Anthony Bourdain prepared to be unpredictable

It's been quite a decade for Anthony Bourdain.

Ten years ago, his memoir, "Kitchen Confidential," was about to publish.

In 2002, he wrote the travelogue "A Cook's Tour," and a documentary of the same name that followed him as he ate around the world. That begat the series "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" on The Travel Channel in 2005.

He's also in demand as a speaker. At 8 p.m. Friday, he'll speak at The Lakeland Center's Youkey Theater. (Tickets are $47.50, $75 for VIP seating.)

He spoke recently from his home in New York City about the upcoming gig.

What sorts of things happen at these Bourdainfests?

I kind of walk out on stage and wing it. I'll kind of talk about what's on my mind at the moment in general terms about food and travel and then whatever I'm sort of excited or pissed off about at that particular moment. Often, I end up arguing with myself on stage. Just to be contrary, I'll argue that family farming and sustainable agriculture are, in fact, bad things, just to see if I can make the case and inspire people to disagree with me. A big part of the equation is the question and answer with the audience. That's the part I enjoy the most.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of contrarianism right now, if that's a word. There seem to be a lot of accepted new beliefs that haven't been pressure tested.

I pride myself on the notion that I could be completely wrong about something.

Will you be shooting anything in the area for the show?

No, I'll be coming in from New Orleans. I'm doing a bunch of these gigs close together. It's really like Spinal Tap on tour, except it's just me. I don't have an entourage or a handler or T-shirt cannons or giant blenders or anything like that. It's just me and I walk out on stage and hope for the best.

No mini Stonehenge then?

No. I should get one of those, man. That would be awesome.

You could do Spamhenge. I did Spamhenge one year for a Christmas office party. It was rejected.

That would be a natural for that Web site, "This Is Why You're Fat."

Were you doing these sorts of events before you started the show?

I've only started doing them in the last few years. I think my first gig was in Greece for a corporate gig. It's mushroomed into this enormous thing. I'm convinced it's why people run for higher office, because afterwards there are the speaking gigs available.

The reason I asked is that I didn't know if you had done them before was to ask if the crowds had changed after the show sort of took off.

It's weird. Since I first went out with the "Kitchen Confidential" book tour, I've seen the crowds really change in demographics in really unusual, unpredictable and, frankly, wonderful ways. It's interesting to see that, whether it's a book store or a theater or auditorium to see who's coming. It's really strange.

I started out with a lot of alienated males, with many or most of them in the restaurant business. Since the show, a lot in America started to skew female. It's just a really wacky mix. I'm getting a lot of African-Americans where there had been none early on, which makes me really happy. It's completely unpredictable.

When I come out on stage, I never know which way I'm going to go because it could be a fairly distinguished crowd of middle-aged couples sitting with their hands on their laps or it could be a completely rowdy, half-drunk industry crowd hooting for blood and wanting me to make Rachael Ray jokes. I really don't know what I'm going to do until I see who's out there.

What do you attribute to the ebb and flow, especially along racial lines?

I think it has a lot to do with the subject matter and the places I go. I have a pretty good idea why so many Asian-Americans were coming. It was because I'm making shows in the countries that their parents or their families came from. That's a powerful connection. People are proud of their food, and a lot of people are proud of where they come from.