Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Talking Anthony Bourdain

 



Anthony Bourdain

Paris, France





I was working at Cafe des Artistes, a famous old New york restuarant on West 67th Street when I first heard of Anthony Bourdain. This was 1996, and most Americans would not become familar with Bourdain for 6 to 10 years, depending on the person. I discovered Tony in 96, and as usual, I was way ahead of the curve. My first contact with Bourdain's work was when one of the cooks Michael who i was friends with, told me about this book that he thought I would like. The book of course turned out to be Bone in Throat, a novel, and Anthony Bourdain's first book ever published (Random House 1995). As is the norm in the restaurant business, Michael and I often talked about food and the Biz. The Biz is what is known as the restaurant business, when restaruatn people happen to talk about it, they will say, "The Biz." I guess people in the film, music, and many other busines use the same terminology? Anyway, when it came to food, and the Biz, Mike and I were like minded, and this was my introduction way before the masses of the late great Anthony Bourdain, a person who is part of my, and millions of fans lives, as so many loved the guy and what he did. Did so very well, sucking up all he could, when it came to food, travel, hanging and conversing, and yes the Biz.

So Michael gives me his copy of Anthony Bourdain's Bone in The Throat. "Enjoy it," he says. 

"Thanks Mike. I will." and that was that. I have been an avid readers since I was a young boy. I escpecially liked biographies of people I admired, and as a young boy, loving, football, baseball, and pretty much all sports, the first book I ever read was about one of the greatest baseball players of all-time, Yankke 1st baseman, Lou Gehrig. Now, here I was almost 3o years later, I'd read Bourdain's 1st novel, and a couple years later, a autobiographical book of sorts, by Anthony Borudain, his life, and trials and tribulations in the Biz. The restaruant bisiness that is.

So I read Bone in The Throat, a book about a young chef Tommy Pafana (semi Tony), working in the restaurant business in downtown New York. Bone in The Throat centers around a small failing restaurant in New York's Little Italy, owned by Tommy's uncle. There are all sorts of hijinx, with Tommy witnessing a Mob murder, and trying to stay out of trouble, including anything that has to do with the Mafia. He also needs to stay clear of the FBI, who naturally have these mob guys under survelience. Tommy struggles with a Heroin addiction, and the ups and downs of everyday life, and the hard work of a sous chef working a restaurant kitchen.

The book is without quetion semi- biographic, as is the norm of many first-time novels, the writer (Bourdain) often write about their World, things they know, and things they've experienced, and have happened to them. Thus Bone in the Throat, a book written by a guy who has gone to Culinary School, as Borudain did, so did the character Tommy. Tommy has been working his way up in kitchens of New York restuarants, just like Mr. Bourdain. It's a good light hearted, entertaining book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I read it quickly, enjoyed it, and gave it back to my buddy Michael. "Thanks man. I loved it," I told Micahel as I handed the book back to him. And this was my first introduction to the great Anthony Bourdain.

A few years after I read Bone in The Throat, Tony came out with another book. This one was non-fiction, and titled Kitchen Confidential - Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, by Anthony Bourdain. The book was published in 2000, and I became aware of it a few months later, when browsing my favorite bookstore, Strand Books, in Greenwich Village. The next day I began to read it, at my usual spot, Caffe Dante, where I had my Cappuccino at, almost everyday for 30 years. That's were I went to meet friends or went by myself, simply to read, relax, and enjoy my coffee. I don't know the exact date, but whatever it was, it was sometime probably in the Autumn of 2000, that I read one of hsitory's great memoires of food, a person (Tony Bourdain) and the inner workings of the New York restaruant business, or as Tony, myself, and others call it, "The Biz." I loved it. Yes, I did. Thsi book was amazing, and I loved everything Tony said, Many things were secrets to your average reader, someone not in the Biz. So the book was a real eye opener, and people loved it. 

Anthony has always said, he originally wrote the book as an homage to all cooks and kitchen people in general, and he never expected the book to have thehuge monster success that it did, and making him famous, and instant celebrity in the process. He merely wrote it for industry people (restaurant people).

