01of 16DAVID RENTAS/REX/ShutterstockBorn on June 25, 1956, in New York City and raised in New Jersey, Anthony Bourdain knew he’d be a chef while vacationing on the coast on France with his parents as a boy. A local fisherman offered him an oyster fresh from the sea; he ate it, and “That was it, man,” Bourdain saidin a Biography.com interview. “That was it.”
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DAVID RENTAS/REX/Shutterstock
Born on June 25, 1956, in New York City and raised in New Jersey, Anthony Bourdain knew he’d be a chef while vacationing on the coast on France with his parents as a boy. A local fisherman offered him an oyster fresh from the sea; he ate it, and “That was it, man,” Bourdain saidin a Biography.com interview. “That was it.”
02of 16JIM COOPER/AP/REX/ShutterstockBourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978 and worked his way up through the restaurant business, becoming executive chef at New York City’s Brasserie Les Halles in 1998. It was during his time there he wrotean essay forThe New Yorker, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,“that transformed how people thought about dining out and started Bourdain on a secondary path: that of author.
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JIM COOPER/AP/REX/Shutterstock
Bourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978 and worked his way up through the restaurant business, becoming executive chef at New York City’s Brasserie Les Halles in 1998. It was during his time there he wrotean essay forThe New Yorker, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,“that transformed how people thought about dining out and started Bourdain on a secondary path: that of author.
03of 16Carolyn Contino/BEI/REX/ShutterstockThe chef left Les Halles sometime around 2000, and released his first book,Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly,which became aNew York Timesbest seller and exposed the underside of the restaurant industry.“I wrote it in a voice that’s familiar to anyone cooking, working in a kitchen at that level,“he toldEntertainment Weekly10 years after the book’s release. “It was obnoxious and over-testosteroned, and would be certainly to somebody who doesn’t recognize that dialect. But it’s like slipping into a warm bath for a lot of people who spent a lot of time in the restaurant business. It was an honest reflection of how I talked in the kitchen.“He went on to pen several more books about the restaurant industry and cooking, as well as a comic book series and some works of fiction.
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Carolyn Contino/BEI/REX/Shutterstock
The chef left Les Halles sometime around 2000, and released his first book,Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly,which became aNew York Timesbest seller and exposed the underside of the restaurant industry.
“I wrote it in a voice that’s familiar to anyone cooking, working in a kitchen at that level,“he toldEntertainment Weekly10 years after the book’s release. “It was obnoxious and over-testosteroned, and would be certainly to somebody who doesn’t recognize that dialect. But it’s like slipping into a warm bath for a lot of people who spent a lot of time in the restaurant business. It was an honest reflection of how I talked in the kitchen.”
He went on to pen several more books about the restaurant industry and cooking, as well as a comic book series and some works of fiction.
04of 16Anthony Bourdain/InstagramBourdain (here in a throwback Instagram photo) spoke openly about his struggles with drugs and alcohol, telling PEOPLE in a 2018 interview, “I was a heroin addict, for sure, and I was a cocaine addict.” He went on to discuss his relationship with alchol, saying, “I think my last years working in the restaurant industry, I was definitely drinking too much, because alcohol was around me at all times and you were under tremendous stress.”
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Anthony Bourdain/Instagram
Bourdain (here in a throwback Instagram photo) spoke openly about his struggles with drugs and alcohol, telling PEOPLE in a 2018 interview, “I was a heroin addict, for sure, and I was a cocaine addict.” He went on to discuss his relationship with alchol, saying, “I think my last years working in the restaurant industry, I was definitely drinking too much, because alcohol was around me at all times and you were under tremendous stress.”
05of 16His success in the culinary and literary worlds also translated to the small screen. From 2002 to 2003 he led the Food Network’sA Cook’s Tour, on which he traveled to exotic locales to try the cuisine.
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His success in the culinary and literary worlds also translated to the small screen. From 2002 to 2003 he led the Food Network’sA Cook’s Tour, on which he traveled to exotic locales to try the cuisine.
06of 16Bourdain followed up with the Travel Channel’sNo Reservations, which had a similar premise toA Cook’s Tourand often featured his famous foodie friends. That ended in 2012, just after he startedThe Layover, also on The Travel Channel; the series tailed him as he crammed as much as he could into a 24- to 48-hour stay in a city.“The Layoverwas hard on me,” he told Eater in 2012. “It was hard with that much food and liquor in a two-day shooting period, back-to-back-to-back. And that’s after shootingNo Reservations.”
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Bourdain followed up with the Travel Channel’sNo Reservations, which had a similar premise toA Cook’s Tourand often featured his famous foodie friends. That ended in 2012, just after he startedThe Layover, also on The Travel Channel; the series tailed him as he crammed as much as he could into a 24- to 48-hour stay in a city.
“The Layoverwas hard on me,” he told Eater in 2012. “It was hard with that much food and liquor in a two-day shooting period, back-to-back-to-back. And that’s after shootingNo Reservations.”
07of 16EverettHe didn’t slow down for long, though, serving as a judge on ABC’sThe Tasteand launching his most recent series, CNN’s popularAnthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,which started in 2013. The show earned four consecutive PrimetimeEmmy Awards, from 2013 to 2016.
