Anthony Bourdain
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Anthony Michael Bourdain ( ; June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American
celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in Books, printed publications. While telev ...
,
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
and travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the
human condition The human condition can be defined as the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, reason, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered ...
. Bourdain was a 1978 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of many professional kitchens during his career, which included several years spent as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan. In the late 1990s Bourdain wrote an essay about the ugly secrets of a Manhattan restaurant but he was having difficulty getting it published. According to the ''
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'', his mother Gladys—then an editor and writer at the paper—handed her son's essay to friend and fellow editor Esther B. Fein, the wife of David Remnick, editor of the magazine ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
''. Remnick ran Bourdain's essay in the magazine, kickstarting Bourdain's career and legitimizing the point-blank tone that would become his trademark. The success of the article was followed just a year later by the publication of a ''New York Times'' best-selling book, '' Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly'' (2000). Bourdain became a media darling almost overnight. His first food and world-travel television show '' A Cook's Tour'' ran for 35 episodes on the Food Network in 2002 and 2003. In 2005, he began hosting the
Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
's culinary and cultural adventure programs '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' (2005–2012) and '' The Layover'' (2011–2013). In 2013, he began a three-season run as a judge on '' The Taste'' and consequently switched his travelogue programming to CNN to host '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown''. Although best known for his culinary writings and television presentations along with several books on food and cooking and travel adventures, Bourdain also wrote both fiction and historical nonfiction. On June 8, 2018, Bourdain died while on location in France, filming for ''Parts Unknown'', of suicide by hanging.


Early life

Anthony Michael Bourdain was born in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
on June 25, 1956. His father, Pierre, was a classical music recording industry executive. His mother, Gladys (née Sacksman), was a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' editor. Anthony's younger brother, Christopher, was born a few years after him.Mack, Patricia
"The Cook, The Thief..."
'' The Record (Bergen County)'', October 25, 2000; accessed March 30, 2011. "Anthony Bourdain, the Leonia native with the French-sounding name, took a leave from his job as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in New York City."
Anthony grew up living with both of his parents and described his childhood in one of his books: "I did not want for love or attention. My parents loved me. Neither of them drank to excess. Nobody beat me. God was never mentioned so I was annoyed by neither church nor any notion of sin or damnation."Bourdain, Anthony (2010). ''Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook''. Ecco Press, chapter 2 His father was
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
of French descent and his mother was
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
. Bourdain stated that, although he was considered Jewish by
halacha ''Halakha'' ( ; , ), also transliterated as ''halacha'', ''halakhah'', and ''halocho'' ( ), is the collective body of Jewish religious laws that are derived from the Written and Oral Torah. ''Halakha'' is based on biblical commandments ('' mi ...
's definition, "I've never been in a
synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...
. I don't believe in a higher power. But that doesn't make me any less Jewish, I don't think." His family was not religious. At the time of Bourdain's birth, Pierre was a salesman at a New York City camera store as well as a floor manager at a record store. He later became an executive for
Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...
, and Gladys was a staff editor at ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''. Bourdain's paternal grandparents were French (his great-grandfather Aurélien Bourdain was born in Brazil to French parents) and his paternal grandfather Pierre Michel Bourdain emigrated from Arcachon to New York following
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. Bourdain's father spent summers in France as a boy and grew up speaking French. Bourdain spent most of his childhood in Leonia, New Jersey. He felt jealous of the lack of parental supervision of his classmates and the freedom they had in their homes. In his youth, Bourdain was a member of the
Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...
.


Culinary training and career

Bourdain's love of food was kindled in his youth while on a family vacation in France when he tried his first oyster from a fisherman's boat. He graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School, an independent coeducational college-preparatory day school in
Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...
, in 1973, then enrolled at Vassar College but dropped out after two years. He worked at seafood restaurants in
Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown () is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States census, Provi ...
, including the Lobster Pot, while attending Vassar, which inspired his decision to pursue cooking as a career. Bourdain attended the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 1978. From there he went on to run various restaurant kitchens in New York City, including the Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue and Sullivan's. In 1998, Bourdain became an
executive chef A chef de cuisine (, French language, French for ''head of kitchen'') or head chef is a chef that Supervisor, leads a kitchen and its cooks. A chef patron (feminine form ''chef patronne'') (French for ''boss chef'') or executive chef is a chef ...
at Brasserie Les Halles. Based in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, at the time the brand had additional restaurants in
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; Washington, D.C.; and
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. Bourdain remained an executive chef there for many years and even when no longer formally employed at Les Halles, he maintained a relationship with the restaurant, which described him in January 2014 as their "chef at large". Les Halles closed in 2017 after filing for bankruptcy.


