The world woke up to the heartbreaking news that Anthony Bourdain took his life earlier this month at the age of 61. If you're a documentary addict like me, his CNN show "Parts Unknown" (yes, it's on Netflix!) is essential viewing. Or if you're a gastronomer unlike me, then you know his name as much as you do Gordon Ramsay or Wolfgang Puck.
Anthony Bourdain's sudden death perhaps leaves a big hole in the hearts of those who admired him the most. I happen to be one of those people. Because what made "Parts Unknown" so different from other documentary series that I've watched is that Bourdain is a brilliant storyteller that is able to talk about topics that mainstream media won't cover. Take the episode when he went to Gaza, where he reflected on the friendliness he received while visiting the Palestinian people:
I was enormously grateful for the response from Palestinians in particular for doing what seemed to me an ordinary thing, something we do all the time: show regular people doing everyday things, cooking and enjoying meals, playing with their children, talking about their lives, their hopes and dreams.
It is a measure I guess of how twisted and shallow our depiction of a people is that these images come as a shock to so many. The world has visited many terrible things on the Palestinian people, none more shameful than robbing them of their basic humanity.
And perhaps this episode alone could explain why I admire Anthony Bourdain so much. In a world where we are trained to see some people in a certain light, Bourdain made us see that there is something else that unites us other than blood: food. Throughout "Parts Unknown", Bourdain sits at the kitchen tables, goes to local markets, and learns the tools of the trade of wherever he is, and in the process you see the basic humanity of every region he visits. Moreover, he saw other cultures as respectable, not to be sensationalized as "exotic" and "whitewashed" in the process.
This is what he meant to do when he visited Gaza and countless other places around the globe.
Although he is tragically no longer with us, Anthony Bourdain's main punchline is this: step out of your comfort zone. Cross the other side of the tracks. Sit down and enjoy a plate of whatever you're having. Because after all, we often claim to love food so much, right? So, why not do just that and realize that food is something we can all enjoy?
