MOURNING BOURDAIN
Popular television personality found dead at 61
The suicide of American TV host and food writer Anthony Bourdain in France shocked the world Friday.
But it was especially hard on people who knew him, like celebrated Vancouver chef Vikram Vij.
Bourdain featured Vancouver in his show No Reservations in 2008, which brought the spotlight to local chefs Vij, Hidekazu Tojo and Pino Posteraro. Vij tweeted that Bourdain’s visit “changed our lives.”
“It’s the saddest day for me,” said Vij. “I’ve not only lost a friend, we’ve lost somebody who was bringing attention to the great cuisines of the world. That’s what we do as chefs. We are not doctors, we are not lawyers — we bring attention to our cuisines and our backgrounds. He was very good at doing it with No Reservations and Parts Unknown.”
Tojo said Bourdain “knew restaurants inside out,” and was honest in his appraisals.
“Everybody believes him because he’s straight, there’s no hiding money under the table,” said Tojo. “(After the Vancouver episode aired) people came (to Tojo’s) from all over — USA, England, China, Singapore, Japan, everywhere — because people see CNN.”
Vij kept in touch with Bourdain after the show.
“There was a project he was working on in New York and he wanted Vij’s to come there, he was doing a global cuisine kind of thing and he wanted Vij’s to be part of it, but it didn’t work out timing-wise,” he said. “Then when my memoir came out, I reached out to him to write a few words. Shortly afterwards he sent me a really nice blurb saying, ‘A terrific and deeply personal culinary journal from a great chef — Anthony Bourdain.’ ”
Vij said Bourdain saw himself as a storyteller.
“He used to say, ‘I’m not the greatest chef, Vikram, you are. You know what you’re doing in the kitchen, I’m just a great storyteller. My job is to tell your stories to the world.’ And that’s exactly what he did with the show, he was brilliant.”
He said Bourdain was a big believer in democracy, which showed in the way he went to “unknown parts of the world and brought out their stories.” He was also a lot of fun.
“He was here for like five or six days (when he did the Vancouver episode),” said Vij. “We did a dinner at that barbecue place (Memphis Blues). Vij’s was at 1480 West 11th Ave., and then we went over to Memphis Blues and hung out outside. I remember it was two in the morning, we were drinking and eating heavy-duty stuff at Memphis Blues and just standing outside, being chefs, crazy and loud and obnoxious and all that stuff.”
Longtime Vancouver Sun food writer Mia Stainsby interviewed Bourdain a couple of times, including in person at the Opus Hotel in Yaletown in 2006.
“I was surprised,” she said. “I thought he’d be very brash and a bit smart-alecky and a bit knowit-all, but he was none of that. He was kind-hearted and quite a gentleman. It was quite an intellectual interview, actually, he really appreciated that I talked to him about the culture of food and the world. I was really surprised, and impressed.”
Stainsby said Bourdain “democratized food for everyone and brought it down to a no-BS level.”
She said she felt very sad when she heard he had died.
“I have to say this really depressed me,” she said. “I really loved Kate Spade too, loved her stuff, and a few days later this. It’s kind of depressing. I think everyone’s feeling it, because he was kind of everywhere. Despite all his shenanigans, he was a really likable guy.”