Fellow travelers, this is what you want. This is what you need. This is the path to true happiness and wisdom. So, at the time we're recording this, it is the 25th of June, 2024, and that makes it Bourdain Day. Um, this year, 2024, would have been, uh, Anthony Bourdain's 68th birthday. Um, if you don't know who Anthony Bourdain was, he was a chef, who became a writer, who became a TV host, and, uh, he profoundly changed the way that, um, food programs were made, and made the shows all about the eating of food, and not so much the cooking of food, and I think that would have sounded batshit crazy for anybody who was into that. into cooking shows at the time. Um, but it also then fundamentally changed my relationship to food. And then I think my relationship with the rest of my life as well. In fact, if I had to pick from all the different influences I have, the different artists, I appreciate filmmakers and actors and writers and, uh, all these people who I say have really inspired me. I would have to pick Anthony Bourdain as the person out of all of those influences. Who, uh, had the most direct, tangible impact on my life, um, and how I live it. For a few different reasons. Um, but first, I'm headed off into the city for a few meetings. I really want to make a video today, so I thought I would bring you with me. So I thought while I'm, uh, bouncing between meetings, and, uh, I've got my coffee and I'm feeling caffeinated, I'd share a couple of thoughts. It's on the man himself and I guess a little bit of the impact he had on my life and, uh, how his philosophy and how his unique approach to life has influenced my life and my decisions and I guess my creative journey too. Beyond just being a chef or a TV host or a writer, it's something about the philosophy he embodied and the way of life he promoted and it's such an interesting dichotomy that his life ended up the way it did. Obviously it's not the end that you'd expect for somebody who seemingly had this perfect, artistically fulfilled life. Look, uninhibited creative freedom is something that I've been incredibly fortunate to have for the better part of my entire television career. Unlike anyone else I know of in television, I've been free to do whatever I want. Um, to make the shows I want, anywhere I want, with whom I want. In any style I want. I know it can be a really touchy subject for anyone who's been through anything to do with suicide. Um, I know certainly for me, look, I lost a friend, um, a long time ago now. And that still sort of, um, Affects me to this day, but I think in a style that's true to the spirit of Bourdain What I'm gonna do is pop out, grab a sloppy burger for lunch or something, have a beer to go with it And I think that's a really fitting tribute. He wasn't all about culinary perfection and Five star restaurants the entire time, although he did eat with some of the world's greatest chefs But I think what a lot of it was about was It was a philosophy that embraced life, embraced good food, good people, no matter what, no matter whether it was a five star culinary masterpieces in France, um, or whether it was a dirty sloppy burger in Los Angeles. And that's something I've loved about his outlook and his approach to life. And it's something I think that has been so integral to my life. and my philosophy, um, toward creativity, and I think he had a huge effect on not only the way I, I approach, uh, making videos, but also the way I approach, um, uh, my lifestyle and the way I raise my child, um, and the way I live today. All right, I don't know, I think I've finished that. Be open to experience, be willing to try new things, don't have a rigid plan. Accept random acts of hospitality without judgment or fear. Don't be afraid to wander. Don't be afraid to eat a bad meal. You know, if you don't risk the bad meal, you'll never get the magical one. But I think most important, you know, be humble. Be grateful. Uh, be aware of the fact that you are probably the stupidest person in the room. So one of the, uh, most influential things I've ever watched in my life, um, was watching Anthony Bourdain's episode where he went to Dublin. Um, we were sitting up late in a tiny one bedroom that we were renting in Sydney, and we watched this episode, and we connected with Dublin through the screen so much that right there and then, um, we decided to drop everything and move to Dublin. But we both resigned from our jobs pretty quickly, and basically with A little bit of a plan, one single connection there who agreed to put us up for a little while and, um, no jobs lined up or anything like that. We just dropped everything and moved there. My British passport was a whole lot more valuable at the time. Yeah, we moved to Dublin. It completely changed our lives. We had an incredible time there. Moving to Dublin enabled us to, I think, flourish in ways that, uh, I don't think we ever could have anticipated. I think, sort of, inspired by that adventurous spirit, um, that Bourdain created, not just that episode, but in every single episode of television that I think he