Yes, I couldn't stop laughing. Laughing because, nothing is funnier than the truth. And all of these things were true, and yes, funny. Or maybe not. I knew they were true, because I myself, at the time I read Kitchen Confidential, I myself had already been working in the restaurant business for 28 years, starting as a busboy at The Cambridge Inn, in Paramus, New Jersey, at the ripe young age of 13. I worked for four years at that restaurant, and learned quite a lot about the Biz, and about life. And I was great at it. I was one of the best damn busboys there ever was, and the waitresses used to fight over me, as they now just how damn good I was, I was fast, and I would do a whole lot of their work, and they could just breeze through their shift, and not have to do one iota of extra work, as they knew, I'd clear all the tables, all the customers would always have water, bread, a clean table, and I also helped them run out the food from the kitchen. I did everything I was supposed to do and more, and again, I was damned good, and I knew it. And besides working in the restaruant business and learning about it, the ins-and-outs and whatnot, I learned to always do a great job, the best possible, take pride in what you do and your work ethic, don't be lazy, like many in the business are, work hard, do what you're told (within reason of course), always show up for work, be on time, and don't take any days off, unless you are seriouly sick. 

I learned, and I learned fast. As I said, I was a great busboy. And as they say, this is Not Bragging, it is fact, I was a great bsuboy, a great empoyee, a great work, fast and thorough, and those are two things you need in sapdes in the restaurant business, you need to be thorough and fast. I was both. And I was likeable, another requirement of a good worker. 

One thing I never even thought about back then, as it didn't matter to me at the time, is the fact that in the restaurant business, and all buisnesses I guess, their are the good workers, the people who work hard and get things done, and there are the lazy ones, the people who are lazy, they don't have a good work ethic, they don't work hard, and try to get away with doing as little as they can, and not doing their fare share. When working in a kitchen of a restaurant, you usually don't have as much as a problem with these sad facts, as kitchen people tend to be a bit more professional and reliable at their jogbs than the front of the house people are. This is not saying that front of the house people aren't good workers, it's just that there are always a percentage of lazy people in the front of the house in just about every restaruant there is. There are always the the hard workers, what I call the nucleus  fo workers who do a great job and get a lot done, and then there are the lazy ones. Oh, if you are wondering what is a front of house worker, the front of the house consist of witers and waitresses (servers), bsuboys, bartenders, hostesses, and Maitre'd if the restaurant has one, and front of the house managers. And the there are the kitchen workers, also known as back of the house, consisting of dishwashers (the hardest workers), cooks, which can be line-cooks or prep cooks, the cold station (aka salad man), the Head Chef, the Sous Chef who is second in command to the Chef, and generally the hardest worker among cooks. In most restaurants, it is the Sous Chef who is really running the kitchen, and the Head Chef set the kitchen up and creates a menu, and oversees the entire kitchen, but it is usually the Sous Chef who is doing most of the hard physical work of running the kitchen, though these arrangements and amounto fwork done by the Head Chef, varies in restaurant to restaurant. Some head chefs may work a lot harder than other chefs, and vice-versa.

  Yes, I love Kitchen Confidential, and the late great Anthony Bourdain. Though I head read tony's work a few years earlier when I read Bone in The Throat in 1996, this was a whole other thing. Bourdain did a fine job with Bone in The Throat, and many people liked and enjoyed reading it, but when it comes to Kitchen Confidential, this was a whole other stratosphere were talking about. Kitchen Confidential was revolutionary, in that Bourdain let out many of the dirty little secrets of the restaruant business.  Secrets like, telling the reader, "Never order Fish at a reataurant on Mondays," as the fish is way past its prime (getting stinky) by the time Monday rolls around. Also, if you are the type of person who orders your Steak well-done, the cooks might give you the oldest piece they have, a piece of meat they refer to as "Save fro Well Done." A persone who orders their Steak medium-rare is going to get the fresher, better meat. He also adviced against ordering any daily special served  on a Sunday Brunch, as many times the chef is going thorugh his walk-in refrigerator and seeing what is getting old, and wanting to use it before it completely goes bad, he uses whatver those items may be to make the daily special. I msut note, that these things Anthony has warned of, yes they can be true, and are, but most of the times these so-called dirty little restaurant secrets, defineately are not always the case, so don't let these things that Tony wrote, discourage you from eating in restaurants. Hey, I'm not knocking Tony here, and definately not saying he is lying and that his warning are not true some of the times. Simply, I'm saying that these bad things stated are not the norm, so don't stop eating at restaurants. Use your own good judgement.

