15 Advice Pieces From Anthony Bourdain

Moving through life and the world changes you a bit. You leave marks, small ones. Life and travel leave marks on you too. Most marks—on your body or heart—are beautiful.

Parts UnknownSeason two, episode four

Your body is not a temple; it is an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

If I have advice for anyone, a final thought for anyone, I tell them to move. Go as far as you can, as much as you can. Cross the ocean, or just across the river. Being able to walk in someone else's shoes—or at least eat their food—helps everyone. Open your mind. Get off the couch. Move.

No ReservationsSeason nine, episode 10

In times of doubt and unpleasantness, when everything seems set to become chaos, having friends helps. It helps especially when those friends can cook.

"Under Over Sideways Down," Medium

Seeing and experiencing more places makes me realize the world is bigger. Knowing more makes me see how little I actually know. I see how many places I still need to visit. I see how much more there is to learn. Maybe that knowledge is enough—knowing the mind has no final spot, no moment of clear understanding. Wisdom, for me, means seeing how small and unwise I am, and how much more there is to go.

No ReservationsSeason one, episode 13

#AnthonyBourdainHe passed away two years ago today.

I always enjoyed watching his perfect description of Waffle House.pic.twitter.com/lWdtoVQZ0W

Waffle House is a marvelous, irony-free zone. Everything is beautiful, and nothing hurts there. Everyone is welcome, no matter race, creed, color, or how drunk they are. The warm, yellow light acts as a beacon of hope and salvation, inviting hungry people, lost people, and seriously drunk people across the South inside. It is a place of safety and food. It never closes. It is always faithful, always there for you.

The tour is punishing. The frantic speed needed to see the sights keeps you boxed in, stopping magic from happening. Nothing surprising or wonderful will likely occur if you have a Paris itinerary packed with the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower.

"All the Things You're Doing Wrong When You Travel, According To Anthony Bourdain," Money

In America, the professional kitchen is the last place for outsiders. It lets people with bad pasts find a new family there.

"Don't Eat Before Reading This," The New Yorker

I favor winging it. You never find a perfect city trip or meal without trying a bad one. Letting happy accidents happen is what many travel plans miss. I push people to allow those things, not stick to rigid schedules.

Anthony Bourdain in '15 Advice Pieces From Anthony Bourdain'.

I set aside my rage. After years of treating line cooks badly, abusing waiters, and bullying dishwashers, it is bad and counterproductive to make people feel stupid for working hard for me.

Anthony Bourdain said, 'I put aside my psychotic rage, after many years being awful to cooks.'The Guardian.

Food might not solve world peace, but it starts something.

A 2016 interview with.PBS NewsHour.

Learn how to cook a f***ing omelet. Making breakfast is a nice thing for someone. You look good doing it, and it helps someone you just made love with. This is good for the world. It is good overall. Making an omelet shows your character.

Bourdain's tip for men, celebrity-chef-hating and vegan 'self-indulgence.'Playboy.

As a dishwasher, I learned every important lesson I needed later in life. That was the first time I respected myself at home.

A 2016 interview with.PBS NewsHour.

Meals shape society. They hold things together in ways that were charming and intoxicating to me. The perfect meal, or best meals, happen outside the food itself.

Anthony Bourdain said, 'On tour with the guerrilla gourmet.'BookPage.

Is being smart better than being a fool? The answer seems simple. Who wants to be a fool? We are happy fools for love sometimes. There is no other way. Leaping into another person needs you to suspend disbelief—deny statistics, evidence, and common sense. We do this all the time. Popular music history shows we like it that way. Who wants a 'sensible' relationship?

Should we stop aiming for sensible choices? Is what is good now not always the 'best' path? Living by what is right now and keeping things smooth for me and mine, good business, no problems—that shopkeeper attitude brought the world into trouble.

So, just f**k sensible.

The Right Thing.Medium.