Indian American celebrity chef, restaurateur, cookbook writer and filmmaker Vikas Khanna shares his thoughts on Anthony Bourdain, the famous food writer and TV host, who was found dead in a hotel room in France on Friday.
I have met Chef Bourdain many times, and every time I realised how intelligent he was - passionate, straight forward and a risk-taker. It could be from the way he ran his NY kitchen, to Kitchen Confidential to TV shows like Parts Unknown. I have always admired him for reincarnating himself again and again.
When Chef Bourdain was visiting India in the summer of 2014, he had asked me for recommendations and also asked me to join him during his Punjab shoot with CNN. I had promised to show him my hometown, Amritsar, and even shortlisted my favourite places. And then I felt terrible to inform the team that due to my NY schedules and commitments, I could not make it. But, I did recipes later when the CNN show was aired.
I had cooked for him at Purnima (Indian/Bangladeshi restaurant in New York) for a mango-tasting menu in 2006 and before that during a session at Rubin Museum. One thing that I would never forget about him was that when I told him that I was creating Holy Kitchens (a film series on religions and the connect with food) and also working on UTSAV (a culinary epic book on Indian festivals), he instantly said: “Keep pushing the limits.”
Today, I have run out of words to describe this loss for the culinary world and of a person who brought the world into our homes. I will always remember him for asking me the secret of Amritsari kulchas. Also, he loved the power of authentic Indian food.
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Before his visit to India, Chef Bourdain was extremely dismissive about vegetarian cuisine and many times said that it was like a side dish. But, I remember when I was doing recipes for him for Eatocracy, for the CNN show Parts Unknown, it was specially mentioned that he had fallen in love with vegetarian food, Punjab and the langars had given him a new perspective on vegetarian cuisines. My black chickpea recipe (channe), which was one of the five recipes that I had cooked for the show from my book on Amritsari cuisine, was mentioned as his favourite. I had never spoken to him about this, but I heard that the meals in India truly inspired him towards vegetarian cuisines.
Anthony Bourdain: The Chef Who Courted Controversy
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The culinary world - and others included - sunk into collective depression on Friday after news broke of Anthony Bourdain's death. The celebrity chef was in France working on an upcoming episode of his CNN series. His friend, French chef Eric Ripert, found him unresponsive in his hotel room on Friday morning.
The culinary world - and others included - sunk into collective depression on Friday after news broke of Anthony Bourdain's death. The celebrity chef was in France working on an upcoming episode of h..
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Bourdain, seen here in pic with Italian actor and director Asia Argento for the Women In The World Summit in New York earlier in April this year, had a chequered journey.
His walk of fame began in 2000 with the publication of “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.” Years of hard work in kitchens around Manhattan, and as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, finally paid off. The best-seller was hailed by critics for its witty, energetically written look behind-the-scenes of the restaurant industry. The book expanded on a 1999 New Yorker article that he had sent to The New Yorker about the underbelly of the restaurant world and its deceptions.
Bourdain, seen here in pic with Italian actor and director Asia Argento for the Women In The World Summit in New York earlier in April this year, had a chequered journey. His walk of fame began in 20..
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Bourdain followed up his literary success into a gig with Food Network hosting “A Cook’s Tour.” This happened to be his breakout moment with Bourdain’s signature programming approach — it followed the chef with the hangdog look, slightly hungover to exotic ports of call, trying out local cuisine and giving a sneak peek into foreign cultures.
He repeated the concept on the Travel Channel’s “No Reservations” and “The Layover”, both successful shows that aired from 2005 to 2013.
Bourdain followed up his literary success into a gig with Food Network hosting “A Cook’s Tour.” This happened to be his breakout moment with Bourdain’s signature programming approach — it followed th..
Read More
Anthony Bourdain seen here with the outstanding informational series or special award for 'Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown' backstage at the 2015 Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. As part of the show, Bourdain ate grilled pork and noodles with President Barack Obama in Hanoi, examined the legacy of apartheid in Johannesburg, dug into pig ear sandwiches in the Mississippi Delta, and experienced the harvest festival, Gawai Dayak, in Borneo. It was in Borneo that Bourdain was asked and complied with a request from villagers to plunge a spear into the heart of a pig!
Anthony Bourdain seen here with the outstanding informational series or special award for 'Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown' backstage at the 2015 Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. As part of t..
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Bourdain was never too far from controversies. Apart from being admonished by some for cultural invasion, he was recently declared "persona non grata for his disrespect of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty." The Foreign Ministry spokesman of Azerbaijan told Agence France-Presse. "Filming a food show on Azerbaijan's occupied territory is an insult to one million Azerbaijani refugees who were forcefully expelled from their homes."
Bourdain was never too far from controversies. Apart from being admonished by some for cultural invasion, he was recently declared "persona non grata for his disrespect of Azerbaijan's territorial in..
