How do you write about a man you never met? A man who sinned, a man who might not have been a nice guy? More to the point, a man you know nothing about.
Food TV has always been something I’ve loved to watched. Happy memories of waking up on a Saturday morning to watch Saturday Kitchen, relaxing to Nigel Slater or being inspired by Rick Stein.
I read Bourdains first book ‘Kitchen Confidential’ many years ago. If you want to know what all chefs experience on some level then this is the book for you. I became much more interested in him however when his TV shows came on Netflix.
He portrays what a city or country really is, rather than what it is as a tourist destination. I’m not in any way interested in what the fancy hotels are like in a city or what the Michelin starred restaurants are like. OK, I’m a little interested in that, as was he. Show me people having a beer or eating the local food any day. He is honest and open about the fact that people aren’t all happy where they live. He is bold and confident and puts himself in positions I don’t think he was always comfortable in. Appealing to a mainstream audience whilst being open with alcohol and drug abuse.
When I watch parts unknown I feel like I can have empathy for whats inside his brain. He clearly had more of an incite into the workings of life than most and yet didn’t have a fucking clue at the same time
He has made me curious, he makes me want to find the strength and confidence to dig a little deeper. Deeper into myself and deeper into the places I go.
Anthony Bourdain took his own life on June 8th 2018. RIP man.