Best Anthony Bourdain Quotes –Anthony Bourdain is a famous American chef and explorer renowned for impressive, funny and thoughtful quotes about food and travel. The well-loved man graduated from CIA, the Culinary Institute of America at the age of 22 in 1978.
The chef started gaining fame when his book, Kitchen Confidential hit the market in the 2000s. According to many, he particularly loved French culture and food that his cooking style was tailored to suit.
There are several hundreds of famous quotes by Anthony Bourdain, with some compiled into books alongside his other published works.
One of such popular quotes goes like this: “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
Anthony Bourdain starred in many TV shows that talked about international exploration and cuisines. His books have particularly striking titles. Some of them include: World Travel: An irrelevant guide, A cook’s tour, and Medium raw.
In case you are a lover of his quotes and can’t seem to get enough of them, this article contains more than 200 best Anthony Bourdain quotes you can use.
Best Anthony Bourdain Quotes
“Open your mind, get up off the couch, and move.”
“No one understands and appreciates the American Dream of hard work leading to material rewards better than a non-American.”
“I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a big believer that you’re never going to find perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one. Letting the happy accident happen is what a lot of vacation itineraries miss, I think, and I’m always trying to push people to allow those things to happen rather than stick to some rigid itinerary.”
“Cream rises. Excellence does have its rewards.”
“Not giving a damn has been a very successful business model for me.”
“Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.”
“It’s very rarely a good career move to have a conscience.”
“Retire and count yourself lucky. I say that without malice, or without much malice. I am not forgiving. I can’t get past it. I just cannot and that’s me, someone who really admired him and thought the world of him.”
“When I die, I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted and advantages squandered.”
“Things got broken. Things got lost. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride”
“The journey is part of the experience an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca.”
“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It’s a plus for everybody.”
“To be treated well in places where you don’t expect to be treated well, to find things in common with people you had thought previously you had very, very little in common with, can’t be a bad thing.”
Popular Anthony Bourdain Quotes
“If you’re 22, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel as far and as widely as possible.”
“Life is complicated. It’s filled with nuance. It’s unsatisfying. If I believe in anything, it is doubt.”
“Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund.”
“Luck is not a business model.”
“Under ‘reasons for leaving the last job’, never give the real reason, unless it’s money or ambition.”
“Don’t lie about it. You made a mistake. Admit it and move on. Just don’t do it again Ever.”
Cheekiest Anthony Bourdain Quotes
“The way you make an omelet reveals your character.”
“I travel around the world, eat a lot, and basically do whatever I want.”
“I learned a long time ago that trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times.”
“I’m not afraid to look like an idiot.”
“Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screw top jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don’t deserve to eat garlic.”
“You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.”
“Skills can be taught.”
“I should’ve died in my 20s. I became successful in my 40s. I became a dad in my 50s. I feel like I’ve stolen a car — a really nice car — and I keep looking in the rearview mirror for flashing lights. But there’s been nothing yet.”
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts; it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay.”
“Without new ideas success can become stale.”
“Food is everything we are.”
“As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life, and travel leaves marks on you.”
“Most of the time, those marks on your body or on your heart are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.”
“The journey changes you; it should change you. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind. “
“Perhaps wisdom is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”
“If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel — as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them — wherever you go.”
“Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.”
“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
“That without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, moribund.”
“But I do think the idea that basic cooking skills are a virtue, that the ability to feed yourself and a few others with proficiency should be taught to every young man and woman as a fundamental skill, should become as vital to growing up as learning to wipe one’s own ass, cross the street by oneself, or be trusted with money.”
“The word authentic has become a completely ridiculous, snobbish term. There are so many first- and second-generation immigrants making wonderful mashups of food they grew up eating. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure that every time Guy Fieri puts barbecue pork inside a nori roll, an angel dies.”
Lovely Anthony Bourdain Quotes
“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
“Assume the worst. About everybody. But don’t let this poisoned outlook affect your job performance. Let it all roll off your back. Ignore it. Be amused by what you see and suspect. Just because someone you work with is a miserable, treacherous, self-serving, capricious and corrupt asshole shouldn’t prevent you from enjoying their company, working with them or finding them entertaining.”
