It has been nearly 3 weeks since Anthony Bourdain died, by his own hand, in an idyllic village in Alsace.

That his passing remains an active subject of reflection echoes his impact on the world, especially given the velocity of the media cycles his legacy is somehow still cresting.

Much has been written and said speculating on this, and I have nothing to add to the general points of surprise, lament, pity, and sympathy. Though it does give me pause to witness a man whose outward life was so near to what many would regard as heaven, consumed by the mind’s own shadows.

But the reason for this post is not somber memorializing. These past weeks I have found myself thinking of the objective positive influence Mr. Bourdain’s life and work have had on my own. There are precious moments and memories that I owe to the to this man, and I know no more fitting remembrance than to recall them with gratitude.

Bobolink Farm, where I interned in the Summer of 2007 after learning of it from No Reservations – S01E03 – New Jersey

Duly’s Place in Detroit, where Harrison and I had one of the strangest meals of our lives at 2am in February last year.

Chap’s Pit Beef in Baltimore, that became a regular stop during my time in grad school.

But beyond than these isolated experiences, it is the meals and moments that I found on my own, traveling in the spirit of Bourdain, that I feel I owe most to him. From wonderfully sketchy greasy spoon diners in New England, plastic stooled cafes in Vietnam, to home-cooked cacio e pepe on the first day of Ashley and I’s honeymoon in Rome: all discovered by the simple mantra, “where would Tony eat?” Somehow, he was able to channel the Élan vital of wanderlust, and broadcast it intact into the lives of myself and so many others. For that I am forever grateful.

Requiescat in pace, Chef.

“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It’s a plus for everybody.”

Anthony Bourdain
June 25, 1956, New York City, NY
June 8, 2018, Kaysersberg, France