Friday, June 08, 2018

Anthony Bourdain


Really sad to hear about the death of Anthony Bourdain, he was one of the pioneers of being a "celebrity chef", i.e. before it was naff to be a celebrity chef. He always struck me as the kind of guy that it would be great fun to simply go for a few beers with. Like Christopher Hitchens, I suspect he would have been a wonderful (and endless) source of "living life to the full" stories. 

I greatly enjoyed his "Parts Unknown" travel show and it's still one of my "go-to" shows if I can't find anything interesting on the millions of channels we have available these days, I also loved his cookbook book "Les Halles" which alongside its many recipes recounts his early experiences working in a (French) Manhattan restaurant of the same name, wonderful stuff. 

He was well known as somewhat of a "bon-viveur", although he is also well known for keeping in tip-top physical shape, being seriously involved in several kinds of martial-arts. My favourite quote of his is typically down to earth, "Your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride."

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