"Just because I like sushi, doesn't mean I can make sushi. I've come to well understand how many years just to get sushi rice correct. It's a discipline that takes years and years and years. So, I leave that to the experts."
About Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain — Life and Legacy
Anthony Bourdain was a chef, author, and television personality whose candid approach to food and travel reshaped culinary media. His book, 'Kitchen Confidential', revealed the gritty realities of restaurant life, earning him a devoted following. Bourdain's worldview was marked by a deep appreciation for culture and authenticity, often expressed through his memorable quotes. For instance, he famously stated, 'I don’t have to be a chef to be a cook', underscoring his belief that passion transcends formal titles. His insights challenged the elitism often found in the culinary world, advocating for a more inclusive appreciation of food. Bourdain's journey took him around the globe, where he explored the intersection of food, culture, and humanity. His quote, 'Travel changes you', reflects his understanding of how experiences shape our identities. Today, Bourdain's words continue to resonate, reminding us of the power of food and travel to connect us across boundaries.
Quote collection
Anthony Bourdain quotes (page 1 of 17)
337 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Don't dunk your nigiri in the soy sauce. Don't mix your wasabi in the soy sauce. If the rice is good, complement your sushi chef on the rice."
"your body is not a temple, it's an amusement park. Enjoy the ride."
"Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind."
"This is the dream of all the world. The dream is to live in Granada. You know, work in the morning, have a one-hour in the afternoon, at night go out and have that life. You know. Go out and see your friends and eat tapa and drink red wine and be in a beautiful place."
"I don't like to see animals in pain. That was very uncomfortable to me. I don't like factory farming. I'm not an advocate for the meat industry."
"The journey is part of the experience - an expression of the seriousness of one's intent. One doesn't take the A train to Mecca."
"It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance, seem to demand silence, like a love affair you can never talk about. For a while after, you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you’ve been and whats happened. In the end, you’re just happy you were there - with your eyes open - and lived to see it."
"Doing graphic novels is cool! It's fun! You get to write something, and then see it visually page by page, panel by panel, working with the artist, you get to see it fleshed out."
"I'm never a reliable narrator, unbiased or objective."
"I'm very proud of the Rome episode of 'No Reservations' because it violated all the conventional wisdom about making television. You're never, ever supposed to do a food or travel show in black and white."
"If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel – as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them – wherever you go."
"Anyone who doesn't have a great time in San Francisco is pretty much dead to me."
"Good food is very often, even most often, simple food."
"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit."
"I don't have much patience for people who are self-conscious about the act of eating, and it irritates me when someone denies themselves the pleasure of a bloody hunk of steak or a pungent French cheese because of some outdated nonsense about what's appropriate or attractive."
"If I'm an advocate for anything, it's to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else's shoes or at least eat their food, it's a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move."
"In America, there might be better gastronomic destinations than New Orleans, but there is no place more uniquely wonderful. ... With the best restaurants in New York, you'll find something similar to it in Paris or Copenhagen or Chicago. But there is no place like New Orleans. So it's a must-see city because there's no explaining it, no describing it. You can't compare it to anything. So, far and away New Orleans."
"I'd learned something... Food had power. It could inspire, astonish, shock, excite, delight and impress. It had the power to please me... and others. This was valuable information."
"Always was Morocco. And recently the country's leadership seems to have embraced it in all its ill-reputed glory. The days of predatory poets in search of literary inspiration and young flesh are probably over for good. Hippies can just as easily get their bong riffs in Portland or Peoria. But the good stuff, the real good stuff, the sounds and smells and the look of Tangier -- what you see and hear when you lean out the window and take it all in -- that's here to stay."