Kitchen Confiential made Bourdain famous. In 2001, Tony got his first offer to do a television show for the Foodnetwork. The show was called A Cooks Tour, and began in January 2002. Now here was a very critical point in Tony's career and my own awareness of Bourdain's genius. After reading Kitchen Confidential, I already knew Tony was a genius. This was quite evident. I saw the promos for a Cooks Tour and couldn't wait to watch the first episode. The first episode of Cooks Tour was called a Taste of Tokyo. I watched, and was smitten. Tony did it again. I loved Cooks Tour, and watched it every week. But knowing just a little bit about TV and how shows get started, I remember thingking and wishing, damn, I hope thsi show makes it. I hope people watch it, and like it. "Heck, love it." But I remember being a bit worried. I know that a lot of new doc tv shows get started by shooting just a few episodes, maybe 6 or so. They air these shows and see how they go. If people don't like them, they don't make any more, and the show gets canceled. I was hoping, almost praying for Anthony and his new TV show. Hoping people and the network would love it, they'd shoot lots of episodes and the show would have a good run.

Yes, I loved Cooks Tour immediately. It was awesome. Tony was awesome. I loved the show, and told all my friends to watch it too. I was also a bit enviosus. I had already traveled the World a good bit. I was in the biz, I had worked my way throught kitchens and had attained the title of chef. And I wanted to write as well. I knew I couldn't write like Tony, but I was working on it. I knew how to cook, I'd traveled the World, and at this point, I'm sure that I had done far more traveling than Tony. I knew all about Asian Street Food, and had eaten it all over South East Asia, and even before Tony. I loved and savored it, and had the huge passion for Asia, its people, it food. Just like Tony. Hey I wanted to be a celebrity chef, I wish I had my own show eating and traveling the World, just like Anthony did. Hey, I had the experience, and I had the chops. Just not the luck. Amn Tony was the man. And believe it or not, I'm a lot like Tony. A long career in the restaurant business, I cooked, I was a chef, I traveled, and I had the apprecitation and knowledge of travel and the foods of the World. I was also a bit snarky, just like Tony, and sort of disdain Rachel Ray, and Emeril's show, even before Tony came on the scene and made snarky remarks about them, I did the same. Anway?

I loved the way they shot the show, the things Tony ate and did, and the way the show was cut, and Tony's incrdiable narrations of the finsihed product (the shows). Well remember when I was worried for Tony and his new show? Not that I didn't think Anthony and his show were more thatn fabulous, just from the fact that so many millions who love stupid sitcoms and all sorts of crappy shows, and especially all the shitty shows that were on the Food Network. I was worried that there might not be enough smart people to watch and love Tony and hsi show a Cooks Tour, for it to sustain istself, and stay on air. My concerns were real, but I need not have worried, Tony and his show did fare well.

As it turned out, a Cooks Tour had a decent run, 35 episodes, running two seasons. The general public did get Bordain. They loved him and loved his show, and Bourdain was in hsi element, traveling the World, eating it, making great content, and putting together masterful travelogue food shows that people just could't get enough of, especially Tony's lust for life, the food, the travel, and his great wit and wisdom, snarky and wryness. Tony was funny, witty, and smart, and people just loved. And I was one of Tony's first big cheerleaders, long before the masses caught on. And yes, I am proud have been so.


... to be continued ..

