SynopsisAnthony Bourdain's appreciation for honest food and his impact was evident. He enjoyed simple dishes like vada pav, calling it the Bombay burger. Bourdain championed overlooked kitchen workers and their home food. His unexpected death in 2018 shocked many fans and colleagues. The article reflects on his legacy and the industry that grew around him.Remembering Anthony Bourdain Through His Radical HonestySeveral years ago, when I interviewed Anthony Bourdain, he signed my copy of Kitchen Confidential, his hugely successful, behind-the-scenes book about restaurants, with the words: “See you next time for a real Bombay experience!” But his tight schedule meant we couldn’t meet over a meal, as he would have preferred.Luckily, Bharat Chanda, The Economic Times’s photographer, brought along vada pav, which Bourdain happily chomped on. “This is amazing! I’m going to call it the Bombay burger,” he said.Bourdain was never all about fancy cooking, which was one reason he was furious when food critic Alan Richman gave a bad review to Les Halles, the restaurant Bourdain worked at for years. In an excoriating essay, he raged at Richman for only reviewing Les Halles because Bourdain had once worked there, saying it was like trying to “track down my old girlfriend from junior high — who I haven’t seen in years — sneak up behind her, and deliver a vicious sucker punch”.Bourdain knew he was a journey man chef, and he appreciated the real masters, but was also proud of being able to deliver honest, delicious food.This radical honesty was Bourdain’s signature, whether in cooking, writing, or the TV shows he started doing after realising that the success of Kitchen Confidential meant that he didn’t have to work in kitchens anymore. His writing was electric and the camera loved him, so these new careers were a success, but there was always a sense that he missed the frenzy of the kitchen.Bourdain had no illusions about the toll kitchens took, especially the abuse and addictions it encouraged. He was physically healthier and wealthier in his new life, and this was worth it for the daughter he adored. He also liked being able to write about the overlooked people behind fine dining, like the migrant workers who were line cooks and washers. Without their low-paid efforts, most restaurants wouldn’t function — and Bourdain could now showcase them by going to places like Mexico and Ecuador along with people he had once worked with to try their real home food.It seemed a good life, which was why his suicide in 2018 came as a huge shock. Afterwards, people wondered about the toll taken by constant travel. Even fans could be a problem, like when they tried to give him the drugs he had put behind him. He was trying to be calm, but they wanted the crazy cook of Kitchen Confidential. One wonders what he would have made of the Bourdain industry that has grown around him, with every part of his life monetised, like the film Tony, about his early years, which has just come out.It was all so far from the kitchen, where the chaos at least had a clear end: Cook, plate, next order.Perhaps this is why, if I could have ever taken him to eat, I would have called a favour from a chef and taken him back into a kitchen — to eat the staff meal. This is the meal the staff cook and eat for themselves, and is often given to a junior member to prepare. The emphasis is on cheap, but also tasty and nutritious, ideally using odds and ends left over from the main food preparation.Chef Anumitra Ghosh-Dastidar told me that pakoras of vegetable peelings were popular. Chef Gresham Fernandes said they loved fish heads, which are cooked across India but never make it to restaurant menus. Chef Alex Sanchez told me that when he first came to India, he tried to use the meal to get his staff to try new ingredients and techniques. “After a point, they came and asked if they could please just have dalchawal,” he recalled ruefully.Bourdain could be rude about vegetarians, but he also told me that India was one place where he could eat vegetarian food for days. I think he would have been happy to have a dish of dal-chawal in a kitchen.Bourdain could be rude about vegetarians, but he said India was one place where he could eat vegetarian food for days.Read More News on...morelessRead More News on...moreless