The Epitome of Cool: An Obituary for Anthony Bourdain
This blog is almost exclusively political, with some religious undertones as of late and the occasional pop culture reference. But today, I'd like to take a moment to write about someone I considered a role model.
When a celebrity dies, I normally feel some sadness for them. But I get over it pretty quickly because I never knew them personally and like the rest of us, they're human, and all of us eventually meet our maker one way or another. The world continues to spin with or without us. Anthony Bourdain, however, was the epitome of cool. He got paid to travel around the world and try new things, which for an impressionable adolescent growing up isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean was mind-bending and exciting. He had a dirty, but hilarious sense of humor. But more importantly, Bourdain was open minded. He would talk to people and show the rest of us a snapshot of their culture, which always impressed me.
In his Hawaii episode of Parts Unknown, he went to Moloka'i and hung out with Walter Ritte! Imagine, Haole Chef Anthony Bourdain hanging out with Native Hawaiian Activist Walter Ritte, one of the Kaho'olawe Nine who occupied the island of Kaho'olawe in protest of the United States Military using it as a practicing ground for dropping bombs! But that was the type of television personality that Bourdain was. Especially in his later years, he made an effort to meet people like Ritte to show us another side of a place that most people would never know about, or think to check out.
Bourdain also showed a profound respect towards Peasant foods. For the culinary layman, Peasant foods are dishes and meals made from more accessible and often, lower-quality ingredients. These kinds of foods were made by poor people who were trying to eat something that not only would sustain them but would also taste good. Basically, these foods were made from necessity, and not so much for the presentation. This includes foods like meatloaf, grits, tacos, and soul-food (like fried chicken and macaroni and cheese).
Most episodes of Bourdain's shows would feature Peasant foods. Going back to the Hawaii episode of Parts Unknown, you can see Bourdain enjoying the quintessential Hawaiian Plate Lunch and Portuguese Sausage. In his Cuba episode, you can see him enjoying Fried Plantains. In Vietnam, perhaps his most favorite place in the world, you can see him enjoying a Bahn-Mi sandwich.
It was so important that Bourdain featured Peasant foods on his shows because they harken back to meals our Grandparents would make, often times passed down from generation to generation. His shows displayed to the world that cooking isn't just some pretentious hobby, but a necessity. They also showed a respect for our histories, our pasts, and our cultures, which I feel to be important in guiding our lives in the present day and perhaps in the future. Don't get me wrong, I love foie gras and filet mignon and other foods that one might look to as "fancy," but I especially love the cabbage rolls and beef stroganoff that my Nana would cook when I was a little boy, and the enchiladas and posole of my Grandma's family (especially the enchiladas).
In the last year and a half or so, I've had at least 3 of my close friends try and kill themselves, but thank God they failed. When my mother was 8 years old, her father killed himself. So suicide is something that is personal to me and millions of other people. However, I am not writing here to speculate the demons Bourdain may have had, or talk about the fact that he was a long time drug addict in his youth. Instead, I just hope that Bourdain, like Kate Spade, who died this week and my Grandfather, is remembered for the joy they gave to people and the things they did, and not how they died or why, for that matter. Anthony Bourdain was a wonderful storyteller who was down to earth, relatively easy going, and a great listener, which combined together isn't an easy package to find in a person.
Thank you, Anthony Bourdain, for showing me a world I never imagined, and for setting my curiosity on fire. You will be missed.
And even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until in our own despair, against our own will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God. -Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, whose life we remembered this week on the 50th anniversary of his death.
Rest in Eternal Life.
When a celebrity dies, I normally feel some sadness for them. But I get over it pretty quickly because I never knew them personally and like the rest of us, they're human, and all of us eventually meet our maker one way or another. The world continues to spin with or without us. Anthony Bourdain, however, was the epitome of cool. He got paid to travel around the world and try new things, which for an impressionable adolescent growing up isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean was mind-bending and exciting. He had a dirty, but hilarious sense of humor. But more importantly, Bourdain was open minded. He would talk to people and show the rest of us a snapshot of their culture, which always impressed me.
In his Hawaii episode of Parts Unknown, he went to Moloka'i and hung out with Walter Ritte! Imagine, Haole Chef Anthony Bourdain hanging out with Native Hawaiian Activist Walter Ritte, one of the Kaho'olawe Nine who occupied the island of Kaho'olawe in protest of the United States Military using it as a practicing ground for dropping bombs! But that was the type of television personality that Bourdain was. Especially in his later years, he made an effort to meet people like Ritte to show us another side of a place that most people would never know about, or think to check out.
Bourdain also showed a profound respect towards Peasant foods. For the culinary layman, Peasant foods are dishes and meals made from more accessible and often, lower-quality ingredients. These kinds of foods were made by poor people who were trying to eat something that not only would sustain them but would also taste good. Basically, these foods were made from necessity, and not so much for the presentation. This includes foods like meatloaf, grits, tacos, and soul-food (like fried chicken and macaroni and cheese).
Most episodes of Bourdain's shows would feature Peasant foods. Going back to the Hawaii episode of Parts Unknown, you can see Bourdain enjoying the quintessential Hawaiian Plate Lunch and Portuguese Sausage. In his Cuba episode, you can see him enjoying Fried Plantains. In Vietnam, perhaps his most favorite place in the world, you can see him enjoying a Bahn-Mi sandwich.
It was so important that Bourdain featured Peasant foods on his shows because they harken back to meals our Grandparents would make, often times passed down from generation to generation. His shows displayed to the world that cooking isn't just some pretentious hobby, but a necessity. They also showed a respect for our histories, our pasts, and our cultures, which I feel to be important in guiding our lives in the present day and perhaps in the future. Don't get me wrong, I love foie gras and filet mignon and other foods that one might look to as "fancy," but I especially love the cabbage rolls and beef stroganoff that my Nana would cook when I was a little boy, and the enchiladas and posole of my Grandma's family (especially the enchiladas).
In the last year and a half or so, I've had at least 3 of my close friends try and kill themselves, but thank God they failed. When my mother was 8 years old, her father killed himself. So suicide is something that is personal to me and millions of other people. However, I am not writing here to speculate the demons Bourdain may have had, or talk about the fact that he was a long time drug addict in his youth. Instead, I just hope that Bourdain, like Kate Spade, who died this week and my Grandfather, is remembered for the joy they gave to people and the things they did, and not how they died or why, for that matter. Anthony Bourdain was a wonderful storyteller who was down to earth, relatively easy going, and a great listener, which combined together isn't an easy package to find in a person.
Thank you, Anthony Bourdain, for showing me a world I never imagined, and for setting my curiosity on fire. You will be missed.
And even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until in our own despair, against our own will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God. -Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, whose life we remembered this week on the 50th anniversary of his death.
Rest in Eternal Life.
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