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I first "met" Anthony Bourdain through his book Kitchen Confidential when it was published in 2000. Worth reading; for a taste of it read at the following link which is one of his first published articles.
Don’t Eat Before Reading This
The fame and resources that came with Kitchen Confidential brought Bourdain to television, with which he "took" me around the world, revealing interesting (sometimes horrifying!) food ideas and nearly always including thoughtful insights into what made the places and people he was visiting tick. I spent many hours "with" him through television, and envied his life.
It's stunning to me that he decided to end that life. (He committed suicide in France this week.) It's harder to understand depression and demons in those who seem easily able to do things that we (I) wish we could do. Would that we understood these things better.
It's even harder to understand in Bourdain's case because - while obviously and reportedly exhausted from a punishing schedule of travel and work - he still had the passion for his work that made him so very good at it. Look at the following article he published just days before his death, in which he burbles with delight about the show he had just taped in Hong Kong with people he revered.
Anthony Bourdain: My "Cinematic Dream" Filming With Asia Argento and Christopher Doyle in Hong Kong (Guest Column)
A mystery, a tragedy, a real loss. I'll miss the places we were going to visit "together", and will feel sadness as I "return" in reruns to the places we've been.
Don’t Eat Before Reading This
The fame and resources that came with Kitchen Confidential brought Bourdain to television, with which he "took" me around the world, revealing interesting (sometimes horrifying!) food ideas and nearly always including thoughtful insights into what made the places and people he was visiting tick. I spent many hours "with" him through television, and envied his life.
It's stunning to me that he decided to end that life. (He committed suicide in France this week.) It's harder to understand depression and demons in those who seem easily able to do things that we (I) wish we could do. Would that we understood these things better.
It's even harder to understand in Bourdain's case because - while obviously and reportedly exhausted from a punishing schedule of travel and work - he still had the passion for his work that made him so very good at it. Look at the following article he published just days before his death, in which he burbles with delight about the show he had just taped in Hong Kong with people he revered.
Anthony Bourdain: My "Cinematic Dream" Filming With Asia Argento and Christopher Doyle in Hong Kong (Guest Column)
A mystery, a tragedy, a real loss. I'll miss the places we were going to visit "together", and will feel sadness as I "return" in reruns to the places we've been.