Anthony Bourdain (1956-2018)

The Peak pays tribute to the culinary world’s prolific, if acerbic, writer and journeyman. There was a reason why he was well-loved.

We say goodbye to the culinary world’s prolific writer and journeyman. Anthony Bourdain’s gonzo, take-no-prisoners approach to food writing earned him the respect and admiration of fans around the world. Equally at ease with presidents and regular Joes, it is easy to see why he was loved—his candour and courage always came first and this you could glean from his oeuvre of television programs, interviews, books and articles. It is an impressive body of work that very quickly evolved from just a regular tv show about food and travel, becoming more Hunter S. Thompson-esque socio-political observations of the country he was visiting and, more importantly, its people.

What endeared Bourdain to everyone, young and old, was his unique ability to listen and empathise with those he encountered despite his reputation for not suffering fools gladly. He was good at demystifying, never fetishising the more remote parts of the world he travelled or reducing them to pure exoticism, understanding that its inhabitants were trying to eke out an existence as best they could.