I am shocked. I am sitting here at my computer watching the cursor blink and I'm struggling to find words. Anthony Bourdain is dead. According to CNN (his current employer), Bourdain ended his life Friday morning and was found by his friend and fellow chef, Eric Ripert.
In the words of Bourdain himself, what the ^&$%?
I’ve been a fan of Bourdain for a long time. I don’t remember exactly where I first saw him, but I liked him immediately. He was edgy in a world of pristine white coats, with his tattoos and foul mouth, but he was also honest. And funny, which made him likable instead of a jerk.
In 1999, he wrote a New Yorker article called “Don’t Eat Before Reading This.” It was so popular and resonated with so many people that he got picked up by a publisher for a full-length book. Maybe you’ve heard of it. It was called Kitchen Confidential. Yeah, that Kitchen Confidential. Every food biography since 2000 has owed a little something to this international juggernaut. Some of them have even tried to outdo the original, but none has ever come close.
After conquering the book world, Bourdain moved to TV, hosting shows on the Food Network and then No Reservations on the Travel Channel. We have this show on DVD for you to check out if you missed it the first time.
Never one to be bored, in 2003 Bourdain wrote a fiction book called The Bobby Gold Stories. Then in 2012, he was the author of a short series of graphic novels called Get Jiro! I love these. Think Quentin Tarantino directing The Iron Chef. A little bloody, but very enjoyable. He also narrated another of my favorite cooking shows, The Mind of a Chef.
Let’s face it. He was everywhere. And now he’s not.
And I’m sad.
Mother^$#%*@.
Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018)
PS According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is now the 10th leading cause of death in the US. If you are struggling with this, please call someone for help. The national suicide hotline is 1-800-273-TALK. You are not alone.
