PATHS UNKNOWN WITH LAURIE WOOLEVER

ANTHONY BOURDAIN’S LIEUTENANT ON CO-AUTHORING A BOOK WITH HIM AFTER HIS DEATH, THE TONY LEGACY, AND SPONTANEITY V/S PREPARATION IN TRAVEL

- PRANNAY PATHAK

For someone who has been a close associate of world traveller extraordinaire Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever has a no-fuss travel philosophy. She swears by his formula of treading the line between spontaneity and preparedness. Follow the U.S. military motto, ‘Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance,’ but also adapt if you meet jammed streets, closed borders, and inclement weather. She also says something called the “Serenity Prayer,” devised by Reinhold Niebuhr: “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

Anyone who has watched their share of travel and food TV in the past decade will have scant trouble rattling off the crème de la crème of the genre, and the late Bourdain almost always tops the list. Three years after the widely-adored chef, writer, and TV personality died by suicide, we reached out to Woolever, his assistant and editor, better known as his lieutenant and gatekeeper—a person who shared Tony’s scooter seat through narrow Vietnamese lanes when the cameras were off. World Travel: An Irreverent Guide came out earlier this year, a book Tony began and Laurie completed, composed of Bourdain’s commentary as heard on his television shows, trivia and tips on travel, along with heartfelt pieces by the man’s close confidants.

What is it that you exactly did as his lieutenant or gatekeeper when Tony was making those shows?