For those of us who wished (wish?) to have the kind of life Anthony Bourdain enjoyed in the second half of his existence, reduced enthusiasm feels very unlikely. Travel more than 200 days each year, eat and drink well, and having amazing adventures.
If you are around the age, okay a bit younger than Bourdain was at the end of his life, your enthusiasm is not at the level where it used to be. Less energy, less focus. Generating that level of enthusiasm leads to thoughts of nostalgia to times when you had the adventures that shaped your youth.
Parts Unknown was less physical, less snarky, and less adventurous than No Reservations. The Anthony Bourdain speed wasn't in 5th gear, maybe more like 3rd gear.
Bourdain, who didn't have much good to say about Scandinavia, did a trip to Copenhagen for Parts Unknown. That episode was mostly about going to Noma.
Reduced enthusiasm is a reality for people of a certain age. The question is how to overcome that concern.
"You can't teach an old dog new tricks"
Your humble narrator is more a fan of No Reservations than Parts Unknown. Yet the reduced enthusiasm with a lot less sarcasm that Bourdain had on the latter series: well, we can learn from that as well.
Bourdain still ate well, having more intense and deeper conversations in Parts Unknown. He kicked up the maturity from his initial A Cook's Tour when he was in his 40s into No Reservations.
We can think that we know a lot about food at a somewhat advanced age. Then again in the last few years, your humble narrator fixed butter chicken with a jarred sauce, invented bagna cauda spaghetti, and cooked bone marrow at home.
The incentive to experiment is enhanced if you have an audience to cook for in your domicile. This does not include a cat or dog who just want a sample of your food, and quite frankly, won't offer significant feedback (unless they won't eat it). Cooking for one with reduced enthusiasm can lead to … bowls of cereal for dinner.
“I know that I will never understand the world I live in or fully know the places I've been. I've learned for sure only what I don't know — and how much I have to learn.”
— Friends of Anthony Bourdain (@bourdainpodcast) June 10, 2024
–Anthony Bourdain#AnthonyBourdain #MondayMotivation #travel pic.twitter.com/nTsbessFfx
Honoring Anthony Bourdain is making a better than average meal when your body or mind doesn't want to do a whole lot. Honoring yourself in a way. After all, the best meals Bourdain had on television were always in someone's home.
Breaking down barriers so people will try new foods
Coping with reduced enthusiasm for food
Anthony Bourdain offered good advice on what not to do with food and travel, such as his advice to stay away from the breakfast buffet at hotels. Sometimes, knowing what you shouldn't do is almost as needed as what you should do.
Shopping at local markets, a mainstay of Bourdain adventures, is a great way to jumpstart new foods and, with a lot of foods at the markets, little to no cooking required.
Bourdain Day 2023: Celebrating a loss with food
Bourdain Day 2022: Coming out of a worldwide pandemic
If reduced enthusiasm is a concern, you don't need to have 3 exciting meals every day. Think about a Saturday night dinner where you have time to put some effort into a meal. I did this on Saturday nights during the pandemic with the bagna cauda spaghetti. Listening to a jazz show out of Canada gave me a cooking soundtrack.
Take pictures of the process and meal, even if you don't post them on social media. You might be the only one who sees the meal. You can feel better looking at the pictures, knowing you are capable of making a special meal.
You can also challenge yourself to make a meal better than a local restaurant for a lot less money.
Bourdain Day 3: How Anthony Bourdain helped me get through a pandemic
On the second Bourdain Day, how Anthony Bourdain would handle a worldwide pandemic
Bourdain Day is a way to celebrate the love of food and food cultures
Anthony Bourdain would have been 68 today.
photo credit: Instagram Anthony Bourdain
Twitter capture: @bourdainpodcast
