Anthony Bourdain was a chef, a writer and a TV host that I
was a big fan of thru the 2000’s. I started off by watching his show No Reservations
(2005-2012) and then watched Parts Unknown (2013-2018) until his suicide during
the filming of that show in June of 2018. During that time I also read several
of his books as well.
The coolest thing about Anthony Bourdain was he travelled
and showed me what the world looked like in different areas and countries that I
had no idea about. He would often times, not only eat at famous chef’s
restaurants around the world, but would also get local grub in each area to see
how they really ate there.
The thing about his TV show was it was very calming. I could
have it on in the background and I would learn something and just feel a calm
feeling by watching. In my younger years it made me want to travel the world,
write and eat food like him. It just seemed like a fun life.
Here are 2 of my favorite Anthony Bourdain quotes thru the
years:
"Food is everything we are. It's an extension of
nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your
region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the
get-go" - Anthony Bourdain
"Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in
lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me. The
perfect meal, or the best meals, occur in a context that frequently has very
little to do with the food itself." - Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain didn’t have a happy ending to his own life.
But he definitely seemed to live his life to the fullest enjoying the world’s
food creations. I definitely recommend grabbing one of his books or watching
one of his TV series. Find that love of food as he loved bone marrow toast from
St. John in London, the mortadella sandwich from Bar do Mané in Brazil, and
spicy noodles from Southeast Asia. Try something new!