With Bourdain in Thailand

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From CNN

Tattoos, karaoke and a touch of film noir: What it was like to work with Anthony Bourdain in Thailand

(CNN) — When crew from CNN's "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" contacted me in February 2014 to ask for assistance with an upcoming shoot in Thailand, of course I agreed without hesitation.

No food celebrity was more widely loved than Anthony Bourdain at the time, and his posthumous fame and recognition have only grown since. In an era where chefs are the new rockstars, he was Johnny Cash, keeping it raw and real.

 

Playing down his history in professional kitchens, including Manhattan's Brasserie Les Halles, he liked to describe himself as a failed chef and talked openly about past substance abuse. He sharply criticized over-hyped TV chefs and the Michelin cult, using his influence instead to praise the street vendors and line cooks who feed most of the world.

 

For 17 years, across four television series ("A Cook's Tour," "No Reservations"," The Layover" and "Parts Unknown"), and in over 50 countries, Tony let us tag along as he met people from all walks of life and explored their food traditions, no matter how alien they might appear to the home audience. In fact, the more alien it was, the better, but always in a local context rather than as a critical, judging observer.

 

And it wasn't just about food. His zig-zag path across the globe was strewn with rough jewels of philosophy.

 

"The more I travel," he said, "the less I know."

 

I was approached by Tony's producer Tom Vitale, who spent virtually his entire career working alongside him. Tony liked working with Lonely Planet guidebook authors, Vitale said by way of introduction, because they knew the terrain and were used to tight travel schedules.

 

In a series of emails, Vitale laid out his plans to shoot in Chiang Mai, and asked for my advice on locations and activities. At that point, the wildly successful series was in its third season.

It wasn't Tony's first on-camera visit to Thailand. In 2003, "A Cook's Tour" added Bangkok to a Singapore shoot during a long flight layover in the Thai capital. Bangkok was showcased again in the fifth season of "No Reservations" (2008), when Tony dove deeper into street food.

 

Continues with photos and videos

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/anthony-bourdain-thailand/index.html