Media career


Writing

In the mid-1980s, Bourdain began submitting unsolicited work for publication to '' Between C & D'', a literary magazine of the
Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...
. The magazine eventually published a piece that Bourdain had written about a chef who was trying to purchase
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
on the Lower East Side. In 1985, Bourdain signed up for a writing workshop with Gordon Lish. In 1990, Bourdain received a small book advance from
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
, after meeting a Random House editor. His first book, a culinary mystery called ''Bone in the Throat'', was published in 1995. He paid for his own book tour, but he did not find success. His second mystery book, ''Gone Bamboo,'' also performed poorly in sales. '' Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly'', a 2000 ''New York Times'' bestseller, was an expansion of his 1999 '' New Yorker'' article "Don't Eat Before Reading This". In 2010, he published '' Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook'', a
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based on the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autob ...
and follow-up to the book ''Kitchen Confidential''. He wrote two more bestselling nonfiction books: '' A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines'' (2001), an account of his food and travel exploits around the world, written in conjunction with his first television series of the same title, and 2006's '' The Nasty Bits'', a collection of 37 exotic, provocative, and humorous anecdotes and essays, many of them centered around food, and organized into sections named for each of the five traditional flavors, followed by a 30-page
fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...
piece ("A Chef's Christmas"). Bourdain later published a hypothetical historical investigation, '' Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical'', about Mary Mallon, an Irish-born cook believed to have infected 53 people with typhoid fever between 1907 and 1938. In 2007, Bourdain published '' No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach'', covering the experiences of filming and photographs of the first three seasons of the show and his crew at work while filming the series. His articles and essays appeared in many publications, including in ''The New Yorker'', ''The New York Times'', ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'', '' The Los Angeles Times'', ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'', ''
Gourmet Gourmet (, ) is a cultural idea associated with the culinary arts of fine food and drink, or haute cuisine, which is characterized by their high level of refined and elaborate food preparation techniques and displays of balanced meals that have ...
'', ''
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'', ''
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'', '' Scotland on Sunday'', '' The Face'', ''Food Arts'', ''Limb by Limb'', ''
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'', ''
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'', '' Best Life'', the ''
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'', and '' Town & Country''. His blog for the third season of '' Top Chef'' was nominated for a Webby Award for Best Blog (in the Cultural/Personal category) in 2008. In 2012, Bourdain co-wrote the
graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...
''Get Jiro!'' with Joel Rose, with art by Langdon Foss. It will receive an adult animated series adaptation produced by Warner Bros. Animation for
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. In 2015, Bourdain joined the travel, food, and politics publication Roads & Kingdoms, as the site's sole investor and editor-at-large. Over the next few years, Bourdain contributed to the site and edited the Dispatched By Bourdain series. Bourdain and Roads & Kingdoms also partnered on the digital series ''Explore Parts Unknown'', which launched in 2017 and won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series in 2018.


