From Addict to Ace: A Legacy Left by Anthony Bourdain
Having known a little about Anthony Bourdain prior, I found Anna’s blog post describing her thought process in picking him for her presentation intriguing. The extent of which I know Bourdain’s story is relatively little, but apt. Being from Hawai’i, we tend to know many public figures by their interactions with our land and what relationship they have with our state as a whole. I remember when Bourdain died, many of his journal entries during his time in Hawai’i, exploring the culture and cuisine, were circulated on social media in his memory. I remember reading his words, how heartfelt and genuine they were as if each entry were a love letter to our beloved state — far unlike most who visit is for more superficial reasons. Bourdain made a conscious effort to immerse himself and for that I respect him.
I quite liked Anna’s blog post and how it was structured almost as a eulogy, but not morbidly so. It sounded like a foreword to his actual biography, the one sitting proudly on display at the local Barnes & Noble I worked at. I remember interviewing every person who picked up a copy, and to say that the reviews were glowing is an understatement. I wouldn’t have been the least bit surprised if Anna’s blog post was just beneath the full-color, hard-covered tribute to his memory and life. Her admiration is clearly set forth in describing his journey from addiction to fame, two very different narratives that are often separate occurrences, not consecutive. Anna’s writing is appropriately colloquial and not at all pretentious — it’s just clear that she thinks this guy is the real deal. She writes that “the true distinguishing factor of Bourdain amongst well-known culinary icons is his no-bullshit mode of storytelling, and he’s damn good at it” and that “he still made us fall in love with food, but not without the truth.”
While Bourdain was certainly a man loved by many for his several contributions to the world, both culinarily and culturally, Anna somehow finds a way to concisely give us the CliffNotes version with double the passion and gusto. If someone didn’t know who Bourdain was before reading her post, they sure as hell do now and can’t get enough — the same way she can’t.
