Exploring the world Tony style

The world is slowing opening up to travel again. Perhaps you may want to explore World Travel – the irreverent way Anthony Bourdain did! Ruth Dsouza Prabhu writes.

Sometimes, the life and work of an individual you don’t know personally but follow intently can impact you unlike anything else. Anthony Bourdain was one such person. When he passed on June 8th 2018, the outpouring of grief across the world was something very few people of his stature could imagine leaving in their wake. His larger than life presence, even if just on screen for most fans across the world, resonated deeply. In 2019, Anthony Bourdain Day was announced by Jose Andres and Eric Ripert, close friends of Tony. It was to be celebrated from June 25th, his first death anniversary. Since then, it has been celebrated with tributes that come from the heart and from across the globe.

When Bourdain passed in 2018, he was traveling the world for what unfortunately became his last book, released long after his demise. The work was carried on by his long-time assistant Laurie Woolever, a well-known food writer, journalist and chef in her own right. The outline was based on an hour long discussion on it that Laurie recorded as part of the project, this being the second book she co-wrote with him. World Travel – An Irreverent Guide covers 43 countries, many of which Bourdain was revisiting, having covered most in his shows No Reservations and Parts Unknown. Each country is marked with notes on how to get there, where to stay and key food experiences to explore.

Right at the beginning, the author makes it clear that the book is not meant to be exhaustive, nor should it be treated as the ultimate guide to visit the place. Locations, pricing and even specials, are all subject to change. On that note, I got ready to dive into the book, beginning my journey in Argentina, and ending, very nostalgically in Vietnam. Every chapter begins like a guide and you are forgiven for skipping straight to the parts that talk about the food. It takes a little time to get into the rhythm of reading the book, but once you spot that signature Tony-speak highlighted, you will smile as you turn each page.

When I say Tony-speak, you can almost hear it when in Argentina, at the Bodegon Don Carlos while indulging in a ‘miasma of meats’, he observes that “many parts of once living things sizzle and char for the pleasure of those Portenos who remain in town”. Or how he found the best of Sichuan cooking outside of China in Melbourne at Dainty Sichuan where, “you could smell it right at the door: The peppers of Sichuan cooking. There’s a reason the legends persist of Sichuanese cooks spiking their dishes with opium…” he says speaking of its addictive nature.
The brilliant thing about Anthony was his ability to completely dismiss an opinion he had formulated about the food of a place to replace it with a new experience that helped him realize otherwise. At Naschmarkt in Vienna, a country’s food that Bourdain self-admittedly was dismissive about, Tony was introduced to Urbanek, a wonderland of pork. “Rarely”, he is quoted in the book “have I seen so much good stuff in one tiny, tiny place”.

We traverse 43 countries and their food experiences in this way. In addition to Tony’s words, Laurie has worked on bringing in essays from his friends, family and colleagues. You will read about what it was like traveling with Tony from his brother Chris. Music producer Steve Albini takes you through Chicago’s best cheap eats and across the book, you will see some brilliant illustrations by Wesley Allsbrook.

The book ends in Vietnam and considering it is a country that usually features on the top of travellers’ lists, I will leave reading this part to you. But the reason it evoked so much nostalgia for me is because for close to six years, I would use the coffee drinking experience in a Vietnamese market that Anthony wrote in his book, A Cook’s Tour – to explain to students in my food writing workshop, just how words can evoke emotions and experiences of a dish or drink. Closing World Travel after I read the last page brought back the memories of reading out the passage and the cold coffees my students and I invariably headed out for at the end of the class – a tribute to the inimitable Anthony Bourdain.

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