Television

Bourdain hosted many food and travel series, including his first show, '' A Cook's Tour'' (2002 to 2003). He worked for The
Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
from 2005 to 2013. He also worked for CNN from 2013 to 2018. Bourdain described the concept as, "I travel around the world, eat a lot of shit, and basically do whatever the fuck I want." His programs focused on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the
human condition The human condition can be defined as the characteristics and key events of human life, including birth, learning, emotion, aspiration, reason, morality, conflict, and death. This is a very broad topic that has been and continues to be pondered ...
. Nigella Lawson noted that Bourdain had an "incredibly beautiful style when he talks that ranges from erudite to brilliantly slangy". The acclaim surrounding Bourdain's memoir ''Kitchen Confidential'' led to an offer by the Food Network for him to host his own food and world-travel show, '' A Cook's Tour'', which premiered in January 2002. It ran for 35 episodes, through 2003. In July 2005, he premiered a new, somewhat similar television series, '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'', on the
Travel Channel Travel Channel (stylized as Trvl Channel since 2018) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, who previously owned the channel from 1997 to 2007. The channel is headquartered in Manhattan, with ...
. As a further result of the immense popularity of ''Kitchen Confidential'', the Fox sitcom '' Kitchen Confidential'' aired in 2005, in which the character Jack Bourdain is based loosely on Anthony Bourdain's biography and persona. In July 2006, he and his crew were in Beirut filming an episode of ''No Reservations'' when the Israel–Lebanon conflict broke out unexpectedly after the crew had filmed only a few hours of footage. His producers compiled behind-the-scenes footage of him and his production staff, including not only their initial attempts to film the episode, but also their firsthand encounters with Hezbollah supporters, their days of waiting for news with other expatriates in a Beirut hotel, and their eventual escape aided by a '' fixer'' (unseen in the footage), whom Bourdain dubbed ''Mr. Wolf'' after
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...
's character in '' Pulp Fiction''. Bourdain and his crew were finally evacuated with other American citizens, on the morning of July 20, by the United States Marine Corps. The Beirut ''No Reservations'' episode, which aired on August 21, 2006, was nominated for an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
in 2007. In July 2011, the Travel Channel announced adding a second one-hour, 10-episode Bourdain show to be titled '' The Layover'', which premiered November 21, 2011. Each episode featured an exploration of a city that can be undertaken within an air travel layover of 24 to 48 hours. The series ran for 20 episodes, through February 2013. Bourdain executive produced a similar show hosted by celebrities called '' The Getaway'', which lasted two seasons on Esquire Network. In May 2012, Bourdain announced that he was leaving the Travel Channel. In December, he explained on his blog that his departure was due to his frustration with the channel's new ownership using his voice and image to make it seem as if he were endorsing a car brand, and the channel's creating three "special episodes" consisting solely of clips from the seven official episodes of that season. He went on to host '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown'' for CNN. The program focused on other cuisines, cultures and politics and premiered on April 14, 2013. President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
was featured on the program in an episode filmed in Vietnam that aired in September 2016; the two talked over a beer and bun cha at a small restaurant in
Hanoi Hanoi ( ; ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Vietnam, second-most populous city of Vietnam. The name "Hanoi" translates to "inside the river" (Hanoi is bordered by the Red River (Asia), Red and Black River (Asia), Black Riv ...
. The show was filmed and is set in places as diverse as Libya, Tokyo, the Punjab region, Jamaica, Turkey, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Far West Texas and Armenia. Between 2012 and 2017, he served as narrator and executive producer for several episodes of the award-winning PBS series ''
The Mind of a Chef ''The Mind of a Chef'' is a non-fiction television series on PBS narrated and executive produced by Anthony Bourdain, and combines travel, cooking, history, and science. Each season follows a different chef, or pair of chefs, and examines their b ...
''; it aired on the last months of each year. The series moved from PBS to
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in 2017. From 2013 to 2015, Bourdain was an executive producer and appeared as a judge and mentor in ABC's cooking-competition show '' The Taste''. He earned an Emmy nomination for each season. Bourdain appeared five times as guest judge on Bravo's '' Top Chef'' reality cooking competition program. He was also one of the main judges on ''Top Chef All-Stars'' ( ''Top Chef'', Season 8). He made a guest appearance on the August 6, 2007, New York City episode of '' Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern'', and Zimmern himself appeared as a guest on the New York City episode of Bourdain's ''No Reservations'' airing the same day. On October 20, 2008, Bourdain hosted a special, ''At the Table with Anthony Bourdain'', on the Travel Channel.


Other appearances

Bourdain was a consultant and writer for the television series '' Treme''. In 2011, he voiced himself in a cameo on an episode of ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...
'' titled " The Food Wife", in which Marge, Lisa, and Bart start a food blog called ''The Three Mouthkateers''. He appeared in a 2013 episode of the animated series '' Archer'' (S04E07), voicing chef Lance Casteau, a parody of himself. In 2015, he voiced a fictionalized version of himself on an episode of '' Sanjay and Craig'' titled "Snake Parts Unknown". From 2015 to 2017, Bourdain hosted ''Raw Craft'', a series of short videos released on YouTube. The series followed Bourdain as he visited various artisans who produce various craft items by hand, including iron skillets, suits, saxophones, and kitchen knives. The series was produced by William Grant & Sons to promote their Balvenie distillery's products.


