R.I.P., Anthony Bourdain! (Obits, videos and my favorite quotes)

Anthony Bourdain at the 73rd Annual Peabody Awards (Author: Peabody Awards / This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)

None of the most recent deaths saddened me as much as Anthony Bourdain’s. He was my favorite non-fiction writer and travel show host. I enjoyed his enthusiasm, his humor, his opinionedness and the resulting rants, his love for food and its creators, his curiosity about the culture of the countries he visited, and the empathy and respect he showed towards his interviewees. I’ll miss him.

I first became aware of him in 2000 when he published his powerful book „Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly“ which made me think of him as the Hunter S. Thompson of culinary writing (although Tony probably was more truthful and benevolent). Since then, I have read all of his books and watched pretty much all of his shows.

In celebration of his extraordinary and inspiring talent, I have collected some of the most touching obits and, as a result of regular binge-watching, my favorite Tony quotes (accompanied by videos).

Obits

“Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.” This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him. pic.twitter.com/orEXIaEMZM

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 8, 2018

A brief remembrance of the insatiable, indelible, irreplaceable @bourdain. I'll miss him. https://t.co/2R8stLplJO

— Patrick Radden Keefe (@praddenkeefe) June 8, 2018