Anthony Bourdain was never scared of speaking the truth on what he thought of chefs who were given demi-god status in television shows.
It was at a high-end event at Manhattan in 2001, when I had just started out my career as a chef in New York. And, I met Chef Anthony Bourdain for the first time. I was working as a chef at that event.
I clearly remember that meeting with the man, who had brought in so many changes in the culinary world. During out brief conversation, we discovered that both of us shared a common instructor Danny Lee when we were students at The Culinary Institute of America. So Danny was our point of discussion in that meeting. He was just a casual man, friendly, smiling, speaking with everyone there.
Although there were no selfie-cameras at that time, I still have photographic memories of that meeting with Anthony Bourdain.
The news of his suicide comes as a shock to me, especially because he was a man who always spoke his mind, was unapologetically honest and lived his life the way he wanted to. Here was a man who spoke what he believed in and never shied away from expressing his discomfort with a lot of happenings in the hospitality industry as well. He was outspoken and never settled for just anything.
An admirable quality of his was clearly the fact that he never cocooned himself in the stereotypes that exist around the chefs and the culinary world. He outrightly broke the notion that chefs are happy people, who are always seen smiling and posing with food. He only brought glamour to the culinary industry, although he didn’t even claim to be a great chef. I think it was his personality that spoke for the man.
I personally think that the manner in which he brought out the episode of his drug abuse in his book ‘Kitchen Confidential’ was very brave. He moved from the happy-go-lucky perception, and brought forth the dark side of his life too.
He was never scared of making statements that he thought were true, and was open about what he thought of chefs who were given demi-god status in television shows. I am an outspoken chef. I speak about issues other than my own industry and, in this regard, I relate to him a lot. He could draw the line between being a celebrity chef and being his own man and not give into the pre-conceived notions that exist.
His suicide, at this point in time, clearly is a shock. One can never understand what a man might be going through even though he may look happy from the outside. Among the others who I remember right now, another personality worth mention is Robin Williams. I think speaking to people and taking care of one’s mental health is necessary.
Anthony Bourdain’s death is an irreplaceable loss. He shall truly be remembered as someone who was effortlessly himself and brought originality to the table.
Manu Chandra is an Indian celebrity chef and the Bangalore chapter head of the National Restaurant Association of India, and partner-chef of Olive Bar & Kitchen.
As told by Chef Manu Chandra to ThePrint