Santa Monica, CA, August 2018 (Photo by Perry Chiaramonte)
Today marks two years since Anthony Bourdain took his own life and the current climate longs for a voice like his.
Those who know me well know that I’m not much for celebrity worship. But, there's one person (and one person alone) that I made an exception for and that was Bourdain.
I was immediately drawn to his work when “No Reservations” started airing. It spoke to me right from the start.
He embodied the things in life that I searched for. Always curious. Always introspective and always hungry…both literally and figuratively.
Like many of us, he set out in the world in an attempt to understand it. To learn from the many different people and places he encountered. He sought out the beauty in this world (yes, it still exists if you look hard enough).
It wasn’t enough to keep Bourdain around to show us that life on this mortal coil will be ok.
I’ve been watching hours of episodes of Parts Unknown and No Reservations. An attempt at escapism and it's often made me wonder what his take would be about the state of the world in 2020. He would have been likely to have a strong opinion and would show no qualms about sharing it.
In no particular order, here is a collection of Bourdain in his own words...
Anthony Bourdain’s Interview with David Remnick- The New Yorker Radio Hour
Don't Eat Before Reading This by Anthony Bourdain- The New Yorker Magazine