Bourdain Taught Me

In most episodes of any of Anthony Bourdain’s shows, “Tony” is thrown around with the combination of ease and admiration that lingers behind nicknames, “Anthony” often too formal for friends and fans alike. The way in which old friends and new acquaintances felt such familiarity, an intimacy, intrigue, and friendship that the viewer was privy to, amidst such an unknown, is significant and noticeable. A guide, companion, and comfort to so many for just as many different reasons, Bourdain’s inimitable presence remains a year after his passing. 

I watched roughly six hours of Parts Unknown reruns on the plane to Switzerland, my first trip out of the United States. The following hour was spent talking to the Iranian businessman seated next to me, discussing the protests of his home country, his eventual move to New York, and the unrest of our current America. Unfeigned curiosity, politics, and conversation over airplane Merlot felt keenly Bourdainian, only one example of his influence over the way in which I aim to understand the world, food, and travel, with an openness to what I’m eating and who I’m eating it with, and with a candor and receptiveness that transcends their origin.

Bourdain was more inviting than explanatory; he seemed to say not just that there is good food and good people in these places, but that one day, you too may be a welcomed traveler if you so desire, that none of this is exclusive should you put forth the empathy, willingness, and adventurousness to engage, learn, listen, try.  

With this philosophy in mind, that first international trip was colored by Bourdain’s dare, in so many words, to enter the back alley sandwich counter, enlist limited and broken French to order the cook’s recommendation, and sit on the curb to eat it, a strategy that has and will continue to underline my perspective. Inhale deeply, walk if you can, order what you know you should, ask if you’re not sure. Move, and do so with intellect and integrity. Do this in your city, your country, and everywhere else you can. We are a mix of where we come from and where we’re going, what we have seen and have yet to see, what we cook and what is cooked for us, and we’d be best to expand each of these with intention. Anthony Bourdain taught me that.