He was an ally to marginalized people and called out powerful leaders for their hypocrisy.
Anthony Bourdain, the legendary chef and tv personality, died on Friday morning — and people around the world are mourning.
Bourdain was a best-selling author and was known for various TV shows, like Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and the CNN series Parts Unknown. But he’ll be remembered for more than introducing Americans to regional cuisines in far-flung places.
Bourdain was also known for his willingness to stray from the confines of mainstream media norms and highlight the struggles of marginalized people everywhere.
To Bourdain, regional cuisine wasn’t just food — it often reflected cultural mores and told us something very important about the people who lived there. Food was a binding force that drew people together and reminded us of our collective humanity.
But Bourdain stood for a lot more than Kumbaya-style celebrations of togetherness.
He also wasn’t afraid to speak his mind about controversial world leaders, saying that he would kill former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger if he could, and calling North Korean leader Kim Jong Un a “chubby little evil fuck” who ate while the rest of his country starved.
And in recent years, Bourdain became a vocal supporter of the #MeToo movement, often lending his voice to support women’s right to be free of sexual harassment and rape culture.
The following quotes are peak Bourdain — and show why so many considered him a true citizen of the world.
For one episode of his show Parts Unknown, Bourdain traveled to Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza, and interviewed Laila El-Haddad, co-author of the award-winning cookbook The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey .
The episode, which aired in 2013, focused on the humanity of the Palestinians he met, cooked with, and ate with. The Muslim Public Affairs Council, an American Muslim advocacy group, gave him the Voices of Courage and Conscience award for his work. The quote below is from his acceptance speech:
When news of Bourdain’s death broke, people flooded Twitter with tributes praising his work and lamenting that Palestinians “ have lost a good friend in Anthony Bourdain.”
In his 2001 book Anthony Bourdain, A Cook’s Tour: Global Adventures in Extreme Cuisines, Bourdain wrote: “Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands.”
Bourdain is referring to Kissinger’s role overseeing a secret, massive bombing campaign of Cambodia, which left thousands dead, between 1965 and 1973. It destabilized the government and led to the Khmer Rouge taking power — who then launched a genocidal campaign. Kissinger has been called a war criminal for this and other actions he oversaw while in office but is still lauded as a premier statesman by many.
One of the only countries Bourdain failed to visit was North Korea. During an impromptu interview with TMZ, he voiced why.
“There’s nothing they’re going to let you see in North Korea. It’s an unpleasant government. Most of the population are starving. Don’t you think that would be in kind of bad taste?” he said.
And when asked about the country’s leader, Kim Jong Un, Bourdain had this to say: “He’s a chubby little evil fuck. Nobody else eats.”
Later, the reporter asked what he would serve at a summit between Donald Trump and Kim. “Hemlock,” Bourdain said.
While Bourdain was being interviewed by Dave Davies on NPR about his experiences filming abroad, Davies recalled a particularly memorable moment — when Bourdain was handed an “unwashed warthog rectum” by the chief of the tribe that he was eating with. Davies asked him what he was thinking at the time.
Here’s how Bourdain responded:
Over the course of his career, Bourdain frequently pointed out how restaurant industry employees from Mexico and Central America are undervalued and treated poorly, and has also said that it’s racist for people to expect to pay very little for Mexican cuisine. Here’s one example from his blog, which he posted in 2014:
