I have been a big fan of Anthony Bourdain, ever since I watched his episode on Amsterdam on a flight to Europe several years ago. Being a foodie, traveller, and culture enthusiast, I was attracted right away to his language, curiosity, and bluntness. He was not the type of person to shy away from expressing his opinion. He was bold, courageous and was very comfortable with it.
I started watching his videos from "The Layover" and "No reservations" and later, "Parts Unknown". I read his book, "Kitchen Confidential", and signed up for the first release of "Appetites", from which I learned that Caesar salad is not Italian but Mexican and it does not include chicken. "God does not want you to put chicken in your Caesar" as he put it. I laughed out loud alone in my apartment, reading a recipe from Appetites. I don't think anyone has captured my hatred of club sandwich as best as Bourdain.
When I travelled, I went to his recommended places to eat and to hang out with the locals I met from couchsurfing or simply met with, around food, from Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, to Venice, Savoca in Sicily, and more. I devoured in street food and haute cuisine alike and often times had something on the house after staying couple hours eating and drinking and talking to the waiters, chefs or the locals. The waiter at a restaurant in Venice told us where Bourdain sat and spent hours eating so much, he could barely move. A chef in Savoca gave us his best olive oil and told us "Anthony Bourdain is a strange man...he was not sympatico but I like!" I knew what he meant by sympatico.
Bourdain was a badass and from a personal experience did not come off as sympatico. On the way back from the trip to Sicily, I bumped into him at Rome's Fiumicino airport. I was so excited I went to say hi. I felt awkward. What was I gonna say, that I'm a fan? That I love your enthusiasm in food and culture? That I love your show? That I love your politics? That I love your badassness? He was checking in on the same flight as me but in business class of course. I went and said, "Mr. Bourdain?" He turned back and saw me like a teenage groupie. Then the airline employee blocked me from going further into the business class line. It pissed me off and I was like, bitch please, I'm just gonna say hi; I don't have a ticket for business class, what the heck are you afraid of by not letting me get in and say hi. I checked in, passed the security check and I saw Bourdain again on the moving walkway. I told him that it was such a coincidence seeing him in Rome, after having been to the restaurant he went to in Savoca, which I really enjoyed. He said: "Oh yeah?" and then walked away. I was really pissed and thought, what a dick. When I thought about it later, I took it that he's a celebrity but needs his space and privacy. It can be really frustrating having to talk to random strangers who are fan wherever you go. Maybe he was tired, had headache, or just sad that he would be missing his Italian girlfriend. It was OK. I'm not a child, I get it.
Bourdain's pungent voice irritated so many but attracted many more. I loved his politics, his social awareness, and going beyond measures and what food tastes like. He once said "there is nothing more political than food", and I wholeheartedly believe that. He wasn't a type of guy to follow mainstream movements without having an opinion on his own. He ate seal with the Inuit and pled with people who signed on to a boycott of Canadian seal hunt. He rightfully understood that the campaign would doom Inuit communities. He reminded me that one can't blindly adhere to an organization like Green Peace. It was a difficult moment to realize that an association whose many actions and campaigns I support and still support, has not only failed with regards to the seal hunt campaign, but has also wreaked havoc to the Inuit population of Canada. I felt betrayed by Green Peace. Though, what I learned was to have critical eyes and accept that failures are possible, even by well-meaning organization.
Bourdain was one of the few American celebrities that was vocal about the Palestinian cause. In his trip to Palestine and Israel of Parts Unknown, he didn't go to Tel Aviv and instead went to the contentious Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. He sat with the settlers at a table, looked at them in the eyes and asked one of them why they did not paint over the "Death to the Arabs" sprayed over a an Arab's house. In his trip to Haiti, he showed us the complexities and the consequences of good intentions.
He will be missed by many, and I'm glad I'm not alone here.
Bourdain was a badass and from a personal experience did not come off as sympatico. On the way back from the trip to Sicily, I bumped into him at Rome's Fiumicino airport. I was so excited I went to say hi. I felt awkward. What was I gonna say, that I'm a fan? That I love your enthusiasm in food and culture? That I love your show? That I love your politics? That I love your badassness? He was checking in on the same flight as me but in business class of course. I went and said, "Mr. Bourdain?" He turned back and saw me like a teenage groupie. Then the airline employee blocked me from going further into the business class line. It pissed me off and I was like, bitch please, I'm just gonna say hi; I don't have a ticket for business class, what the heck are you afraid of by not letting me get in and say hi. I checked in, passed the security check and I saw Bourdain again on the moving walkway. I told him that it was such a coincidence seeing him in Rome, after having been to the restaurant he went to in Savoca, which I really enjoyed. He said: "Oh yeah?" and then walked away. I was really pissed and thought, what a dick. When I thought about it later, I took it that he's a celebrity but needs his space and privacy. It can be really frustrating having to talk to random strangers who are fan wherever you go. Maybe he was tired, had headache, or just sad that he would be missing his Italian girlfriend. It was OK. I'm not a child, I get it.
Bourdain's pungent voice irritated so many but attracted many more. I loved his politics, his social awareness, and going beyond measures and what food tastes like. He once said "there is nothing more political than food", and I wholeheartedly believe that. He wasn't a type of guy to follow mainstream movements without having an opinion on his own. He ate seal with the Inuit and pled with people who signed on to a boycott of Canadian seal hunt. He rightfully understood that the campaign would doom Inuit communities. He reminded me that one can't blindly adhere to an organization like Green Peace. It was a difficult moment to realize that an association whose many actions and campaigns I support and still support, has not only failed with regards to the seal hunt campaign, but has also wreaked havoc to the Inuit population of Canada. I felt betrayed by Green Peace. Though, what I learned was to have critical eyes and accept that failures are possible, even by well-meaning organization.
Bourdain was one of the few American celebrities that was vocal about the Palestinian cause. In his trip to Palestine and Israel of Parts Unknown, he didn't go to Tel Aviv and instead went to the contentious Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza. He sat with the settlers at a table, looked at them in the eyes and asked one of them why they did not paint over the "Death to the Arabs" sprayed over a an Arab's house. In his trip to Haiti, he showed us the complexities and the consequences of good intentions.
He will be missed by many, and I'm glad I'm not alone here.
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