Like the rest of the world, I woke up this morning to the news that Anthony Bourdain passed away. I've been sitting in a stunned silence since then, my mind still trying to wrap around the fact that he's gone.
To the world, Bourdain provided extraordinary insights into food, culture, and the culinary workforce. To me, he was instrumental in setting the inspirational foundation of how I approach food and life. I guess that's why his death is affecting me so much.
I started watching Bourdain's shows when I was in high school, during the heydays of No Reservations. While I came curious to learn about the culture and food of other countries, I stayed for the down to earth, no-frills approach he brought to explaining just about everything. Bourdain never just scratched the surface of a place he visited, he went in as deep as humanly possible for an hour-long show.
It was his rapt engagement with finding the true essence of a culture and its food that inspired my own quests to learn about the world's cuisines. I've developed a curiosity and desire to not just discover a country's food, but to understand its importance and impact that it has on those eating in it. That drive to go beyond the dish came predominantly from how Bourdain approached food.
What Bourdain also gave me was an appreciation for people around the world, regardless of whether they came from. How he showed communities in his programs broke down the stereotypes that have pervaded the culture of the United States, and revealed a world that is far more similar than some would have us believe.
That ability to see past everything and enjoy people for who they are is what gave us such great moments in television. Bourdain's dinner in Vietnam with President Obama. His experiences in Beirut when the Lebanon War broke out. Bringing Parts Unknown to Gaza, Jerusalem, and the West Bank. I don't know if anybody but Bourdain could've brought us such poignant moments to the spotlight he shined on them.
There's a quote from James Beard that I love to recite. "Food is a common ground among us, a universal experience," it goes. Bourdain is the living embodiment of that quote, and someone I will always try to live like, whether it be vicariously through his programs or through my own foodie adventures.
Farewell, Anthony Bourdain. Thank you for the lessons in food, culture, and life that you've taught not just me, but the rest of the world. You will be sorely missed.
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