And a very unlikely one at that. His reputation is of a hipster-punk anti-chef who became a foodie travel guide. Now, though, he has become something else -- something of a national treasure.
He rose to fame by writing about the gritty inner details of New York City restaurants. In Kitchen Confidential the tagline is "a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine." He attacked the pretensions of fine dining while clearly showing his love for food and his respect for the profession of food service.
He then moved on to a series of travel shows featuring exotic and adventurous locales with an emphasis on food. Over the past fifteen years, he has produced 284 episodes of A Cook's Tour, No Reservations, The Layover and Parts Unknown.
His shows have always been fascinating, but in recent years, they have taken on a sharply political, philosophical and spiritual edge. In 2006 in Beirut, his film crew was caught up in Israeli-Palestinian fighting. He has visited every popular tourist destination on all continents, and many that are far off the beaten path. His shows address conflict, political repression and poverty along with the sights and the food.
The quality of production has also progressed. Originally shown on the Travel Channel, Bourdain took full control of production after moving to CNN. Since then he has won 5 Emmy Awards, garnered 11 nominations for writing, sound
mixing, editing and cinematography, as well as a 2013 Peabody Award.
One of Bourdain's persistent messages is the value of travel, particularly for ethnocentric and uninformed Americans. He also emphasizes meeting ordinary people and learning about other ways of living. The United States is wealthy and powerful, but most citizens are profoundly ignorant of the outside world. Few speak any language apart from English. Many see the outside world through a lens of fear.
An example is Bourdain in Marseilles. Marseilles is the second largest city in France, on the south coast of France on the Mediterranean. It has a reputation for being dangerous, and is a melting pot of ethnic groups. There is much concern about a rapidly increasing Muslim population. Many people, even in France, advised Bourdain not to go there. His response -- 'sounds like the kind of place I will like.' One pleasant example from the Marseilles show is a dessert cheese tray - Bourdain finds pleasure in a cheese cart.
It turns out that Marseilles is beautiful and richly textured with cultural diversity, and as safe as any place one might travel given reasonable precaution. I am reminded of my own travel experience, primarily in Mexico. Almost every American who has little foreign travel experience 'knows' how dangerous Mexico is. Contradicting their beliefs with facts is usually a waste of time. Mexico will still be overrun by bandidos and cartels in their minds.
Travel by Living There
Bourdain's television shows have inspired me for years, but I have always been awed by his energy and ability to cope with the stresses of travel so well. I have begun to think of extended and distant travel in a different way -- that of a series of homes. I would like to visit Marseilles, Thailand, Kenya, and so on, and not stay in city hotels or resorts, but in small towns in pensiones or short-term apartment rental.
Costs are minimized when living on the local economy, and the opportunity to truly learn from travel is enhanced by closer contact with local people. Travel can yield many forms of personal growth; in fact, I believe many of America's international problems could be addressed by a more worldly citizenry.
I have learned many such lessons from Mexico. Families are closer, children and the elderly are highly valued, materialism is less rampant. People are more polite and generous. Stress is much less of a problem. It is not difficult to avoid the cartels and bandidos.
Where I live in the State of Michoacan, the cartels are in an isolated area called Tierra Caliente. Most people have no reason to go there. People I know who do go there (for example, the charming city of Tacambaro) have never been bothered.
We will be returning to Mexico in a few days. Instead of flying we will perambulate by car, that is, travel by a liesurely manner. We plan to drive drive six hours to New Orleans and stop for two days. Then another short drive to Galveston Island for another two day stop. Then a shot drive to South Padre Island and another two day stop. Then after crossing the border, a short drive to Ciudad Victoria, Mexico, and another stop further south in Iripuato to visit a friend. The final day will be a short drive to Patzcuaro.
In the Spring, we plan to do something similar in Europe. We plan to go to some combination of Italy, Spain, Portugal, as well as Marseilles. Throughout Europe, the distances are short, and public transportation is excellent. We hope to move through a travel itinerary by living in each place briefly.
An Aside
This blog post is the first public reference I have made to a blog titled Remembrances of Calamities Past which is essentially a memoir. I think of Bilbo Baggins writing about his adventures at Bag End in the Shire. I plan to write quite a few episodes -- I already have dozens of scraps of ideas that I now want to flesh out. Perhaps no one will care, but there are people close to me who will be interested.
I will include early family and developmental experiences as well as
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