What Anthony Bourdain Was Like Off-Camera According To His Assistant

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During his life, Anthony Bourdain was a constant presence on television screens, known best for his "Parts Unknown" and "No Reservations" shows. Many consider him more than a television personality — a genuine and resonant voice in the food world. It's easy to project expectations onto celebrities, but many fans wonder if Bourdain was the same honest and curious person when the cameras weren't rolling.

Bourdain's former assistant and co-writer, Laurie Woolever, wrote about her experience working with him in a piece for Food & Wine, painting a complex portrait of a man who is now seen as an icon of culinary authenticity. However, according to Woolever, Bourdain wasn't always on the hunt for authenticity. She commented, "There persists a myth about Tony that, whenever he was hungry — and in this myth, he was always hungry — he would, without fail, seek out the best, most 'authentic,' most intense, most attention-seeking dish, anywhere he was in the world."

Bourdain wasn't always fixated on the idea of keeping his travels culturally faithful. In fact, one day after filming in Jaffna, Sri Lanka, during the Madai Festival, Bourdain chose to get some KFC with his crew rather than immerse himself in the festivities. This does not mean, though, that he was averse to exploration. Woolever notes that instead, he was happy to share stories from the road (not to mention the chicken and biscuits) with his crew on their hotel's rooftop. He had also pulled a similar stunt in Louisiana, grabbing fried chicken from Popeyes after spending weeks in Hong Kong's food scene.

Anthony Bourdain understood that food was more than a source of novelty or a means of adventure. Rather, he knew that food brought people together. This view of Bourdain and his work is shared by Tom Vitale, a director and producer who worked with Bourdain. As Vitale noted in a piece written for Newsweek, "[Bourdain] understood that the simple act of sharing a meal with somebody, listening to what they had to say, and being open-minded was in such short supply." 

A complex understanding of food and its social, emotional, and cultural impact is what made, and still makes, Bourdain's work so impactful. A meal is more than just the food on the plate — it's the people at the table, sharing an experience. This ethos extended to Bourdain's love for the movie "Ratatouille," a film that centered on the culinary passion of a Parisian rat. It inspired him to begin cooking with his daughter and include a recipe for Ratatouille in his 2016 book, "Appetites." 

Bourdain also had an unconventional preference for cardboard-tinted coffee — a result of years spent grabbing paper cups of joe in his home of New York City. These moments speak to his understanding of food as an emotional experience that ties someone to their past, themselves, and the people around them.