Sweet Challah Harbord Bakery – $4.50 (before cheese danish). Image via I’m a Poodie
Over a decade ago, Belgian artist Wim Delvoye debuted Cloaca, which can be effectively described as a “shit machine.” Part artwork, part science experiment, the installation consists of a variety of chambers and containers fashioned to act as a human digestive system, receiving food at one end and expelling feces at the other. As Delvoye explains: “We spend our entire lives putting food in, and pumping it out. The mouth and the asshole: that’s life. So if shit’s not relevant, what is?” Among life’s great mysteries, then, would be: “What would Delvoye think about Grand Electric’s fish tacos, The Burger’s Priest’s “Vatican,” or Black Camel’s brisket sandwich?” Wonder no more.
A local blogger – let’s call him The Dood for anonymity’s sake – has added a new, more Delvoyian voice to the already noisy discussion of the city’s oversaturated, exhausting, thriving foodie scene – or, as The Dood calls it, the poodie scene. The Dood is the voice (and anus) behind I’m a Poodie, a site that flaunts the same dishes and restaurants as many other popular Toronto food blogs, with a twist: he shows the meal post-digestion. In other words, he posts pictures of shit à la Cloaca vibe. To spice up his offerings, his posts include ‘dishes’ that he did not consume himself, but that imitate the appearance of their former self (the Sweet Challa from Harbord Bakery is uncanny).
In a brief chat with the effervescent and eccentric Dood, he shares his thoughts on the intersection of Toronto media and feces:
“Now in the news cycle, we’re always seeking current events – what’s hot off the press, what’s breaking, that type of thing. But what about the ‘poos cycle’? How are we to learn from the poos that shape our plumbing when there’s no multi-media outlet willing to take a chance? All of this culminates in curious times.”
Foodie anarchist, satirist, or just obsessed with excrement? Should he resume his business as usual? Tell us what you think.
__
Jeremy Schipper is an intern at Toronto Standard. You can follow him on Twitter at @jeromeoschipps.
For more, follow us on Twitter at @torontostandard, and subscribe to our newsletter.