The Inspiration of Anthony Bourdain
What the chef taught me about living life with no reservations
One of my first great food memories comes from a trip my family took to Normandy when I was six years old. We hadn’t been sitting for two minutes when I announced to my parents, “I want the escargot.”
Dad: “You know that’s snails?”
Six-year-old me: “Yes! We just learned about them in French class, and I want the escargot!”
My parents went along, although I’m sure they expected I’d take a few bites out of stubbornness, then subtly push the dish of garlic and butter and earthy mollusk aside, hoping no one would call out my misplaced courage.
Actually, though, I ate every snail, then mopped up every bit of briny, herby garlic butter left behind. I still think about those snails and about how excited and proud I was to love them so much.
A decade after those snails, I sat on the living room couch with my dad and watched an episode of No Reservations, Anthony Bourdain’s first food travel show. I, like millions of others, was drawn to the irreverent reverence with which he seemed to approach every food he tried, to his eagerness to try anything, and to his ability to narrate the stories of different foods, cooks, and cultures in an unpretentious way that let…
