I met Tony Bourdain a handful of times and experienced his acerbic brilliance first hand. He was mannered and hints of kindness were present but he was like a caged wildcat in his essence. His growing misery was well on display on our mast meeting the year before his death. He will forever be missed and aside from Kitchen Confidential, early No Reservations was is truest work…Paris, Bordeaux, and San Sebastian, in particular.
Poignant piece, Henry. It brings up a lot of emotions and memories. That someone so connected to food, and the joy it can bring, found it so hard to find happiness…it just fills me with sadness.
Nothing crass in this article. You capture the essence of the man. Beyond the macho bravado of Ramsey which amused me in this piece, there always seemed to be a lugrubious air around AB in his later days.
My brief introduction to AB - I bought him a drink and had a few minutes of chit chat before he did a reading in Toronto - confirms that he was the same "off"as he was "on". Lovely piece, thanks for sharing.
And here I thought Kitchen Confidential was the first book he'd written, but of course it wasn't. Thanks for sharing the story even if it veered into Ramsey Land at points.
I met Tony Bourdain a handful of times and experienced his acerbic brilliance first hand. He was mannered and hints of kindness were present but he was like a caged wildcat in his essence. His growing misery was well on display on our mast meeting the year before his death. He will forever be missed and aside from Kitchen Confidential, early No Reservations was is truest work…Paris, Bordeaux, and San Sebastian, in particular.
It's really sad to think of him like that. Thank you for commenting.
Poignant piece, Henry. It brings up a lot of emotions and memories. That someone so connected to food, and the joy it can bring, found it so hard to find happiness…it just fills me with sadness.
Thanks Mel.
"On second thoughts this is more of a Grodon Ramsay anecdote than a Bourdain one"
"By the mid 00s, publicity trips to London no longer included nights out with his publicist’s university friends."
Lolled at both of these lines. Somehow you manage to tell fabulous celebrity stories while gently taking yourself down a peg. An art form!
I’d be disappointed if you could!
Heady days. Lovely piece Henry.
I wish I could remember more!
Nothing crass in this article. You capture the essence of the man. Beyond the macho bravado of Ramsey which amused me in this piece, there always seemed to be a lugrubious air around AB in his later days.
Thanks Philip!
My brief introduction to AB - I bought him a drink and had a few minutes of chit chat before he did a reading in Toronto - confirms that he was the same "off"as he was "on". Lovely piece, thanks for sharing.
Good story! Thanks Malcolm.
What a great read! Really enjoyed this.
Thanks Lynn!
And here I thought Kitchen Confidential was the first book he'd written, but of course it wasn't. Thanks for sharing the story even if it veered into Ramsey Land at points.
The crime books are meant to be quite good. I should check them out.
I'm definitely intrigued