Anthony Bourdain - June 25, 1956 - June 8, 2018

I don't want another mindless "RIP" thread but, Holy Shit. Bourdain and his work have been a huge part of my early adult life and I'm floored by the news that he took his own life. Horribly tragic.

I feel weirdly connected to Bourdain simply from following his social media stuff. Dude was posting stuff yesterday that I was mindlessly consuming.

I'm really at a loss for words.

That’s a bummer. I generally find idolizing celebrities a worthless venture but he was a cool guy and he helped me find an interest in cooking and eventually led me to discover Steven Rinella which set me down the wild game path.

I didn't know much about the guy, but I always liked his show. While I enjoyed them more for the travelogue aspect than the food, I always appreciated he made the cooking portions of the show pretty down to earth without that particular kind of foodie pretentiousness a lot of similar shows fall into.

It sucks. I feel sorry for his kid, she's pretty young to have to deal with this.

Your mental health is not a choice.

Please reach out if you are having trouble: http://www.buddy-project.org/hotlines

Bourdain helped me get into cooking, he taught me the joy of the process. He showed respect for minimum wage line cooks and he never looked down on them. I loved that about him. He opened me up to foreign food, their people, and their culture in a way that has broadened my perspective of my place in the world.

It's odd that the celebrity deaths I have felt most affected by have been by suicide with Robin Williams and now Anthony Bourdain. Profoundly sad individuals that have produced positive change in their audience. Though, Ryan Davis will still be the most sorrowful I've felt after learning about the death of a stranger. RIP Anthony Bourdain. I learned good things from you.

My favorite quote on Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain had one of the only shows on tv that tried with all its might to teach Americans not to be scared of other people.

https://mobile.twitter.com/ablington/status/1005056496609169409

Very much linked to the quote I posted as well. It's so important to experience different cultures, countries, biomes, etc.

Reading the replies to that tweet you linked only emphasizes the need for it.

@captain_insano: I edited your thread title a little instead of having it just be his name so people would know what they were getting into when clicking on this topic.

Yes this is what I was thinking of but couldn't find again, it was the first thing I saw this morning on my break before seeing the actual news and was just like Oh No.

I did not follow Bourdain after losing TV and thus the Travel channel but I remember always finding my way there for No Reservations.

Celebrity deaths don't usually have much impact on me, but this genuinely sucks. I had a lot of respect for that guy.

I don't presume to know what was going on in his life or his head, but... fuck depression.

I'm stunned and sad to hear this. I only discovered his shows a decade ago or so. He always seemed so passionate about his work, to discover new people, foods and places.

The connection he had with people he met on his shows was inspiring and encouraging. His shows made me feel warmer towards people.

With this and with news of Kate Spade, it shows that discussing mental health and wellness issues are a must ? My heart goes out to all those affected by not just these tragedies, but by all of those affected by suicide.

I hope you have finally found peace. ❤

Fuck. I really loved Bourdain and his documentaries. Mental health is no joke. Please seek help if you having trouble coping with anxiety and depression.

Never heard of him but many people seem to shellshocked by his passing.

such a bummer. a real champion for broadening one's horizons.

hope his daughter is able to somehow make peace with it.

@flstyle: His shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown are well-worth a watch, and his writing is well-worth a read. Even if you're not really into cooking or a "foodie".

To me, Aisha Tyler said it best. She wonderfully and succinctly described what I think people saw in him as a TV personality, writer, and human. He was truly genuine (which is rare in that world).

https://twitter.com/aishatyler/status/1005111033571053571

I think the most important thing I learned from Bourdain is to be less afraid of strange people, places, food, drink and other pleasures. My life has been much better after being exposed to his work and for that I shall be forever grateful.

It's very shocking and sad news to wake up to. He hosted probably my favorite travel and cooking shows on TV. The way he explored cultures through food (and beyond just food) was always fascinating and illuminating. And he did it without an air of pretentiousness that shows like that can often fall victim to. He made the idea of traveling to foreign countries seem welcoming in a way that went beyond just good food or pretty environments.

My mom and I used to watch his show together fairly often. I know she'll probably be more upset than me, since she had kind of a celebrity crush on him.

Cool, I'll look into those

this is shitty, my girlfriend and i love watching him, seemed like such a cool dude.

I've really struggled with this all day. I can't even say that I watched a ton of Bourdain's shows but my perception of him was always as someone who made a career out of empathy and understanding of other people, which I admired so much. He seemed to truly understand that, while we all come from different places and we all have our different cultures , all we ever want as human beings is to be treated with dignity, to be treated like we're someone, that we matter. To know that someone who made it his profession to do all that for other people but was unable to extend those same feelings onto himself just breaks me up inside. It hurts to think that living with empathy can be such a burden in this world we've created for ourselves.

That episode of Archer where Bourdain did a guest voice is one of my favorites of the series.