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

October 2021  NYC








TONY EATS NOODLES

by Bellino

HANOI







"TONY EATS NOODLES"

by Bellino








"BARACK & TONY"














Remembering Anthony Bourdain

 



Anthony Bourdain

Paris, France





I was working at Cafe des Artistes, a famous old New york restuarant on West 67th Street when I first heard of Anthony Bourdain. This was 1996, and most Americans would not become familar with Bourdain for 6 to 10 years, depending on the person. I discovered Tony in 96, and as usual, I was way ahead of the curve. My first contact with Bourdain's work was when one of the cooks Michael who i was friends with, told me about this book that he thought I would like. The book of course turned out to be Bone in Throat, a novel, and Anthony Bourdain's first book ever published (Random House 1995). As is the norm in the restaurant business, Michael and I often talked about food and the Biz. The Biz is what is known as the restaurant business, when restaruatn people happen to talk about it, they will say, "The Biz." I guess people in the film, music, and many other busines use the same terminology? Anyway, when it came to food, and the Biz, Mike and I were like minded, and this was my introduction way before the masses of the late great Anthony Bourdain, a person who is part of my, and millions of fans lives, as so many loved the guy and what he did. Did so very well, sucking up all he could, when it came to food, travel, hanging and conversing, and yes the Biz.

So Michael gives me his copy of Anthony Bourdain's Bone in The Throat. "Enjoy it," he says. 

"Thanks Mike. I will." and that was that. I have been an avid readers since I was a young boy. I escpecially liked biographies of people I admired, and as a young boy, loving, football, baseball, and pretty much all sports, the first book I ever read was about one of the greatest baseball players of all-time, Yankke 1st baseman, Lou Gehrig. Now, here I was almost 3o years later, I'd read Bourdain's 1st novel, and a couple years later, a autobiographical book of sorts, by Anthony Borudain, his life, and trials and tribulations in the Biz. The restaruant bisiness that is.

So I read Bone in The Throat, a book about a young chef Tommy Pafana (semi Tony), working in the restaurant business in downtown New York. Bone in The Throat centers around a small failing restaurant in New York's Little Italy, owned by Tommy's uncle. There are all sorts of hijinx, with Tommy witnessing a Mob murder, and trying to stay out of trouble, including anything that has to do with the Mafia. He also needs to stay clear of the FBI, who naturally have these mob guys under survelience. Tommy struggles with a Heroin addiction, and the ups and downs of everyday life, and the hard work of a sous chef working a restaurant kitchen.

The book is without quetion semi- biographic, as is the norm of many first-time novels, the writer (Bourdain) often write about their World, things they know, and things they've experienced, and have happened to them. Thus Bone in the Throat, a book written by a guy who has gone to Culinary School, as Borudain did, so did the character Tommy. Tommy has been working his way up in kitchens of New York restuarants, just like Mr. Bourdain. It's a good light hearted, entertaining book that I thoroughly enjoyed. I read it quickly, enjoyed it, and gave it back to my buddy Michael. "Thanks man. I loved it," I told Micahel as I handed the book back to him. And this was my first introduction to the great Anthony Bourdain.

A few years after I read Bone in The Throat, Tony came out with another book. This one was non-fiction, and titled Kitchen Confidential - Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, by Anthony Bourdain. The book was published in 2000, and I became aware of it a few months later, when browsing my favorite bookstore, Strand Books, in Greenwich Village. The next day I began to read it, at my usual spot, Caffe Dante, where I had my Cappuccino at, almost everyday for 30 years. That's were I went to meet friends or went by myself, simply to read, relax, and enjoy my coffee. I don't know the exact date, but whatever it was, it was sometime probably in the Autumn of 2000, that I read one of hsitory's great memoires of food, a person (Tony Bourdain) and the inner workings of the New York restaruant business, or as Tony, myself, and others call it, "The Biz." I loved it. Yes, I did. Thsi book was amazing, and I loved everything Tony said, Many things were secrets to your average reader, someone not in the Biz. So the book was a real eye opener, and people loved it. 

Anthony has always said, he originally wrote the book as an homage to all cooks and kitchen people in general, and he never expected the book to have thehuge monster success that it did, and making him famous, and instant celebrity in the process. He merely wrote it for industry people (restaurant people).