Publishing

In September 2011,
Ecco Press Ecco is a New York–based publishing imprint of HarperCollins. It was founded in 1971 by Daniel Halpern as an independent publishing company; Publishers Weekly described it as "one of America's best-known literary houses." In 1999 Ecco was acquir ...
announced that Bourdain would have his own publishing line, Anthony Bourdain Books, which included acquiring between three and five titles per year that "reflect his remarkably eclectic tastes". The first books that the imprint published, released in 2013, include ''L.A. Son: My Life, My City, My Food'' by Roy Choi, Tien Nguyen, and Natasha Phan, ''Prophets of Smoked Meat'' by Daniel Vaughn, ''Pain Don't Hurt'' by Mark Miller, and ''Grand Forks: A History of American Dining in 128 Reviews'' by Marilyn Hagerty. In describing the line, he said, "This will be a line of books for people with strong voices who are at something—who speak with authority. Discern nothing from this initial list—other than a general affection for people who cook food and like food. The ability to kick people in the head is just as compelling to us—as long as that's coupled with an ability to vividly describe the experience. We are just as intent on crossing genres as we are enthusiastic about our first three authors. It only gets weirder from here." Shortly after Bourdain's death, HarperCollins announced that the publishing line would be shut down after the remaining works under contract were published.


Film

Bourdain appeared as himself in the 2015 film '' The Big Short'', in which he used seafood stew as an analogy for a
collateralized debt obligation A collateralized debt obligation (CDO) is a type of structured finance, structured asset-backed security (ABS). Originally developed as instruments for the corporate debt markets, after 2002 CDOs became vehicles for refinancing Mortgage-backed se ...
. He also produced and starred in ''Wasted! The Story of Food Waste''.


Public persona

Drew Magary, in a column for '' GQ'' published on the day of Bourdain's death, reflected that Bourdain was heir in spirit to Hunter S. Thompson. ''Smithsonian'' magazine declared Bourdain "the original rock star" of the culinary world, while his public persona was characterized by ''
Gothamist ''Gothamist'' is a New York City–centric blog operated by New York Public Radio. From 2003 to 2018, Gothamist LLC was the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, an ...
'' as "culinary bad boy". Due to his liberal use of profanity and sexual references in his television show ''No Reservations'', the network added viewer-discretion advisories to each episode. Bourdain was known for consuming exotic local specialty dishes, having eaten black-colored blood sausages called () in
Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
and also " sheep testicles in Morocco, ant eggs in Puebla, Mexico, a raw seal eyeball as part of a traditional
Inuit Inuit (singular: Inuk) are a group of culturally and historically similar Indigenous peoples traditionally inhabiting the Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America and Russia, including Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwe ...
seal hunt, and an entire cobra—beating heart, blood, bile, and meat—in Vietnam". Bourdain was quoted as saying that a Chicken McNugget was the most disgusting thing he ever ate, but he was fond of Popeyes chicken. He also declared that the unwashed warthog rectum he ate in Namibia was "the worst meal of islife", along with the fermented shark he ate in Iceland. Bourdain was noted for his put-downs of
celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in Books, printed publications. While telev ...
s such as Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Guy Fieri, Sandra Lee, and Rachael Ray, and appeared irritated by both the overt commercialism of the celebrity cooking industry and its lack of culinary authenticity. He voiced a "serious disdain for food demigods like Alan Richman, Alice Waters, and Alain Ducasse". Bourdain recognized the irony of his transformation into a celebrity chef and began to qualify his insults; in the 2007 New Orleans episode of ''No Reservations'', he reconciled with Emeril Lagasse, whom he had previously disparaged in ''Kitchen Confidential''. He later wrote more favorably of Lagasse in the preface of the 2013 edition. He was outspoken in his praise for chefs he admired, particularly Ferran Adrià, Juan Mari Arzak, Fergus Henderson, José Andrés, Thomas Keller, Martin Picard, Éric Ripert, and Marco Pierre White, as well as his former protégé and colleagues at Brasserie Les Halles. He spoke very highly of Julia Child's influence on him. Bourdain was known for his sarcastic comments about
vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
and
vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...
activists, considering their lifestyle "rude" to the inhabitants of many countries he visited. He considered vegetarianism, except in the case of religious exemptions, a "First World luxury". However, he also believed that Americans eat too much meat, and admired vegetarians and vegans who put aside their beliefs when visiting different cultures in order to be respectful of their hosts. Bourdain's book ''The Nasty Bits'' is dedicated to " Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee" of the Ramones. He declared fond appreciation for their music, as well as that of other early punk bands such as Dead Boys and The Voidoids. He said that the playing of music by
Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
,
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
, or
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in his kitchen was grounds for firing. Joel was a fan of Bourdain's, and visited the restaurant. On ''No Reservations'' and ''Parts Unknown'', he dined with and interviewed many musicians, both in the U.S. and elsewhere, with a special focus on glam and various rockers such as Alice Cooper,
David Johansen David Roger Johansen (January 9, 1950 – February 28, 2025) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor best known as lead singer of the seminal proto-punk band the New York Dolls. He is also known for his work under the pseudonym Buster Po ...
, Marky Ramone, and
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter, actor and radio broadcaster. He was the vocalist and lyricist of proto-punk band the Stooges, who were formed in 1 ...
. He featured contemporary band Queens of the Stone Age on ''No Reservations'' several times, and they composed and performed the theme song for ''Parts Unknown''.


