CNN's Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown
Ever since a chef-friend put Kitchen Confidential into may hands 11 years ago, I have been a follower of Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain became popular with both front and back-of-the-house alike due to his candid descriptions of the gritty restaurant life. In the war of the restaurants-Bourdain is our commander in the trenches. Reminding us of our purpose, the irony of what we do and most importantly, hand-delivering us the pride we often feel has been cut away with complaining guests, bad management and hell-has-no-fury kitchen temperatures.
To say that I was thrilled to see Bourdain return to the television for CNN's Parts Unknown-is an understatement. While watching No Reservations on the Travel Channel, I quickly became wrapped up in the community and culture Bourdain created in those 45 minutes and still go back and replay favorite episodes to relive the beautiful scenery and the amazing dishes (and drink) that illuminated the screen. But upon the first episode of Parts Unknown: Myanmar-I realized what I really enjoyed about Bourdain's shows. Bourdain is a culture romantic and speaks in his narrative with such fascination and intrigue-the viewer cannot help themselves, but be drawn in as well. We find ourselves craving to eat with chopsticks on the floor and drinking the local-often too strong libations-to be closer and more connected to a world much bigger and full of experience than our own. Bourdain gives us a window with his geniune curiosity of places we never thought to go, food we never thought to try and a life we never thought to experience.
Tony, keep it up-we're all watching.
To say that I was thrilled to see Bourdain return to the television for CNN's Parts Unknown-is an understatement. While watching No Reservations on the Travel Channel, I quickly became wrapped up in the community and culture Bourdain created in those 45 minutes and still go back and replay favorite episodes to relive the beautiful scenery and the amazing dishes (and drink) that illuminated the screen. But upon the first episode of Parts Unknown: Myanmar-I realized what I really enjoyed about Bourdain's shows. Bourdain is a culture romantic and speaks in his narrative with such fascination and intrigue-the viewer cannot help themselves, but be drawn in as well. We find ourselves craving to eat with chopsticks on the floor and drinking the local-often too strong libations-to be closer and more connected to a world much bigger and full of experience than our own. Bourdain gives us a window with his geniune curiosity of places we never thought to go, food we never thought to try and a life we never thought to experience.
Tony, keep it up-we're all watching.
