Dear Mr. Bourdain,
I am saddened by the news of your passing. I never knew you personally; I ,like many readers around the world, got to experience your quirky humor solely through your writing. Or maybe through your show. I can say without a doubt that you have left an vacuous space in both our hearts and our industry.
Watching first hand as news spread through my kitchen today, the mad dash to stutter out, "Alexa, give me the news!" The night crew moping in at 2 pm, spirits in tatters, everyone trading favorite quotes. As one of my saute cooks put it, " You definitely took the glamour out of cooking and rubbed in around in the dirt until in was back to its roots and perfect form." Kitchen Confidential grabbed a hold of us in a time where we, as a nation where falling in love with pretty chefs in clean white jackets. Television audiences and glittering stainless steel and polished copper were all we saw. You reminded us of the prehistoric miasma in which culinary arts in America derived. We were not all wearing makeup. We all did not have $500 chef jackets. Most of us are covered in a battle torn patchwork of scars and tattoos. The reason our favorite chef on the cover of our favorite magazine is covered in tattoos is YOU MAN.
Now I guess you teaches us a final lesson. Mental Illness doesn't mean crazy. It isn't talking to yourself or seeing cartoon whatsits that flit around and help you solve crimes. It isn't any of that shit you see on tv. Its real and it kills. Depression can hit anyone, anywhere. We live in a world where everything is connected yet we have never been so far away from each other. I dont pretend to know what you were thinking. I just wish you had talked to someone instead. We can let our thoughts get away from us and sometimes it feels like the end of the world. I will miss your voice among ours and hope for the generations you will inspire. Good Bye Mr. Bourdain.
Love,
Ian
