. He moved to NYC in the mid-80s and eventually made his way to Le Bernardin, the French restaurant that fueled his rise as an executive chef and eventually a part-owner.  Both men have since pivoted into a variety of food TV shows and books, becoming well-known, innovative chefs.

Those personalities were on clear display Friday. Over the course of the night, Bourdain and Ripert took turns sitting in what must have been the Riverside’s most uncomfortable, old folding chair, with a bright florescent light. Edge-of-your-seat staging, to say the least.

Ripert got the hot seat first, Bourdain grilling him on his restaurant, personal standards and clientele. Revelations ranged from admitting the identities of some politicians and celebrities who’d visited the kitchen (former Vice President Dick Cheney, for example, and The Situation and Snooki) to the incredibly high prices of his dishes (when he blurted out “over $300” for one, the audience gasp was immediate). He also sharply criticized chef Gordon Ramsay, scolding him for the way he treats his contestants on his “painful to watch” television shows and stating he is a poor role model to learning chefs.

Ripert and Bourdain switched places after 45 minutes, putting the “bad boy” chef of the cooking world under the lens. Ripert jumped straight into his victim’s past drug addictions, jokingly asking if that drug use and his parallel chain smoking habits had altered his taste buds and sense of smell. But Bourdain was just as ready to mock himself. He gave that answer a ready reply – “That’s why God made salt” – and even poked fun at the fact that his celebrity ensured he himself was barely in a kitchen.

But it was also during Bourdain’s “cross-examination” that the show reached its most honest, shining moment. Bourdain talked about curiosity as his lone virtue, telling his fans and listeners in the crowd to be curious about the world, and foods you’re unfamiliar with. Don’t be scared. Don’t be shy. There are great, delicious, diverse foods in this world, and it’s up to us to be adventurous enough to try them.

It’s obvious Bourdain and Ripert are old friends who love and appreciate what they do. They’ve changed the culinary world forever and will continue to create new and inspiring dishes. But my takeaway from this night was that virtue of Bourdain’s, to have that constant curiosity.  To have a thirst for knowledge, to be brave enough to try new foods and dive in headfirst to explore the unknown.