The man that made chef whites filthy has been a force in and out of the kitchen for the last two decades. In 2007 he published Kitchen Confidential and gave us all an insight into the dark and comical underbelly every kitchen should take pride in – sex, drugs and mise en place.
When he started traveling the world with No Reservations, he became a full-blown star, but to this day remains firmly in the grips of a mild addiction to tobacco and alcohol and far away from the health spa.
Bourdain will always be the chef that shunned the whites and a clean station if it meant he could get drunk and have fun, while still plating up ‘damn good food’.
He’s said a lot of things over the years, but these are the top phrases that stuck in my head and keep inspiring as I hack my way through a carcass of beef, julienne perfect matchstick carrots or serve up copious amounts of homemade vermut to every guest that walks through the doors of Papa’s (my supper club).
Top 10 Bourdainisms…
1. What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?
2. Travel changes you. 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. Most of the time, those marks – on your body or on your heart – are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.
3. If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel – as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them – wherever you go.
4. You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together. (Hallelujah EatWith!)
5. Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.
6. Without new ideas success can become stale.
7. Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.
8. Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.
9. Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.
10. Luck is not a business model.
