Anthony Bourdain facts for kids
Bourdain at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards in 2014
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| Born | Anthony Michael Bourdain June 25, 1956 New York City, U.S. |
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| Died | June 8, 2018 (aged 61) Kaysersberg-Vignoble, France |
| Cooking style | French, eclectic |
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| Partner(s) | Asia Argento (2016–2018) |
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Television show(s)
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Anthony Michael Bourdain (June 25, 1956 – June 8, 2018) was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel show host. He was famous for his TV shows that explored different cultures and foods around the world.
Bourdain graduated from The Culinary Institute of America in 1978. He worked in many professional kitchens, including as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan. He became well-known after writing his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly in 2000.
His first food and travel TV show, A Cook's Tour, aired on the Food Network from 2002 to 2003. Later, he hosted Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations (2005–2012) and The Layover (2011–2013) on the Travel Channel. In 2013, he became a judge on The Taste and then moved to CNN to host Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. Besides his popular food and travel shows, Bourdain also wrote other books, including fiction and historical stories.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Anthony Michael Bourdain was born in Manhattan, New York, on June 25, 1956. His mother was Gladys, and his father was Pierre Bourdain. He had a younger brother named Christopher. Anthony grew up with both his parents, who he said loved him very much.
His father was Catholic, and his mother was Jewish, but his family was not very religious. At the time Anthony was born, his father worked as a salesman and later became an executive for Columbia Records. His mother was an editor at The New York Times.
Bourdain's grandparents on his father's side were French. His paternal grandfather moved from France to New York after World War I. Bourdain's father spent summers in France and spoke French. Anthony spent most of his childhood in Leonia, New Jersey. As a young boy, he was also a member of the Boy Scouts of America.
Culinary Training and Career
Anthony Bourdain's passion for food began when he was young. On a family trip to France, he tried his first oyster directly from a fisherman's boat, which he described as a life-changing moment. He graduated from the Dwight-Englewood School in 1973.
He then went to Vassar College but left after two years. While attending Vassar, he worked at seafood restaurants in Provincetown, Massachusetts. These experiences inspired him to become a chef.
Bourdain then attended The Culinary Institute of America, one of the top cooking schools, and graduated in 1978. After that, he managed kitchens in various New York City restaurants.
In 1998, Bourdain became the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles. This French restaurant was in Manhattan and had other locations in places like Miami and Tokyo. He worked there for many years. Even after he wasn't formally employed there, he stayed connected to the restaurant. Brasserie Les Halles closed in 2017.
Media Career and Books
Writing Adventures
In the mid-1980s, Bourdain started sending his writings to a literary magazine. In 1990, he received a small advance to write a book.
His first book, a mystery called Bone in the Throat, was published in 1995. It didn't become a bestseller. His second mystery book, Gone Bamboo, also didn't sell very well.
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Bourdain's big breakthrough came with Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly in 2000. This book became a New York Times bestseller. It was based on an article he wrote for New Yorker magazine called "Don't Eat Before Reading This." The book gave readers a peek into the often wild and intense world of professional kitchens.
Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
In 2010, he published Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. This book was a follow-up to Kitchen Confidential and shared more of his thoughts and experiences about food and the people who cook it.
A Cook's Tour
He also wrote A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines (2001). This book was about his food and travel adventures around the world. It was written along with his first television series, which had the same name.
The Nasty Bits
In 2006, Bourdain published The Nasty Bits. This book was a collection of 37 funny stories and essays, many of them about food.
Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical
Bourdain also wrote a historical book called Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. It was about Mary Mallon, a cook who was believed to have spread typhoid fever to many people in the early 1900s.
No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach
In 2007, Bourdain published No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach. This book shared experiences and photos from the first three seasons of his TV show No Reservations.
His articles and essays appeared in many well-known publications. These included The New Yorker, The New York Times, Gourmet, and Esquire. In 2008, his blog for the TV show Top Chef was nominated for a Webby Award.
In 2012, Bourdain co-wrote a graphic novel called Get Jiro! with Joel Rose. He also invested in and became an editor for the travel, food, and politics website Roads & Kingdoms in 2015.
Television Shows
Bourdain hosted many popular food and travel shows. His first show was A Cook's Tour, which aired from 2002 to 2003. He then worked for The Travel Channel from 2005 to 2013. After that, he joined CNN from 2013 until 2018.
In July 2005, his new series, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, started on the Travel Channel. This show became very popular. In 2005, a TV sitcom called Kitchen Confidential aired, and its main character was loosely based on Anthony Bourdain.
In July 2006, Bourdain and his crew were filming an episode of No Reservations in Beirut when the Israel-Lebanon conflict suddenly began. The crew had to stop filming and wait for news in a hotel. They were eventually evacuated by the United States Marine Corps. The Beirut episode, which showed their experiences during the conflict, was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007.
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In July 2011, the Travel Channel announced another show with Bourdain called The Layover. It premiered in November 2011. Each episode explored a city in a short amount of time, like during an airport layover. The series ran for 20 episodes until February 2013.