put out. We really embraced life. We really went out there and did things we would never have done before. We started our very first business together, um, something that we would, take back to Australia with us. Something that I'm doing again now and sort of living the legacy of that. It shouldn't. It seems so wrong, but it tastes so right. It's like true love. I thought I'd get a very London shot for you. Here it is, with the uh, the red phone booth. So, I'm lucky today that the meetings I've been in, I'm uh, what's it, 11, 10 in the morning, and I'm at two meetings into the day. I've got a third one in about an hour and a half, so I've got a bit of a break. And, uh, yeah. I'm going to go and see if I can grab some food, and that's a huge part of the reason I wanted to film this today, between all these meetings, because I get a chance to, uh, grab some really cool food, and so if I talk about that a little bit, I think one of the things that, uh, Bourdain brought to his work was, uh, was, he didn't go to all the touristy spots, despite the fact that I mean one of the most touristy spots in London, in Covent Garden. It wasn't all about the touristy spots, the restaurants that would sponsor segments on a television show. It was about finding the real places that the real people, um, in different cities would eat in. So a lot of his approach to We're celebrating the, uh, what a lot of people think of as mundane, day to day, the food that people have been raised on and grew up on, and I'm really lucky that just around the corner, and I've got a little bit of a gap now, one of the places here is an absolute gem. When I worked around this area, sort of four or five years ago now, I think it was relatively unknown and I'm assuming it must have exploded in popularity. I'm kind of hoping it's still there. It's called Kastner and Ubbins on Floral Street, which is right behind the Royal Opera House. Um, which I'll show you, I'm standing right in front of right here. It's a real local gem. It's all sort of self service stuff, homemade stuff. Sometimes you'll get a lasagna, sometimes you'll get a pie, and the menu changes every single day. And it's got this beautiful homemade feeling. I'm going to jump out of the way of this red phone box because it's getting surrounded by tourists. But, so here we go. Say goodbye red phone box. Here we are on Floral Street. Now when I When I worked around here about five years ago, this was a completely unknown gem. I have no idea if it's actually even still there. I think I can see the sign, which is really good. Anyway, let's check it out. Oh yeah, this is what I'm talking about right here. Look at this stuff. This is amazing. Oh, I'm gonna get me some of that. I think it looks like they've got, uh, lemon chicken on the menu. Haha, I could do with a cake. What a pick! I also think, uh, he really inspired me to be far more adventurous with food and the way I eat and the way I think about food. He embraced the simplicity of food. Things didn't have to be a chore. Putting together a meal didn't need to be a chore. have to be this formal affair. You don't have to have a kitchen stacked full of all of the kitchen equipment that every other celebrity chef will try and sell you. I love how the places that Bourdain ate at weren't the fashionable, trendy kind of in places, weren't the places that, you know, he'd show off about. Although I think they became that after the shows, but um, that's really good. It was just all about Nicely done real food, but real people the joy of sharing it with people. I guess I'm sharing it with you I think it had a profound effect on the way I Approach food I approach travel. I Think just in the way he made the episodes of the shows as well. They were all beautifully shot They all told sort of a unique story about the place that they were in wasn't afraid to try some fun stuff with cinematography Do different things Go very conceptual. Um, I really appreciate that about the artistic side of those shows. That uncompromising approach to Literally, to take the names of one of the shows. Approaching life with no reservations. Going where the wind blows you. Not holding back at all, I think was powerful and an important lesson for me. Um, Bourdain and his shows led to me and my wife moving from, um, Sydney to Dublin on a whim, more or less. Quitting our high paying jobs. Secure jobs at Apple, both of us. Yeah, fly halfway across the world. There's no jobs lined up or anything like that. He was sort of the embodiment of the modern urban adventurer, if that makes sense. This is delicious, by the way. Kastner and Ovens for the win. It hasn't changed at all. I was a bit nervous for having a camera out this long in central London, but I think I'm good here. I think the impact that Bourdain had on the cultural landscape is, um, It's subtle, but nevertheless sort of indelible, if that makes sense. He subtly changed the way people consume food programs. I think he forced a lot of traditional, very highly polished celebrity chefs to make things oh, excuse me. He forced a lot of