Yes, I couldn't stop laughing. Laughing because, nothing is funnier than the truth. And all of these things were true, and yes, funny. Or maybe not. I knew they were true, because I myself, at the time I read Kitchen Confidential, I myself had already been working in the restaurant business for 28 years, starting as a busboy at The Cambridge Inn, in Paramus, New Jersey, at the ripe young age of 13. I worked for four years at that restaurant, and learned quite a lot about the Biz, and about life. And I was great at it. I was one of the best damn busboys there ever was, and the waitresses used to fight over me, as they now just how damn good I was, I was fast, and I would do a whole lot of their work, and they could just breeze through their shift, and not have to do one iota of extra work, as they knew, I'd clear all the tables, all the customers would always have water, bread, a clean table, and I also helped them run out the food from the kitchen. I did everything I was supposed to do and more, and again, I was damned good, and I knew it. And besides working in the restaruant business and learning about it, the ins-and-outs and whatnot, I learned to always do a great job, the best possible, take pride in what you do and your work ethic, don't be lazy, like many in the business are, work hard, do what you're told (within reason of course), always show up for work, be on time, and don't take any days off, unless you are seriouly sick. 

I learned, and I learned fast. As I said, I was a great busboy. And as they say, this is Not Bragging, it is fact, I was a great bsuboy, a great empoyee, a great work, fast and thorough, and those are two things you need in sapdes in the restaurant business, you need to be thorough and fast. I was both. And I was likeable, another requirement of a good worker. 

One thing I never even thought about back then, as it didn't matter to me at the time, is the fact that in the restaurant business, and all buisnesses I guess, their are the good workers, the people who work hard and get things done, and there are the lazy ones, the people who are lazy, they don't have a good work ethic, they don't work hard, and try to get away with doing as little as they can, and not doing their fare share. When working in a kitchen of a restaurant, you usually don't have as much as a problem with these sad facts, as kitchen people tend to be a bit more professional and reliable at their jogbs than the front of the house people are. This is not saying that front of the house people aren't good workers, it's just that there are always a percentage of lazy people in the front of the house in just about every restaruant there is. There are always the the hard workers, what I call the nucleus  fo workers who do a great job and get a lot done, and then there are the lazy ones. Oh, if you are wondering what is a front of house worker, the front of the house consist of witers and waitresses (servers), bsuboys, bartenders, hostesses, and Maitre'd if the restaurant has one, and front of the house managers. And the there are the kitchen workers, also known as back of the house, consisting of dishwashers (the hardest workers), cooks, which can be line-cooks or prep cooks, the cold station (aka salad man), the Head Chef, the Sous Chef who is second in command to the Chef, and generally the hardest worker among cooks. In most restaurants, it is the Sous Chef who is really running the kitchen, and the Head Chef set the kitchen up and creates a menu, and oversees the entire kitchen, but it is usually the Sous Chef who is doing most of the hard physical work of running the kitchen, though these arrangements and amounto fwork done by the Head Chef, varies in restaurant to restaurant. Some head chefs may work a lot harder than other chefs, and vice-versa.

  Yes, I love Kitchen Confidential, and the late great Anthony Bourdain. Though I head read tony's work a few years earlier when I read Bone in The Throat in 1996, this was a whole other thing. Bourdain did a fine job with Bone in The Throat, and many people liked and enjoyed reading it, but when it comes to Kitchen Confidential, this was a whole other stratosphere were talking about. Kitchen Confidential was revolutionary, in that Bourdain let out many of the dirty little secrets of the restaruant business.  Secrets like, telling the reader, "Never order Fish at a reataurant on Mondays," as the fish is way past its prime (getting stinky) by the time Monday rolls around. Also, if you are the type of person who orders your Steak well-done, the cooks might give you the oldest piece they have, a piece of meat they refer to as "Save fro Well Done." A persone who orders their Steak medium-rare is going to get the fresher, better meat. He also adviced against ordering any daily special served  on a Sunday Brunch, as many times the chef is going thorugh his walk-in refrigerator and seeing what is getting old, and wanting to use it before it completely goes bad, he uses whatver those items may be to make the daily special. I msut note, that these things Anthony has warned of, yes they can be true, and are, but most of the times these so-called dirty little restaurant secrets, defineately are not always the case, so don't let these things that Tony wrote, discourage you from eating in restaurants. Hey, I'm not knocking Tony here, and definately not saying he is lying and that his warning are not true some of the times. Simply, I'm saying that these bad things stated are not the norm, so don't stop eating at restaurants. Use your own good judgement.

