Five books in honour of world class chef and TV host, the late Anthony Bourdain

I first met TV Chef, TV Travel Host, Author and culinary enfant terrible, Anthony Bourdain many years ago when I picked up his book off the shelf in a London bookshop. By now he was already a full blown celebrity chef occasioned by the book I had just picked up, Kitchen Confidential. Hilarious and full of dark humor, I read night and day about the culinary underbelly, the food industry, cooking, the suppliers, the story of his entrance into the trade and tales of failed cooking gigs, other chefs and the various layers of the food and cooking underworld. As a Foodie and Gastronome with my eyes set on a cooking book going forward, I was totally smitten by the many exciting facets of Anthony Bourdain’s colorful life without the drug stories of course.

News of his suicide three weeks ago left me numb and very sad. From his writings and CNN Travel food program, Parts Unknown in which he travelled the world and brought us culinary sights and tastes that were deeply felt culturally across the world, I had become familiar with his style, his audacity and the glorious moments of tasting, eating and community he brings through his Travel food show.

As a care giver myself with a bit of Educational psychology and an informal counselling portfolio, I have met many people struggling with what their purpose in life is, who are overwhelmed with the troubles of the world. I am saddened by Anthony Bourdain’s suicide as it is not the answer and leaves everyone devastated. You are loved, you are needed, don’t go that route. All those with people struggling with anxieties around them should provide support. It always helps when they know they are truly loved.

In honor of this man who has travelled to most parts of the world, interviewed amazing people including former U.S President Barrack Obama and brought us the unity that can only be found through food and given us joy and happiness from eating, I bring you five books to savor in celebration of one of the world’s most well-known chefs.

1) Appetites, A cookbook by Anthony Bourdain

A man of many appetites, this is Bourdain’s first cookbook in more than ten years. This book dedicated to his only child, his daughter and her friend boils down to his forty plus years of professional cooking and globe-trotting to a light repertoire of personal favorites. These are dishes that Bourdain believes everyone should at least be able to cook. This book is a book with heart, apart from his personal favorite meals, he also introduces us to his guests with professional efficiency. The result is a home cooking, home entertainment cookbook like no other. At the time of writing this book, aside his travels Bourdain had all but stopped cooking commercially and cooked mostly for family and friends, his favorite past time being cooking for his daughter. In his words, years of prep-lists and the hyper-organization necessary for a restaurant kitchen have caused him to transform into “an anally retentive, bad tempered Ina Garten.” Trust me, running a restaurant is not as easy as you think and while I love to cook, neither is cooking.

2) Medium Raw

A bloody valentine to the world of food and the people who cook. This is Bourdain’s second book and he chronicles the changes in the culinary world since Kitchen Confidential. He also tracks his strange unexpected voyage from journeyman cook to globe travelling professional eater and drinker. Bourdain’s Medium Raw contains subjects as varied as the world of powerful chefs, heroes and villains of the cooking world, with a few returning favorites and much about the restaurant business in post economic meltdown America. A worthy book in tribute.

3) A Cook’s Tour; Global Adventures in extreme cuisines was written in 2002 by Anthony Bourdain.

Described as a gonzo gastronome, Bourdain wrote this book inspired by the question, what could be the perfect meal? He sets out on a quest for his culinary holy grail and in the process turns the idea of perfection inside out. From California to Cambodia, A cook’s tour chronicles the unpredictable adventures of America’s boldest and bravest chef. Highly recommended.

4) Kitchen Confidential, by Anthony Bourdain.

This is the very first book I bought by the author before I became a huge fan of all things written and done by Bourdain. This book written in a racy style introduces us all to the professional culinary industry and all that goes on therein. The commercial kitchen is described as an intense, unpleasant and sometimes hazardous workplace staffed by what he describes as misfits mainly made up of brilliant immigrants. His description while true in some of the instances is fairly domesticated around the American cultural cooking ethos. This is as much a confessional narrative on how he became a chef, his drug filled days as it is an industry commentary. I read this book with uncommon speed for its edgy and movie like stories and for its education. He shows us the various tricks of the restaurateur and advices that we do not eat fish on a Monday in a restaurant as it might be left over from the weekend and may not be fresh or premium.

5) Why I wake early by Mary Oliver

The Nasty Bits: Collected varietal cuts, Usable trim, Scraps and Bones. This book by Bourdain has stories of bits and pieces of food and their use in different countries to make a meal. As a mum who understands that bits and pieces are often collected for cooking when you have run out of everything, I particularly enjoyed this book. This is Bourdain discussing scrounging for Eel in the back streets of Hanoi and confessing to Lobster-killing guilt. Unlike mum’s who collect smoke fish and tripe to make a delicious meal for the family from all that is left in the freezer or the Smokey kitchen basket, this book is a non-fiction collection of the MasterChef’s cooking misadventures around the world and how what you considered a waste or inedible is a meal, even a delicacy in another country. Awesome!