With gratitude to William Mebane and The New Yorker for the original cover and feature photography.
Exactly a year ago today, celebrity chef José Andrés wrote on Facebook: “Today is Bourdain Day, my late friend Anthony Bourdain’s 68th birthday. My friend (chef) Eric Ripertand I began this holiday to celebrate everything Tony did for the world and how he used food to break down walls and build longer tables.”
Andrés added that Bourdain will be “terribly missed by all of us”.
“But we can honor his legacy as we continue to do actions big and small to create a better world. I hope you will join us in celebrating Bourdain Day, in a way that is meaningful to you.”
Anthony Michael Bourdain would have turned 69 today if he were still alive. Chefs Andrés and Ripert established Bourdain Day, celebrated on 25 June, in 2019 to honor the life and legacy of their friend.
The aim is to celebrate Bourdain's impact on travel, food, and culture, encouraging people to explore the world and connect with others through shared experiences, just as he did.
“We can honor his legacy as we continue to do actions big and small to create a better world,” Andrés wrote.
Bourdain was born in Manhattan on 25 June 1956, and food to him was a gateway into culture, traditions, and people.
"Food is everything we are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma,” Bourdain said in one of his more famous quotes.
Bourdain travelled around the globe, immersing himself in local cuisine not just at fine dining institutions, but also at street side stalls, markets, and humble family kitchens.
His travels were far-reaching, and certain meals and cities held a special place in his heart. Many consider Bourdain the greatest culinary explorer of our time.
Just a few weeks ago, I was at Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore, a go-to eatery for Bourdain in Singapore.
On the eatery’s glass door is an image of Bourdain with the words: “Chicken rice so fragrant and delicious that it can be eaten on its own”.
Tian Tian was one of the eateries that got featured in his show “No Reservations” in 2008.
The legendary chef referred to Singapore as “possibly the most food-centric place on Earth” and also praised eateries such as Keng Eng Kee and Sin Huat Eating House for dishes like claypot braised pig trotters and crab bee hoon.
Another of his deepest loves in Asia was Vietnam, where he adored everything from bún bò huế to bún chả.
A Bourdain photo that is one of the most widely shared is of him having a sit-down on plastic stools in 2016 with the then-US President Barack Obama at Hanoi's Bun Cha Huong Lien restaurant, enjoying cold beer and the charcoal-grilled pork vermicelli dish.
"Vietnam: It grabs you and doesn't let you go. Once you love it, you love it forever," Bourdain said.
He also raved about Japan’s food scene and the offerings at exclusive sushi restaurant Sukiyabashi Jiro and the delicate soba at Sarashina Hori.
Bourdain loved Japan because the food there was as much about honouring culture as filling tummies.
He said in an interview with National Geographic: "I mean, if I had to die mid-meal anywhere, it would be Tokyo."
In Italy, the celebrity chef enjoyed eating like a local, feasting on sea urchin pasta at Puglia to indulging in prosciutto with artichokes and cheese-filled ravioli at Osteria dal 1931 in the Monteverde district of Rome.
In Sicily, Bourdain relished its rich culinary traditions, eating panelli, caponata, and spaghetti al nero di seppia.
"I am a curmudgeon when it comes to all things Italian,” he said.
“One should experience [Italian food] like a child, never like a critic, never analytically.”
When it comes to food and tradition, China was another of his favourite culinary destinations.
On his television shows "No Reservations" and "Parts Unknown," Bourdain savoured Sichuan dishes like mapo tofu, dan dan mian, laziji, and hot pot in Chengdu.
"It's the spicy, sensualist heartland of all the things I love about China ... food that can burn you down to a charred, smoking little stump," he said about Sichuan cuisine in a YouTube video.
Bourdain had Peking duck at the famous Li Qun Roast Duck Restaurant in Beijing, and devoured Sing Heung Yuen's famous macaroni soup in Hong Kong.
Sadly, on June 8, 2018, Bourdain died - taking his own life - while on location in France while filming for Parts Unknown.
But on this day, let us celebrate Bourdain’s life, his love for food, and the way he connects people through food and shared experiences.
Let us make today a day we try a new cuisine or visit a local restaurant that we haven’t been to. Bourdain was a strong advocate for the hospitality industry.
"Food is everything we are. It's an extension of nationalist feeling, ethnic feeling, your personal history, your province, your region, your tribe, your grandma. It's inseparable from those from the get-go," Bourdain said.
“Eat at a local restaurant tonight. Get the cream sauce. Have a cold pint at 4 o’clock in a mostly empty bar. Go somewhere you’ve never been. Listen to someone you think may have nothing in common with you. Order the steak rare. Eat an oyster. Have a negroni. Have two. Be open to a world where you may not understand or agree with the person next to you, but have a drink with them anyways. Eat slowly. Tip your server. Check in on your friends. Check in on yourself. Enjoy the ride."
Happy Bourdain Day!
LINCOLN TAN is a co-founder of Chow Luck Club and a former senior journalist for the New Zealand Herald. He won “Best General Reporter” in the 2016 Canon Media Awards and has covered some of the biggest global events over his 30 years in journalism, both here and in Singapore.