Personal life

In the 1970s, while attending high school at Dwight-Englewood School, Bourdain dated Nancy Putkoski. He described her as "a bad girl", older than he was and "part of a druggy crowd". She was a year ahead of him and Bourdain graduated one year early in order to follow Putkoski to Vassar College since they had just started admitting men. He studied there between the ages of 17 and 19. He then attended The Culinary Institute of America, a 15-minute drive from Vassar. The couple married in 1985 and remained together for two decades, divorcing in 2005. On April 20, 2007, he married Ottavia Busia, who later became a mixed martial artist. The couple's daughter, Ariane, was born in 2007. Bourdain said having to be away from his family for 250 days a year working on his television shows put a strain on the relationship. Busia appeared in several episodes of '' No Reservations'', notably the ones in Tuscany, Rome, Rio de Janeiro, Naples, and her birthplace of
Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...
. The couple separated in 2016. Bourdain met Italian actress Asia Argento in 2016 while filming the Rome episode of ''Parts Unknown''. In October 2017, Argento said in an article in ''
The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'' that she had been sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s. After being criticized for her account in Italian media and politics, Argento moved to Germany to escape what she described as a culture of "
victim blaming Victim blaming occurs when the victim of a crime or any wrongful act is held entirely or partially at fault for the harm that befell them. There is historical and current prejudice against the victims of domestic violence and sex crimes, such as ...
" in Italy. Argento delivered a speech on May 20, 2018, following the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, calling the festival Weinstein's "hunting ground" and alleging that she was raped by Weinstein in Cannes when she was 21. She added, "And even tonight, sitting among you, there are those who still have to be held accountable for their conduct against women." Bourdain supported her during that period. On June 3, 2018, Bourdain tweeted a video where the team was celebrating during the production of the show with Argento as director, him and Chris Doyle. In August 2018, Argento said that Bourdain handled the payment of $380,000 to Jimmy Bennett, who had accused Argento of sexually assaulting him. She stated the payment by Bourdain was one he "personally undertook to help Bennett economically, upon the condition that we would no longer suffer any further intrusions in our life.” Bourdain practiced the martial art Brazilian jiu-jitsu, earning a blue belt in August 2015. He won gold at the IBJJF New York Spring International Open Championship in 2016, in the Middleweight Master 5 (age 51 and older) division. Bourdain was known to be a heavy smoker. In a nod to Bourdain's two-pack-a-day cigarette habit, Thomas Keller once served him a 20-course tasting menu which included a mid-meal "coffee and cigarette", a coffee custard infused with tobacco with a
foie gras ; (, ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a Domestic duck, duck or Domestic goose, goose. According to French law, ''foie gras'' is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by ''gavage'' (force feeding). ''Foie gras'' i ...
mousse. Bourdain stopped smoking in 2007 for his daughter, but relapsed towards the end of his life. A former user of cocaine and heroin, Bourdain wrote in ''Kitchen Confidential'' of his experience in a SoHo restaurant in 1981, where he and his friends were often high. Bourdain said drugs influenced his decisions and that he would send a busboy to Alphabet City to obtain
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
, methaqualone,
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms, secobarbital, tuinal,
amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...
, codeine and
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
.


Death

In early June 2018, Bourdain was working on an episode of '' Parts Unknown'' in
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
with his frequent collaborator and friend Éric Ripert. On June 8, 2018, Ripert became worried when Bourdain had missed dinner and breakfast. He subsequently found Bourdain dead of suicide by hanging in his room at Le Chambard hotel in Kaysersberg near Colmar. Bourdain was 61 years old. Bourdain's body bore no signs of violence and the suicide appeared to be an impulsive act. Rocquigny du Fayel disclosed that Bourdain's toxicology results were negative for narcotics, showing only a trace of a therapeutic non-narcotic medication. Bourdain's body was cremated in France on June 13, 2018, and his ashes were returned to the United States two days later then given to his brother Christopher.


Reactions and tributes

Bourdain's mother, Gladys Bourdain, told ''The New York Times'', "He is absolutely the last person in the world I would have ever dreamed would do something like this." Following the news of Bourdain's death, various public figures expressed condolences. Among them were fellow chefs Andrew Zimmern and Gordon Ramsay, former astronaut Scott Kelly, and then-U.S. president
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. CNN issued a statement, saying that Bourdain's "talents never ceased to amaze us and we will miss him very much." Former U.S. president
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
, who dined with Bourdain in Vietnam on ''Parts Unknown'', wrote on Twitter: "He taught us about food—but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown." On the day of Bourdain's death, CNN aired ''Remembering Anthony Bourdain'', a tribute program. In the days following Bourdain's death, fans gathered to pay tribute to him outside his former place of employment, Brasserie Les Halles (which had closed down the previous year). Cooks and restaurant owners held gatherings, tribute dinners, and memorials, and donated the net revenue from these events to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In August 2018, CNN announced a final, posthumous season of ''Parts Unknown''. Its remaining episodes were completed using narration and additional interviews from featured guests with the season including two retrospective episodes paying tribute to the series and to Bourdain's legacy. In June 2019, Éric Ripert and José Andrés proclaimed the first annual Bourdain Day as a tribute to Bourdain. That month, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) established a scholarship in Bourdain's honor. A collection of Bourdain's personal items were sold at auction in October 2019, raising $1.8 million, part of which went to support the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship at his alma mater, the Culinary Institute of America. The remainder went to his family. His custom-made Bob Kramer Steel and Meteorite Chef's Knife sold for the highest price, a record $231,250. In June 2021, a
documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
directed by Morgan Neville and produced by CNN Films and HBO Max titled '' Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain'', had its world premiere at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
. It was released by Focus Features on July 16, 2021. In October 2022, '' Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain'', an unauthorized biography of Bourdain, was published. In August 2024, a biopic of Bourdain titled ''Tony'' was announced to be in the works with A24 in negotiations to acquire the film and Dominic Sessa attached to star as Bourdain.


Interests and advocacy

In an assessment of Bourdain's life for ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', David Klion wrote that, "Bourdain understood that the point of journalism is to tell the truth, to challenge the powerful, to expose wrongdoing. But his unique gift was to make doing all that look fun rather than grim or tedious." According to Klion, Bourdain's shows "made it possible to believe that social justice and earthly delights weren't mutually exclusive, and he pursued both with the same earnest reverence". Bourdain advocated for communicating the value of traditional or peasant foods, including all of the varietal bits and unused animal parts not usually eaten by affluent 21st-century Americans. He also praised the quality of freshly prepared street food in other countries—especially
developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...
—compared to fast-food chains in the U.S. Regarding Western moral criticism of cuisine in developing countries, Bourdain stated: "Let's call this criticism what it is: ''racism''. There are a lot of practices from the developing world that I find personally repellent, from my privileged Western point of view. But I don't feel like I have such a moral high ground that I can walk around lecturing people in developing nations on how they should live their lives." With regard to criticism of the Chinese, Bourdain stated: "The way in which people dismiss whole centuries-old cultures—often older than their own and usually non-white—with just utter contempt aggravates me. People who suggest I shouldn't go to a country like China, look at or film it, because some people eat dog there, I find that racist, frankly. Understand people first: their economic, living situation." Regarding the myth that monosodium glutamate in Chinese food is unhealthy, Bourdain said: "It's a lie. You know what causes Chinese restaurant syndrome? Racism. 'Ooh I have a headache; it must have been the Chinese guy. In an acceptance speech for an award given by the Muslim Public Affairs Council, Bourdain stated, "The world has visited many terrible things on the Palestinian people, none more shameful than robbing them of their basic humanity." He opened the episode of ''Parts Unknown'' on
Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
with the prediction that "By the end of this hour, I'll be seen by many as a terrorist sympathizer, a
Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
tool, a self-hating Jew, an apologist for American imperialism, an Orientalist, socialist, a fascist, CIA agent, and worse." He championed industrious Spanish-speaking immigrants—from Mexico, Ecuador, and other Central and South American countries—who are cooks and chefs in many United States restaurants, including upscale establishments, regardless of cuisine. He considered them talented chefs and invaluable cooks, underpaid and unrecognized even though they have become the backbone of the U.S. restaurant industry. In 2017, Bourdain became a vocal advocate against sexual harassment in the restaurant industry, speaking out about celebrity chefs Mario Batali and John Besh, and in Hollywood, particularly following his then-girlfriend Asia Argento's sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein. Bourdain accused Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino of "complicity" in the Weinstein sex scandal. Following the death of
Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...
, a 2018 video resurfaced on Twitter showing Bourdain refusing to complete a toast to the Queen, saying "I hate the aristocracy."


