Anthony Bourdain

Personal Philosophy

Biography

Bourdain was born in New York City but grew up in Leonia, New Jersey. Bourdain has French ancestry on his father's side; his paternal grandfather immigrated to New York from France following World War I. Bourdain attended Vassar College, and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978. Currently, Bourdain is honorary Chef-at-Large of Brasserie Les Halles, where he held the title of executive chef for nearly a decade. When he is not traveling, Bourdain lives in Manhattan.

Bourdain married his highschool girlfriend, Nancy Putkoski, in the 1980s, and they remained together for two decades before divorcing; Bourdain has cited the irrevocable changes that come from traveling widely as the cause of the split. He currently lives with his second wife, Ottavia Busia. Together, they have one daughter, Ariane, born on April 9, 2007; the couple were wed on April 20, 2007.

Awards

Bourdain was named Food Writer of the Year in 2001 by Bon Appétit magazine, for Kitchen Confidential.

A Cook's Tour was named Food Book of the Year in 2002 by the British Guild of Food Writers.

The Beirut episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, which documented the experiences of Bourdain and his crew during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Programming in 2007.

Bourdain's blog for the reality competition show Top Chef was nominated for a Webby Award for best Blog – Culture / Personal in 2008.

Education

In Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain describes how his love of food was kindled in France—when he tried his first oyster on an oyster fisherman's boat as a youth while on a family vacation. Later, while attending Vassar College, he worked in the seafood restaurants of Provincetown, Massachusetts, which sparked his decision to pursue cooking as a career. Bourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978, and went on to run various restaurant kitchens in New York City—including the Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue, and Sullivan's—culminating in the position of executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles beginning in 1998. Brasserie Les Halles is based in Manhattan, with additional locations in Miami and, at the time of Bourdain's tenure, Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, Japan.