Anthony Bourdain was usually regarded by his fans as a close friend. His programs No Reservations and Parts Unknown are both supremely addictive and Bourdain is the perfect company to guide us through these compromised times.
Self-isolation, quarantine and nationwide lockdown – these proposals have suddenly become necessary conditions of our everyday lives. There’s currently no secure prediction on how long this state of affairs will last, but most experts agree on the necessity for social distancing.
Overseas arrivals in Australia are being forced to self-isolate. Anyone that’s had contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 must be quarantined for 14 days. But it goes beyond that. All of us should heed the advice of scientists and medical professionals – even if it’s not matched by our leading politicians – and commit to the utmost degree of social distancing.
Acquiescing to this request inevitably rams a truckload of inertia into your chest. But that’s why there’s never been a better time to immerse yourself in the career work of culinary icon and travel documentarian Anthony Bourdain.
Watch: Anthony Bourdain in Iran
Bourdain created an immense body of work in his lifetime, spanning the TV shows No Reservations, The Layover and Parts Unknown. While Bourdain sadly took his own life in June 2018, his collected works retain all of their surging lust for life.
Bourdain didn’t merely fawn over his subjects, mind you. His programs offered a critical look at the culture and history of everywhere from the West Bank and Tehran to Melbourne, Morocco and Los Angeles’ Koreatown.
Unlike most others in his profession, Bourdain wasn’t in denial of the fact that travelling isn’t always a hoot. It is always an enlightening experience, however, and Bourdain frequently succeeded in revealing what home meant to the local populations he communed with.
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Along with providing a broad culinary exposition, he was able to shine a light on the understated things that provided the locals’ lives with meaning.
Watch: Anthony Bourdain falls in love with Vietnam’s street food
“We ask very simple questions,” Bourdain said when accepting a Peabody award for Parts Unknown in 2013. “What makes you happy? What do you eat? What do you like to cook? And everywhere in the world we go and ask these very simple questions, we tend to get some really astonishing answers.”
If you’re struggling with your defacto house arrest, hunt down Anthony Bourdain’s work. It will take you on a walk through this beautiful, embattled world.