Awards and nominations

* Bourdain was named Food Writer of the Year in 2001 by ''
Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...
'' magazine for '' Kitchen Confidential''. * '' A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal'' was named Food Book of the Year in 2002 by the British Guild of Food Writers. * The
Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
episode of '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'', which documented the experiences of Bourdain and his crew during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, was nominated for an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for Outstanding Informational Programming in 2007. * Bourdain's blog for the reality competition show '' Top Chef'' was nominated for a Webby Award for best Blog – Culture/Personal in 2008. * In 2008, Bourdain was inducted into the
James Beard Foundation The James Beard Foundation is an American non-profit culinary arts organization based in New York City. It was named after James Beard, a food writer, teacher, and cookbook author. Its programs include guest-chef dinners to scholarships for asp ...
's ''Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America''. * In 2009 and 2011, ''Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming. * In 2010, Bourdain was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming. * In 2012, Bourdain was awarded an Honorary Clio Award, which is given to individuals who are changing the world by encouraging people to think differently. * In 2012, '' Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations'' won the Critics' Choice Best Reality Series award. * In 2013, 2014, and 2015, Bourdain was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program for '' The Taste''. * Each year from 2013 to 2016 & 2018, Bourdain won the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for Outstanding Informational Series or Special for '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown''. * In 2014, the 2013 season of '' Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown'' won a
Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...
, which was accepted by Bourdain. * In December 2017, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) conferred the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in Culinary Arts honoris causa to Bourdain, who graduated from the CIA with an associate degree in 1978. * Bourdain posthumously won a 2018 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series in partnership with Roads & Kingdoms.


Books


Nonfiction

* * * * * * * * * (with Laurie Woolever, posthumously published) *


Fiction

* * * * * *


Citations


General and cited sources

*


Further reading

* Unauthorized biography.


External links


Anthony Bourdain: ''Parts Unknown''

Anthony Bourdain: ''No Reservations''

Bourdain's biography
on TravelChannel.com * *
Anthony Bourdain
at the Chef and Restaurant Database {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourdain, Anthony 1956 births 2018 deaths 2018 suicides 20th-century American essayists 20th-century American Jews 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American memoirists 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American essayists 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American memoirists 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American travel writers American atheists American book publishers (people) American crime fiction writers American food writers American gastronomes American graphic novelists American male chefs American male essayists American male non-fiction writers American male novelists American male television writers American people of French descent American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu American television chefs American television writers American writers with disabilities Chefs from New York City Chefs of French cuisine CNN people Culinary Institute of America Hyde Park alumni Dwight-Englewood School alumni Food Network chefs Jewish American atheists Jewish American memoirists Jewish American non-fiction writers Judges in American reality television series Male suicides Novelists from New Jersey Novelists from New York City Participants in American reality television series People with mood disorders Primetime Emmy Award winners Suicides by hanging in France Television personalities from New York City Television producers from New Jersey Television producers from New York City Travel broadcasters Vassar College alumni Writers from Leonia, New Jersey Writers from Manhattan