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Everett
He didn’t slow down for long, though, serving as a judge on ABC’sThe Tasteand launching his most recent series, CNN’s popularAnthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,which started in 2013. The show earned four consecutive PrimetimeEmmy Awards, from 2013 to 2016.
08of 16Carolyn Kaster/AP/REX/ShutterstockPresidentBarack Obamawas even a guest onParts Unknown;in this 2016 clip, Bourdain teaches him to properly “slurp” noodles in Hanoi, Vietnam.Obama tweeted a tributeto Bourdain following his death, writing, " ‘Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.’ This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food - but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him.”
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Carolyn Kaster/AP/REX/Shutterstock
PresidentBarack Obamawas even a guest onParts Unknown;in this 2016 clip, Bourdain teaches him to properly “slurp” noodles in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Obama tweeted a tributeto Bourdain following his death, writing, " ‘Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.’ This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food - but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him.”
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Frazer Harrison/Getty
10of 16David Giesbrecht/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/GettyBourdain was also a popular guest on a host of food-related shows, includingTop Chef,on which he was known forbeing brutally honest with contestants.
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David Giesbrecht/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty
Bourdain was also a popular guest on a host of food-related shows, includingTop Chef,on which he was known forbeing brutally honest with contestants.
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Erik Pendzich/REX/Shutterstock
Bourdain was married to high school sweetheart Nancy Putkoski from 1985 to 2005, then married Ottavia Busia (pictured) in 2007. He and Busia welcomed daughter Ariane that same year. But after nine years of marriage,the couple separated in 2016.
12of 16Anthony Bourdain/InstagramThough he generally kept her face covered on social media, Bourdain took Ariane along on several shoots, and often said he spent all of his free time in New York City cooking for and hanging out with her.“Before first grade, it’s no problem, you pull her out of school for five or six days. [She’s been to] Sardinia, Tuscany, Naples … Hawaii … Jamaica.”
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Though he generally kept her face covered on social media, Bourdain took Ariane along on several shoots, and often said he spent all of his free time in New York City cooking for and hanging out with her.
“Before first grade, it’s no problem, you pull her out of school for five or six days. [She’s been to] Sardinia, Tuscany, Naples … Hawaii … Jamaica.”
13of 16Anthony Bourdain/InstagramIn his final interview with PEOPLE in 2018, he said he felt “some responsibility” to “at least try to live” since his daughter was born.“I also do feel I have things to live for,” Bourdain explained. “There have been times, honestly, in my life that I figured, ‘I’ve had a good run - why not just do this stupid thing, this selfish thing … jump off a cliff into water of indeterminate depth,’ " he said, recalling something he said he’d once done for his Travel Channel show.He also described how, before his daughter’s arrival, he would “go to places” where “I was, frankly, asking for trouble. It was a daredevil move.” But now, “in retrospect, I don’t know that I would do that today - now that I’m a dad or reasonably happy.”
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In his final interview with PEOPLE in 2018, he said he felt “some responsibility” to “at least try to live” since his daughter was born.
“I also do feel I have things to live for,” Bourdain explained. “There have been times, honestly, in my life that I figured, ‘I’ve had a good run - why not just do this stupid thing, this selfish thing … jump off a cliff into water of indeterminate depth,’ " he said, recalling something he said he’d once done for his Travel Channel show.
He also described how, before his daughter’s arrival, he would “go to places” where “I was, frankly, asking for trouble. It was a daredevil move.” But now, “in retrospect, I don’t know that I would do that today - now that I’m a dad or reasonably happy.”
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Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
Before his death, Bourdain was dating Rome-based actress Asia Argento. In 2018, he told PEOPLE she’d softened him a bit, adding, “I’m happier for sure. It’s nice to be with somebody who I see as a peer.”
15of 16Anthony Bourdain, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain and daughter Ariane.Anthony Bourdain/InstagramWhile working, Bourdain always reserved five days to be home with his daughter and as much time as he could to be with Argento - sometimes together.“I want to spend as much time with her as I can,“he told PEOPLEof his girlfriend, adding he wouldn’t mind settling down with her in New York City, near his daughter. But “we’ve both been married twice, so that’s not something that’s ever, ever going to happen. That’s the death of everything. I think we both respect each other’s work. Work first.”
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Anthony Bourdain, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain and daughter Ariane.Anthony Bourdain/Instagram
While working, Bourdain always reserved five days to be home with his daughter and as much time as he could to be with Argento - sometimes together.
“I want to spend as much time with her as I can,“he told PEOPLEof his girlfriend, adding he wouldn’t mind settling down with her in New York City, near his daughter. But “we’ve both been married twice, so that’s not something that’s ever, ever going to happen. That’s the death of everything. I think we both respect each other’s work. Work first.”
16of 16Vladimir Weinstein/BFA/REX/ShutterstockOn June 8, 2018,news brokethat Bourdain was found dead of an apparent suicide in a hotel room in France, where he’d been shootingParts Unknownwith longtime friend Eric Ripert. He was 61.If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
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Vladimir Weinstein/BFA/REX/Shutterstock
On June 8, 2018,news brokethat Bourdain was found dead of an apparent suicide in a hotel room in France, where he’d been shootingParts Unknownwith longtime friend Eric Ripert. He was 61.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
