Anthony Bourdain: famous culinary specialist, writer and TV presenter

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:46

People who have achieved success in life always arouse the interest of others. And a person who combines the talent of a cook, writer and TV presenter is simply doomed to popularity. Anthony Bourdain is such a multifaceted personality.

Reckless youth

Tony was born in New York in June 1956. Soon the boy's family moved to New Jersey.

Anthony was a difficult teenager, often showing his rebellious temper. At the age of eighteen, he became addicted to light, and then hard drugs. Sometimes he had to sell things in order to buy another dose from the dealer. In those years, no one would have been able to consider a future respectable businessman in a careless young man.

Thorny path to the world of haute cuisine

The constant lack of money forced Anthony to get a job as a dishwasher in one of the restaurants in Provincetown. This event was the beginning of his career.

Going to work for the first time, Anthony imagined the cooks as pampered sissies, plattering lettuce leaves and garnishing cakes with whipped cream. Reality shocked him. Brutal men worked in the kitchen, rude andself-confident, hung with knives resembling daggers. They smoked strong tobacco, could swear in several languages, and were popular with beautiful women.

The kitchen was like a small state, where their own harsh laws reigned. Unexpectedly for himself, Anthony Bourdain realized that he wanted to be part of this world. After a while, he himself enjoyed dressing salads with mayonnaise, decorating champagne glasses with whipped cream and learning the basics of culinary art.

Soon, the institution where Tony worked was bought by competitors. The young man understood that he was not yet ready to work in a gourmet restaurant side by side with professional chefs. In 1978, Bourdain entered the American Institute of Culinary Arts.

When a smart manager is more important than a talented chef

During the years of study, Anthony Bourdain not only became a skilled culinary specialist, but also gained strength of character. The mechanical work of slicing vegetables and frying meat did not interest him.

Together with his classmates and friend Dimitri, Tony opens a banqueting company. Here, no one limited the imagination of two talented chefs. They offered guests exquisite and unusually decorated dishes. What is worth only a Chinese Wall made from ten varieties of cheese or the face of Mona Lisa from mustard seeds, asparagus and basil leaves laid out on lemon jelly.

But Tony and Dimitri's ambitions were not limited to serving corporate parties. When their academy friend, to whom we althy parents gave their restaurant, said thatlooking for good cooks, the guys immediately agreed. A new menu was developed, which included the best and most original recipes. Unfortunately, a small number of guests and the lack of a competent management strategy for business development led the institution to bankruptcy.

It was then that Anthony realized that the prosperity of a restaurant depends not only on the chef, but on the owner's ability to understand taxes, advertising, accounting and other intricacies of doing business.

In 1998, after going through many difficulties, having experienced ups and downs, euphoria and despair, Anthony Bourdain becomes a chef in one of the elite establishments in New York. A few years later, he opens his first restaurant of his own.

Recognition of readers and hatred of colleagues

Bourdain became widely known for the book "Secrets of the Kitchen", released in 2000. In it, Tony reveals to the reader all the secrets used by chefs in many restaurants. For example, he talks about the fact that half of the dishes offered are made from the remnants of yesterday's food, or that an unsuccessfully prepared dish is hidden under an abundance of sauce.

Many eminent chefs, having read "Secrets of the Kitchen", told Anthony that he made a big mistake, daring to wash dirty linen in public. Less sensitive colleagues accused Bourdain of meanness and betrayal of the profession.

Readers really liked this work, written in the original author's style. Anthony Bourdain's next book, In Search of the Perfect Food, became a real bestseller. Eachthe creation of a famous chef found its reader. In total, Bourdain wrote more than 10 books.

Television shows about cuisines of the world

Since 2005, Bourdain has appeared frequently on television. He takes part in many programs dedicated to cooking. The show, in which Bourdain traveled the world and introduced viewers to the peculiarities of the cuisines of different countries, was a huge success. Anthony has always tasted the exotic dishes offered by the locals himself. In front of astonished TV viewers, he ate fried ants in Mexico and cobra heart in Vietnam.

In 2011 director Tom Vitale filmed the documentary series "Transplant" starring Anthony Bourdain. A famous chef goes to some city in America, Europe or Asia every week. Bourdain introduces viewers not only to cuisine, but also to the culture and traditions of different countries.

Restaurants in New York, London and Paris, writing books, participating in TV shows give Anthony not only great pleasure, but also bring a very good income. His net worth is estimated at $9 million.