high profile celebrity chefs to make things a lot more real. A lot more down to earth. I think he rejuvenated the um, he revitalized the genre of food shows somewhat. Made it more about the eating of food again. It's very easy to make a conventional travel or food show at this point. It's, it's like shooting corn. It's the same shot sequence and the same sort of limited, uh, terminology. Uh, you know how all of their little pieces work, where you have to start and where you have to end. Um, I detest competent, workmanlike, And I'm always very, you know, the times that we, we, we do that, I'm, I'm very unhappy with that. I'd rather, I'd rather fail. I think with his influence, it made me sort of dare to be more experimental, dare to make things not perfect. You know, to, um, to try and just make up a recipe from scratch based on something I'd had in a restaurant or had somewhere where I've been traveling. I think, um. Bourdain sort of gave people permission to be a bit more casual about food, the way it should be. So yeah, for me definitely like the personal impact he had on my life not only inspired me to be more creative, to be more sort of interested and engaged with the food I cook as well, you know possibly people and cultures around me too. I think I was always pretty interested in that. Sorry that's pretty bad form isn't it, licking a knife. Anyway, um, but I think it very much inspired me to sort of. Be it a little bit more adventurous again, what I was going to was a slow spot with that kind of thing in my life. The crazy shit that happens when you're out sort of filming and you put your camera away. I stumbled upon this place that was doing churros and I loved churros and I love, uh, but it's a warm day. I didn't want warm churros and warm chocolate but I looked in and who is serving behind the counter but an old friend of mine who I used to work with. So I went on inside and it's called Aguamiel and it's in Covent Garden. I'll post the, uh, address. Oh, but absolutely superb. This is horchata, cold brew horchata. This guy right here, Bernie, is the real deal. He loves what he does and he loves food so much. And if anyone deserves your support, it's him. Head there when you're here in Covent Garden. A big circle of central London, three meetings out of the way, some decent food, and a fantastic discovery from a friend I didn't even know who'd opened a place. So back down to Leicester Square Station, off home. I think one of the biggest lessons that we can take away from Anthony Bourdain in sort of the time we're in right now though, uh, in the way he treated other people. He really demonstrated the power of people just coming together, sharing food and sharing ideas, and being okay with disagreeing with each other. And I think that was a big part of at least what I took away, um, from what he did and the way he approached the world. Um, he didn't care if you were Republican, if you were Democrat, if you were Conservative, if you were Labour, if you were Green. Um, what he cared about, um, was that Connection between people. This obsession with quantifying everything. This obsession with data that we have. This obsession with putting everybody in buckets. While pretending we're not putting everybody in buckets. Um, and identifying with things. When we're pretending we're not identifying with things. I think he got up and fought against that, and just showed that we all have commonality, we all have common ground, and despite the fact that we may fall into a tribe and be proud of it, there isn't that is no reason not to come together in spite of those differences, um, and share a good meal, and share a good laugh, and treat each other like decent human beings. And look, that's what I took away from him, and maybe you took away something different, and um, cool. If so, that's good for you. But I think that on balance, the world is filled with people doing the best they can, you know, who love their kids and, you know, would like to, you know, put on a clean shirt every morning and live their lives with a little dignity and have access to food and water. I hope, um, I think insofar as celebrating Bourdain Day then with this video, I haven't been trying to mimic Bourdain, copy his style, do something in the way he would have done it. Because that's not me. I love his approach to things. I wish I was witty and sarcastic as he was in the moment the whole time. Um, but I'm not. Um, I find humor in different things in different ways, but I loved and appreciated his humor, and, um, it's something that constantly informs me. It's something that when I get a little bit uptight about stuff, uh, I look at and, um, try to remind myself to be more like Bourdain. I guess that's what I take away from him and his work, and every year when Bourdain Day rolls around again, I just remember to You know, grab a glass of wine, grab a glass of beer, eat something nice and meaty, to pay tribute to him, and, um, yeah. I think everyone should be a bit more like him, in many respects. Anyway, I'm gonna leave it there. Take care, everybody.