“[When I die], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted and advantages squandered.”
“I’ll be right here. Until they drag me off the line. I’m not going anywhere. I hope. It’s been an adventure. We took some casualties over the years. Things got broken. Things got lost. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
“The journey is part of the experience—an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca.”
“People confuse me. Food doesn’t.”
“When dealing with complex transportation issues, the best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out.”
“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonald’s? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head?”
“The way you make an omelet reveals your character.”
“Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive and moribund.”
“I’ve long believed that good food, good eating, is all about risk.”
“To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace or even stinky cheese is a life not worth living.”
“Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.”
“I’m not afraid to look like an idiot.”
“You have to be a romantic to invest yourself, your money, and your time in cheese.”
“I’m a big believer in winging it. I’m a big believer that you’re never going to find perfect city travel experience or the perfect meal without a constant willingness to experience a bad one.”
“An ounce of sauce covers a multitude of sins.”
“Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”
“Few things are more beautiful to me than a bunch of thuggish, heavily tattooed line cooks moving around each other like ballerinas on a busy Saturday night.”
“It’s an irritating reality that many places and events defy description. Angkor Wat and Machu Picchu, for instance, seem to demand silence, like a love affair you can never talk about. For a while after, you fumble for words, trying vainly to assemble a private narrative, an explanation, a comfortable way to frame where you’ve been and what’s happened. In the end, you’re just happy you were there—with your eyes open—and lived to see it.”
“Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh? You don’t deserve to eat garlic.”
“It’s an unpardonable sin as far as I’m concerned, taking out personal business or some other kind of dissatisfaction on a waiter or busboy.”
“I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you.”
“Our movements through time and space seem somehow trivial compared to a heap of boiled meat in broth, the smell of saffron, garlic, fishbones and Pernod.”
Anthony Bourdain Quotes about Life
“Luck is not a business model.”
“Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.”
“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life—and travel—leaves marks on you.”
“There is no Final Resting Place of the Mind.”
“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food, it’s a plus for everybody.”
“Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.”
“[When I die], I will decidedly not be regretting missed opportunities for a good time. My regrets will be more along the lines of a sad list of people hurt, people let down, assets wasted and advantages squandered.”
“Garlic is divine. Few food items can taste so many distinct ways, handled correctly. Misuse of garlic is a crime.”
“If you’re 22, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel—as far and as widely as possible. Sleep on floors if you have to. Find out how other people live and eat and cook. Learn from them—wherever you go.”
“For a moment, or a second, the pinched expressions of the cynical, world-weary, throat-cutting, miserable bastards we’ve all had to become disappears, when we’re confronted with something as simple as a plate of food.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I hope. It’s been an adventure. We took some casualties over the years. Things got broken. Things got lost. But I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are frequently asked questions and answers about the best Anthony Bourdain quotes:
“I travel around the world, eat a lot, and basically do whatever I want.”
“I learned a long time ago that trying to micromanage the perfect vacation is always a disaster. That leads to terrible times.”
“I’m not afraid to look like an idiot.”
“People confuse me. Food doesn’t.”
“When dealing with complex transportation issues, the best thing to do is pull up with a cold beer and let somebody else figure it out.”
“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonald’s? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head?”
“The way you make an omelet reveals your character.”
“Not giving a damn has been a very successful business model for me.”
“Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.”
“It’s very rarely a good career move to have a conscience.”
Conclusion
Anthony Bourdain is remembered as a man of great words thanks to his ingenious quotes. The American chef and author was a popular travel documentarian who explored the food and culture of different countries.
Unfortunately, Bourdain passed away aged sixty-two in 2018 but is now known as a legend of international cuisine and food quotes.
References
Purewow.com: 32 Anthony Bourdain Quotes to Live By
Businessinsider.com: Anthony Bourdain Quotes on Travel and Omelets
Inspiringquotes.us: Anthony Bourdain Quotes and Sayings
Also Read
Top 100 Best Mummy Halloween Quotes
