No Reservations in Parts Unknown

"Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund."~Anthony Bourdain

We lost an adventurous spirit this year when we lost Anthony Bourdain. The chef, foodie, writer, world traveler and advocate tragically passed in June and will be deeply missed especially by those who traveled vicariously through him, those who admired and even those who wanted to walk the path of the charismatic chef/author turned TV personality. I once had my own dreams of writing about food and travel before deferred dreams became a roadblock for me.

"Oh well," I would say to myself with resignation, "At least my friend Anthony will take me on his adventures."

Now he is gone and I, like many, have to turn to what he left behind for comfort. Maybe I might just dust off those old dreams and breathe new life into them. Maybe. I'll still let Anthony Bourdain be my guide, as his life and experiences are well documented. He also tried his hand at a number of genres, all pertaining to food in some way. I am also comforted by the fact that my library has an extensive Anthony Bourdain collection. Bidding farewell to the both charming and sometimes crude, but always humorous bon vivant through morsels of media will be bittersweet, indeed.

Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook  Ah, French Cuisine! You have not mastered the Culinary Arts until you've mastered one French dish. This is Bourdain's cookbook from his time as Executive Chef at Les Halles Restaurant in New York. 

Kitchen Confidential The book that put him on the map and not for the faint of heart. The chef shares stories from his kitchen with both humor and vulgarity. 

No Reservations The Travel Channel hit TV show where Bourdain took us around the world and shared meals with various cultures in remote areas most of us might never see.   

No Reservations I couldn't get enough No Reservations. This is a beautiful pictorial and travel journal from some of his experiences on the show. 

Medium Raw More gossip about the food industry, the Food Network and notes on the chef's life and experiences of the time. 

The Nasty Bits A collection of essays from the chef on his foodie world and everything in between.  

A Cook's Tour  The chef goes on a journey in search of the perfect meal and even more adventures with far-flung locales and dangerous meals. It inspired his show on the Food Network. 

Bone in the Throat In 1995, Chef made his foray into fiction with a mystery filled with high-hilarity crime, mayhem and of course, food. 

Gone Bamboo  Another New York Times Best-selling thriller written by Bourdain, following Bone in the Throat

Typhoid Mary The chef turned to non-fiction and wrote about Mary Mallon, who was a carrier of Typhoid Fever during the epidemic in the early 1900's.

For the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, call 1-800-273-8255. It is available 24 hours everyday. If you or someone you know is having a tough time, please do not hesitate to call this number or pass it on.