In honor of the first annual Bourdain Day we thought it apropos to share some thoughts from our own Chef Aran, who like so many of us was and continues to be touched by the loss of one of the world’s most special souls. Tony, your spirit and what you stood for is worth celebrating and we’re determined to honor your legacy at Plates.
It’s late in the evening on Friday, June 8, 2018. It has been a day filled with sadness and longing for our friend Anthony Bourdain, whose physical presence is no longer with us.
I say our friend, because he was just that. Most of us didn’t know him personally, but we felt like we did. He had a way about him that was truly unique. He had a gift of making others feel at ease, feel accepted, feel important, feel seen, feel special. He had an uncanny ability, to make us feel those things even through a screen. But most inspiring was his ability to make you want to live just like him. The positive effect on the world this had is unquantifiable.
The littlest things would give me chills while watching Anthony interact with the people that touched him and moved him during his travels. The simple exchange of smiles you knew where genuine and truly felt was enough to make you believe there was real hope in this world. Yes, there is war. Yes, there are atrocities every day, but look … just look how wonderful the world can be. Look and admire its beauty. Yes, we salivated, our stomachs and taste buds energized by his food experiences, but those moments he sat and listened at people’s tables from all walks of life, from every corner of this amazing world, those moments reminded us what humanity is or perhaps should be. Is there anything more beautiful, more human, than sharing a meal around a table with strangers from afar?
Anthony Bourdain spread the most eloquent and important of messages. We feel great sadness to have lost this Warrior for Good. If only his shows could make their way into a worldwide educational curriculum. I mean this seriously, for his defining lesson to us all is that this world is most certainly beautiful, and that beauty lies in how different we all are. And that beauty is absolutely best appreciated when shared and enjoyed by all—ideally around a table filled with delicious food, prepared with care, purpose, and love.
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