Kitchen Confiential made Bourdain famous. In 2001, Tony got his first offer to do a television show for the Foodnetwork. The show was called A Cooks Tour, and began in January 2002. Now here was a very critical point in Tony's career and my own awareness of Bourdain's genius. After reading Kitchen Confidential, I already knew Tony was a genius. This was quite evident. I saw the promos for a Cooks Tour and couldn't wait to watch the first episode. The first episode of Cooks Tour was called a Taste of Tokyo. I watched, and was smitten. Tony did it again. I loved Cooks Tour, and watched it every week. But knowing just a little bit about TV and how shows get started, I remember thingking and wishing, damn, I hope thsi show makes it. I hope people watch it, and like it. "Heck, love it." But I remember being a bit worried. I know that a lot of new doc tv shows get started by shooting just a few episodes, maybe 6 or so. They air these shows and see how they go. If people don't like them, they don't make any more, and the show gets canceled. I was hoping, almost praying for Anthony and his new TV show. Hoping people and the network would love it, they'd shoot lots of episodes and the show would have a good run.

Yes, I loved Cooks Tour immediately. It was awesome. Tony was awesome. I loved the show, and told all my friends to watch it too. I was also a bit enviosus. I had already traveled the World a good bit. I was in the biz, I had worked my way throught kitchens and had attained the title of chef. And I wanted to write as well. I knew I couldn't write like Tony, but I was working on it. I knew how to cook, I'd traveled the World, and at this point, I'm sure that I had done far more traveling than Tony. I knew all about Asian Street Food, and had eaten it all over South East Asia, and even before Tony. I loved and savored it, and had the huge passion for Asia, its people, it food. Just like Tony. Hey I wanted to be a celebrity chef, I wish I had my own show eating and traveling the World, just like Anthony did. Hey, I had the experience, and I had the chops. Just not the luck. Amn Tony was the man. And believe it or not, I'm a lot like Tony. A long career in the restaurant business, I cooked, I was a chef, I traveled, and I had the apprecitation and knowledge of travel and the foods of the World. I was also a bit snarky, just like Tony, and sort of disdain Rachel Ray, and Emeril's show, even before Tony came on the scene and made snarky remarks about them, I did the same. Anway?

I loved the way they shot the show, the things Tony ate and did, and the way the show was cut, and Tony's incrdiable narrations of the finsihed product (the shows). Well remember when I was worried for Tony and his new show? Not that I didn't think Anthony and his show were more thatn fabulous, just from the fact that so many millions who love stupid sitcoms and all sorts of crappy shows, and especially all the shitty shows that were on the Food Network. I was worried that there might not be enough smart people to watch and love Tony and hsi show a Cooks Tour, for it to sustain istself, and stay on air. My concerns were real, but I need not have worried, Tony and his show did fare well.

As it turned out, a Cooks Tour had a decent run, 35 episodes, running two seasons. The general public did get Bordain. They loved him and loved his show, and Bourdain was in hsi element, traveling the World, eating it, making great content, and putting together masterful travelogue food shows that people just could't get enough of, especially Tony's lust for life, the food, the travel, and his great wit and wisdom, snarky and wryness. Tony was funny, witty, and smart, and people just loved. And I was one of Tony's first big cheerleaders, long before the masses caught on. And yes, I am proud have been so.


... to be continued ..

Daniel Bellino Zwicke

October 2021  NYC








TONY EATS NOODLES

by Bellino

HANOI







"TONY EATS NOODLES"

by Bellino








"BARACK & TONY"














Thursday, October 21, 2021

Tony on Dublin Ireland

 



TONY in DUBLIN


"If you've got any kind of a heart, a soul, an appreciation for your fellow man, or any kind of appreciation for the written word, or simply a love of a perfectly poured beverage, then there's no way you could avoid loving this city."

