Breaking news. Another high-profile suicide just days after Kate Spade.
Dang. Bourdain was really well-liked and had a career most people envied. Just goes to show that success is not a bulwark against depression.
R.I.P. Sad news.
Yeah, really bummed out. I was a fan since the very beginning. Sucks. I really didn’t think he would go out that way. Heroin OD, maybe. But not suicide.
Not just success-- he had the best job in the world, traveling around and eating. Just goes to show you, “get out of the house and do something” isn’t an antidote to depression.
This guy was cool… I liked his stuff.
Here is his original piece for the New Yorker, before he hit the mainstream. It’s a good article.
Man… I just watched an episode of Parts Unknown last night before bed and it was one of my favorite episodes.
Very sad.
We’ve been enjoying watching his shows that were collected on Netflix. Seemed like a great guy. RIP.
That is so sad. Wish he hadn’t done that and seeked more professional help if he hadn’t.
As I said to a friend on FB who posted, simply, “And now Bourdain? WTF is going on!” It is telling that my first thought was that this was a MeToo thing, which would be horrid because of how outspoken he’s been about it. It is weird that a sliver of me was relieved to find out it wasn’t that. And then the real part of my brain kicks in and I’m overwhelmed with sadness.
I happen to be reading one of his books right now. It’s called The Nasty Bits, and it’s basically a collection of his essays and articles. It’s not as good as a couple of his other books I’ve read, but I’m enjoying his voice.
The Iran and Beirut episodes of “No Reservations” were some of my favorite episodes of TV.
Fuck.
-xtien
The guy clearly had his demons. He was a heroin addict at one point, wasn’t he?
Suicide in our country is way up over the past 20 years, for some reason. I kind of expected Bourdain to end up going down that road.
Either way, it’s a sad thing. I always liked his writing and his show. He was genuinely interesting, and was good at telling a story.
Both heroin and cocaine, I believe.
-xtien
Bourdain is the first writer I think of when thinking about a writer having a “voice”. Everything he wrote was so obviously, identifiably by him, that it was like hearing him read aloud directly into your head.
He was also a huge booster for South East Asian cuisine, and likely played a significant role in what visibility it has in the US.
I kind of expected his body to just give out as a result of the abuse he put it through in the old days. I recall from various interviews that Bourdain himself remarked frequently on how he never expected to live as long as he did. While that was usually cast in the light of being grateful that he managed to turn his life around, I wonder if there was a dark edge to that thought as well that might have contributed to his thoughts of suicide: the idea that by all rights he should have died a long time ago.
Really bummed. Kitchen Confidential is a great read, if you haven’t picked it up already.
A shame. I’ve recommended Kitchen Confidential to many folks over the years as one of the most insightful books I’d ever read on the high-end issues of being a chef.
Really well put.
On a side note, I feel that way when I read David Sedaris.
-xtien
His daughter is like 11. Stupid, selfish thing to do. I’m mad at him. He always seemed like one of the good guys, a voice of reason in the world. Now that voice is gone.
Have they said how he killed himself? This seems so sudden and, yikes, an 11 year old daughter - something seems off.
Hey, you have no idea what was going on in his life and in his head. Be as mad as you want but how about skipping the judgment.
No, I’m pretty comfortable judging him for it.
Also he made one of his best friends, Eric Ripert, discover his corpse. He didn’t deserve that.
This.
Kate Spade had a teenage daughter as well. My first thought when people with kids decide to end their own lives is “I don’t care how bad you think things are for you, making that choice is a life sentence for your kid, and you are a colossal asshole for doing that to them”. I’ve known people who have suddenly lost a parent to a heart attack or a car accident, and it is a huge impact on them throughout their lives, but I’ve also known people who have lost a parent to suicide, and the impact of that is FAR more detrimental, because regardless of being completely blameless those people spend the rest of their lives grappling with the sense of guilt that comes from thinking “maybe I could have said/done something different and my mom/dad would still be alive”.
With that said, I am saddened by the news about Bourdain, and my deepest sympathy goes out to his family and friends. He was a true talent, someone who was able to transcend his obvious culinary skill and use his writing skills, wit and charm to bring so many of us non-chefs into the strange and interesting world of food and food preparation. RIP Anthony.