I haven't watched anything of his in awhile, but FUCK if this doesn't suck. I have always been really fond of his shows, but also him as a person. Nothing about his personality ever seemed fake or fabricated for television's sake. He just enjoyed being himself. He seemed like such a genuine, caring, whip-smart dude and was someone who I had hoped I would end up more like some day. It was a joy watching him explore other cultures and cuisines. I remember listening to his WTF and Nerdist interviews where he opened up about a lot of personal stuff that made me gain a profound respect for him. And to have him go out like this...which is something I struggle with on a near-daily basis... it just hits real close to home.

I come from a family with a history of substance abuse, and my experience is that the depression that comes with it is no fucking joke. Dude had a fantastic career that touched thousands of lives and a family, and still couldn't hold up under the weight of it. Hope he has the peace now he couldn't find in life.

@milkman: As someone who suffers from severe anxiety/depression, and has had more then a few suicidal moments (which I thankfully survived and never followed through on), Empathy is part of my problem.

Imagine being able to provide relief and laughter for everyone in the world, except yourself. Because you just don't see yourself as deserving it, because you just can't bring yourself to do something for yourself when others have it worse.

It's kind of a survivors guilt. The more empathetic one can be to others, the more we can look at ourselves and despair "what did I do do deserve this, I must give more to these people", on and on. I can, and wish, to walk a mile in other peoples shoes..I don't think mine are fit to be worn by anyone but me, and I do so because it's better for everyone else if only I ever have too experience my inner struggle. And so on.

That's not how I feel today, therapy and family and friends helped get me past that point. I just share that idea to, perhaps, explain for those who are unable to feel how someone who brought to their lives such joy might themselves have at times felt none themselves.

Bourdain is one of the chefs that inspired my brother to learn the craft, now he's the head honcho at a pretty big restaurant in Reykjavik. He was pretty down about this.

Really sad to hear. I always loved chilling out watching his shows. The sort of stuff that made you want to drop everything and set off on a grand adventure. Very endearing and human.

From Angela Dimayuga, former chef of Mission Chinese Food here in San Francisco:

“As an immigrant child, validity from elders is huge for me. Back in 2015, I noticed Anthony Bourdain’s support for me. He cheered on the food at MCF, but even my design choices with our pink awning I designed, and my musical choices of generic spa music like Police covers in our bathrooms. That was a breakthrough because I had just begun tinkering with those areas of a restaurant for the first time. I felt like he really “got me” and told him that—he said that he does get me.

Over the years that were transformational to my career, he supported me—advocated my new exploration in my heritage cuisine, let my dad hug and cry into him when my dad expressed his gratitude for putting Filipino cuisine in a spotlight by visiting my cousin’s restaurant in the Philippines, called me his hero when I bit back at an Ivanka Trump.com request, every time he stood up from his dinner table to greet me (which I always thought was too much), let me tease him, and in a recent dinner meeting shared so much more.

He commended my work so far—that the intersectional approach to work and craft was necessary to the food industry and what I bring to the future in the food world is not just necessary but important. He acknowledged my humility and holistic approach, that my genuine curiosity matters. I was heartwrenched when he opened up to offer to become my mentor. I had so few in my life that earnestly and genuinely mentored me in the food world. I was so looking forward to calling him at 2am with a question. He made up this hypothetical situation and promised to answer. I wish I was able to cash that in and so thankful for forging a path for the real power of the politicization that the food world holds.”

Bourdain had this awesome ability to make me want to travel to any country, no matter its situation. He seemed really open to all peoples and cultures.

Really so sad. As really he seemed to have it all. But the demons took him. And really so sad. First Kate Spade and now him. If you think that it will end when you take your own life. It does not. It only brings more pain to the loved ones in the could of, should of, would of scenarios.

Please get help. The right kind of help. It is available but it is about remembering what you would do if you left your loved ones devastating them.

This is probably the most a celebrity death has affected me and I think that says a lot about his influence on people. His ability to engross you into other cultures, food, and travelling into this human experience is inspiring and he helped stir the interest in my decision to major in anthropology as well as created an interest in cooking. Later in his life, he had an amazing write up on the hypocrisy of Americans loving everything Mexico offers, except their people. He also started to become more vocal with gender equality, specifically with the #MeToo movement and even put down a lot of the "bro attitude" in kitchens he glorified in Kitchen Confidential. He just seemed like a rare person that continued to grow and still inspire. So to say that his passing sucks is putting it mildly when it just hurts immensely knowing what he must have been going through privately and off camera.

I never really knew anything about him prior to his death other than he was a well known chef and had some TV shows. It wasn't until he died that I, regrettably, started to look him up and see how much of a cool dude he was. I started watching his Parts Unknown series on Netflix and he really seems like a pretty chill and positive dude that is willing to listen and chat with people about stuff going on with them and their culture without being superior about or anything. He's just honest, kind, and caring and there is not nearly enough of that in our world. If you haven't watched Parts Unknown, I highly recommend it just off the few episodes that I've watched.