In May 2012, Bourdain announced he was leaving the Travel Channel. He then hosted Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown for CNN. This program explored different cuisines, cultures, and even politics. It started on April 14, 2013.
One famous episode of Parts Unknown featured President Barack Obama. They met in Vietnam in September 2016 and shared a beer and a meal at a small restaurant in Hanoi. The show was filmed in many different places around the world, from Libya to Japan and Ethiopia.
Between 2012 and 2017, Bourdain was a narrator and executive producer for the PBS series The Mind of a Chef. This series later moved to Facebook Watch.
Publishing Line
In September 2011, a publisher announced that Anthony Bourdain would have his own publishing line called "Anthony Bourdain Books." This line would publish three to five books each year that showed his wide range of interests. The first books were released in 2013.
Bourdain said he wanted to publish books by people with "strong voices" who were good at something and spoke with authority. After Bourdain's death, his publishing line was closed after the remaining books were released.
Film Appearances
Bourdain appeared as himself in the 2015 film The Big Short. In the movie, he used seafood stew to explain a complex financial idea. He also produced and starred in Wasted! The Story of Food Waste, a film about reducing food waste.
Personal Life
In the 1970s, while in high school, Bourdain dated Nancy Putkoski. They got married in 1985 and were together for 20 years before divorcing in 2005.
On April 20, 2007, he married Ottavia Busia. Their daughter, Ariane, was born in 2007. Bourdain mentioned that traveling for his TV shows for about 250 days a year put a strain on their marriage. Ottavia appeared in some episodes of No Reservations. The couple separated in 2016.
Bourdain also practiced the martial art Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He earned a blue belt in August 2015. In 2016, he won a gold medal at a championship in his age and weight division.
Death and Tributes
Anthony Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in Kaysersberg, France, on June 8, 2018. His body was cremated in France, and his ashes were returned to the United States a few days later.
Honoring His Memory
After Bourdain's death, fans honored him outside his former restaurant, Brasserie Les Halles. Cooks and restaurant owners also held special dinners and memorials.
In August 2018, CNN announced a final season of Parts Unknown. It used narration and interviews from guests to complete the remaining episodes. Two special episodes also paid tribute to Bourdain and his show.
In June 2019, chefs Éric Ripert and José Andrés announced the first "Bourdain Day" to honor him. In the same month, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) started a scholarship in his name.
In October 2019, a collection of Bourdain's personal items were sold at auction. It raised $1.8 million, and some of the money went to the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship at the Culinary Institute of America. His custom chef's knife was the most expensive item sold, going for $231,250.
In June 2021, a documentary film about Anthony Bourdain, called Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, premiered. It was directed by Morgan Neville.
In October 2022, an unauthorized biography about Bourdain, titled Down and Out in Paradise: The Life of Anthony Bourdain, was published.
Interests and Advocacy
Bourdain believed in the importance of traditional or peasant foods. He often talked about using all parts of an animal, even those not commonly eaten in wealthy countries. He also praised the quality of fresh street food in other countries, especially in developing countries, comparing it favorably to fast-food chains in the U.S.
He strongly supported Spanish-speaking immigrants from countries like Mexico and Ecuador who work as cooks and chefs in many U.S. restaurants. He saw them as talented and essential to the American restaurant industry, even though they were often underpaid and not recognized enough.
Awards and Nominations
Anthony Bourdain received many awards and nominations for his work:
- In 2001, Bon Appétit magazine named him Food Writer of the Year for Kitchen Confidential.
- His book A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal was named Food Book of the Year in 2002 by the British Guild of Food Writers.
- The Beirut episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007.
- In 2008, Bourdain's blog for Top Chef was nominated for a Webby Award.
- He was inducted into the James Beard Foundation's Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America in 2008.
- Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography in 2009 and 2011.
- In 2010, Bourdain was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Writing.
- He received an Honorary Clio Award in 2012 for encouraging people to think differently.
- In 2012, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations won the Critics' Choice Best Reality Series award.
- Bourdain was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program for The Taste in 2013, 2014, and 2015.
- From 2013 to 2016 and again in 2018, Bourdain won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Series or Special for Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown.
- In 2014, the 2013 season of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown won a Peabody Award.
- In December 2017, the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) gave Bourdain an honorary degree. He had graduated from the CIA in 1978.
- Bourdain posthumously won a 2018 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series for his work with Roads & Kingdoms.
Books
Nonfiction
- Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000)
- A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal (2001)
- Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical (2001)
- Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook (2004)
- The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones (2006)
- No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach (2007)
- Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook (2010)
- Appetites: A Cookbook (2016)
- World Travel: An Irreverent Guide (2021)
Fiction
- Bone in the Throat (1995)
- Gone Bamboo (1997)
- Bobby Gold (2001)
- Get Jiro! (with Joel Rose and Langdon Foss) (2012)
- Get Jiro: Blood and Sushi (with Joel Rose and Alé Garza) (2015)
- Hungry Ghosts (with Joel Rose, Alberto Ponticelli, Irene Koh, and Paul Pope) (2018)
See also
In Spanish: Anthony Bourdain para niños
