Trigger Warning: contains mention of Suicide, Restrictive Eating, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health
“If anybody asks, I’m not a writer. I work in a kitchen.”
Rejected from a writing fellowship that could have been his golden ticket to New York and the career he dreamed of, a young Anthony Bourdain begrudgingly takes a job washing dishes in a Providence kitchen to make ends meet. The die was cast, and A24’s Tony (2026) tells the world how the “spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, badly in need of a good ass-kicking” was kneaded into the internationally-celebrated storyteller and “Elvis of bad boy chefs” we remember today. Since this “biopic with a bite’’’s recent release, the commandments of Bourdainism are never too far from your next scroll. But it’s debatable whether Anthony Bourdain and his namesake ethos ever stepped out for a smoke break from our cultural consciousness.
Bourdain left a legacy that transcends any confines of cuisine. I’ll eat my own (chef’s) hat if you’ve never seen this photo somewhere in a curated photo dump on Instagram, or heard his voice telling us “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. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move,” soundtracked to Anthems for a Seventeen Year‐Old Girl by Broken Social Scene. His words remain ingrained into modern popular culture, resonating deeply with hundreds of thousands of people he’d never even met. This interpersonal reach – combined with his tragic and untimely passing – I’ve seen him fondly referred to as “America’s Princess Diana”. From his Cinderella-story origins as a bottom-of-the-rung dish washer to being catapulted to international acclaim as the “Hemingway of gastronomy” and a legendary $6 dinner with President Obama in Vietnam, Bourdain is widely recognised as a cultural icon who “epitomized the American dream”.
Never Underestimate the Power of the Dining Table
Perhaps the core of Bourdainism is that a meal is not simply mere sustenance, but something both profound and panoramic. It’s a hallmark of social bonding and a universal shared experience that connects every human on earth, a ritual that “..hold(s) the fabric together in lots of ways” . Bourdain writes in his book Medium Raw that “…there is a direct, inverse relationship between frequency of family meals and social problems.” His trademark philosophy of approaching gastronomy as a lens through which to see human culture and connection came alongside a keen sense of political activism. In his own words, “There is, of course, nothing more political than food. Food itself. Who’s got it, who doesn’t. “What’s” cooking is usually the end of a long, often violent story.” For Bourdain, every plate serves a story, and a melting pot of human culture is laid out on every table.
In The Bourdainian Manifesto, David Zimmer boils this overbranching fundamental down into four distinct cornerstones for action, which are as follows:
- Choose to walk in someone else’s shoes, or at the very least, eat their food.
- Eat, travel, speak and love without fear.
- Be unselfish in extending hospitality to those around you.
- Keep moving. Try everything.
Weaving through these concise commandments is a recipe not for any definition of perfection but an unapologetically rich and well-seasoned stint on this earth. A little more hearty and holistic than the “wellness” gimmicks that seep across for-you-pages, sharing the secrets of wellbeing by recommending de-bloating massages and weight-loss teas and baby botox (discount code included of course). Can you even picture Anthony Bourdain sipping an erewhon smoothie? Bourdain’s philosophy is a refreshing antidote to the purity-warped wellness culture that has our generation gripped, where “healthy eating” habits vaguely resemble orthorexia but with a trending sound and closed captions. The very ritual of eating, and as an extension of that life itself, should be savoured and not just suffered through for an idea of a greater cause – whether that be some moral highground or aesthetic goal. My personal favourite quote from Kitchen Confidential is “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.” His words serve as a much-needed resistance to strict regimens and wellness narratives that are nothing without also curating both balance and pleasure, chasing a life to be experienced, not optimised. Wellness can also look like skipping your planned workout for an afternoon beer with an old friend and a Marlboro red. Human connection and genuine joy is not a “garnish” to be experienced only after you’ve achieved that impossible ideal that wellness content sells you, but an essential ingredient to a life well-lived.
Bourdain stood firmly for authenticity and simplicity, favouring a good clean black coffee on a sidewalk cafe rather than a frappuccino drenched in instant diabetes picked up at a mall. This principle applies not just in taste but also in living experience: “All of the things I need for happiness (are)… Low plastic stool, check. Tiny little plastic table, check. Something delicious in a bowl, check,” decisively reminding us that real joy need not be overcomplicated or ostentatious.
The World Is Your Oyster
Perhaps his most famous article of faith was to explore every nook and cranny of our shared and absurd existence, to be in the relentless pursuit of adventure, and approach every destination with genuine curiosity and kindness. In SHUT UP AND EAT, he writes “Given our limited time on this earth, and the sheer magnificence, the near limitless variety of sensory experiences readily available, you don’t want to miss ANY of it,” and in this exploration, we change not only ourselves but also every part of the world we touch, meaning that with even with the most minute of interactions, any notion of personal insignificance is impossible. He tells us of this two-way and transformative relationship that “…as you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you”, reminiscent of Jorge Luis Borges’ “I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.”
Mental Health: What We Struggle to Digest
Threading through his celebrity, candid insights, and undeniable career success, it would be impossible to talk about Bourdain without recognising his lifelong struggle with depression and substance abuse, which led to him taking his own life on the 8th of June 2018. Even against a lifelong pursuit of experience and exploration, Bourdain’s struggle shows us that no amount of distance travelled is enough to escape your own mind. Yet the psychological ball and chain that Bourdain and so many of us have carried is anything but a life sentence. In a way, his story can serve as encouragement to recognise the pains that simmer beneath the surface, and face them with compassion rather than silence.
So to honour Tony, ask for help, remember that you’re never suffering alone. Even when eating alone at a restaurant, know that the spirit of Anthony Bourdain sits in every empty seat. Make a point to connect with your sense of taste every day, slow down, take yourself out of autopilot, and enjoy this little part of the human experience. Warm your face in the fall sunshine in Kinkettles coffee garden with a piping hot flat white. Make instant ramen with your flatmates and inevitably add too much chili then laugh about it together with mouths full of milk and bread. When alone in the early hours at your desk whether writing (as I confess to doing now) or battling through the endless list of readings for this week’s tutorials, ground yourself with a cuppa. Even better, make a mug for your friend who’s been quieter than usual. Let Bourdain remind you to find beauty in the simple and the mundane, but more so to realise that nothing at all in this impermanent and unlikely human existence is insignificant at all, including your life.
Rest in peace Anthony Bourdain, (1956- 2018).