- Anthony Bourdain on Dublin


VISIT The BOURDAON SHOP





"BEING TONY BOURDAIN"








BEING TONY BOURDAIN





Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Tony Eats Pho Vietnamese Noodles Asian

 



Anthony Bourdain

Eating Vietnamese PHO Noodles in Hanoi

VIETNAM




TONY BOURDAIN



"TONY EATS PHO"

HANOI,  VIETNAM














ANTHONY BOURDAIN

TONY EATS NOODLES






The BADASS COOKBOOK

"One of Tony's Favorites"



AMERICA'S FAVORITE DISHES

And SECRET RECIPES







"TONY EATING PHO"

VIETNAM






BARACK & TONY

"BEER & NOODLES"





















Sunday, October 17, 2021

Bourdain Obama Beer Noodles Hanoi Vietnam

 



President Barack Obam and Anthon Bourdain

HANOI, VIETNAM

"Two Guys having a Beer"






TONY & BARACK










Remembering Anthony Bourdain







Anthony Bourdain

A Cafe in PARIS


Some people leave such an indelible impression on the world and the facet of our culture they inhabit, that even years after they leave this earth, their presence and vivacity are still felt, celebrated and mourned. Such is the case with Anthony Bourdain.

The famed chef, author and travel documentarian helped us see the world in a more inspired, colourful way through his eyes with his award-winning shows ‘No Reservation’ and ‘Parts Unknown’, and books like Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.

As CNN wrote in 2018, ‘through the simple act of sharing meals, he showcased both the extraordinary diversity of cultures and cuisines, yet how much we all have in common’.

It wasn’t only the culinary community that was rocked when Bourdain sadly took his own life at the age of 61, on the 8th of June 2018; the world grieved for a man who encouraged us to get out of our comfort zone, to be curious and open-minded, and to remember that a love of food is for everyone, no matter your background.

On the 30th of May, 2019, two of the world’s most well-known chefs — Éric Ripert and José Andrés — proclaimed a new holiday. “On June 25, we are all going to celebrate the birthday of our dear friend and beloved Anthony Bourdain,” said Ripert in an Instagram post.

“The idea was to create, on his birthday, an event that anyone can contribute to, something that is low-production,” Ripert told Washington Post at the time. “We will make sure that Anthony is being remembered on his birthday, and not when he left. We will keep this tradition year after year.”

True to their word, #BourdainDay continued in 2020 and will continue this year. While their suggestion for celebrating the day was to pick up a beverage of your choosing and toast to Bourdain on camera, posting the moment on social media with the hashtag, you can also celebrate by watching some of your favourite episodes of one of Bourdain’s acclaimed series’, reading one of his books, or perhaps by going out and supporting one of your favourite owner-operator eateries. We’re sure it’s what he would have wanted.

To mark the occasion, we have found some of our favourite Anthony Bourdain quotes that sum up his sense of humour, thoughtfulness and grit — and oh, how they make us want to travel overseas with every fibre of our being.

“We are, after all, citizens of the world — a world filled with bacteria, some friendly, some not so friendly. Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonald’s? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all.”

“Having a sous-chef with excellent cooking skills and a criminal mind is one of God’s great gifts.”

“I love showing up to a place thinking it’s going to be one way and having all sorts of stupid preconceptions… and then in even a painful and embarrassing way, being proved wrong. If you can get a little smarter about the world every day, it’s a win.”

“I like telling stories, and I tell stories that interest me. It would be boring to have to go to nothing but the best restaurants. That would be a misery to me.”

“What is love? Love is eating twenty-four ounces of raw fish at four o’clock in the morning.”

“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.”

“It was never my intention to be a reporter, a critic, an advocate… I am a storyteller. I go places, I come back. I tell you how the places made me feel…”

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”






BEING TONY BOURDAIN




 

Monday, October 4, 2021

Anthony Bourdain Eats New York

 



Anthony Borudain salivating on Foe Gras

VERITAS

NEW YORK, NY



"DUELING FOE GRAS"

VERITAS






BOURDIAN EATS NEW YORK

Season 1 COOKS TOUR

Epsisode 19









Tony has Orgasam on Foe Gras

Veritas





Anthony Borudain





Pairing Wines for Tony

WIne Dierector Tim Kopec

VERISTAS



TONY EATS CHEESE at MURRAY'S




ROQUEFORT

At MURRAY'S CHEESE

NEW YORK NY









"One of TONY'S FAVORITES"



PAPAYA KING

HOT DOGS & FRUIT DRINKS