When I was thinking about what I wanted to do for this column, I was walking through NYC and came upon Les Halles. Unless you have been away from the news recently, you may know that Anthony Bourdain passed away. Les Halles was a French bistro where he got his start as an executive chef. Let’s just say many romantic nights were had at the restaurant. Though both locations of the bistro are now closed, people have been leaving tributes to him pasted on the windows. Consider this my cheers to the icon.
The culinary world is still reeling over the death of Bourdain; in fact, it may never be the same. It will be hard to find anyone who can take his place, though someone will try to fill the void. He undoubtedly changed the way that people eat and drink. Someone said, “He was the Mr. Rogers of the food world.” I would have never compared the two, but he did have an edgy Mr. Rogers charm about him. More importantly, both men had a way of making people stop, listen and think in a way that impacted lives. People around the world are coming forward with stories of how Bourdain helped them learn to love food. Since there’s such a deep connection between love and food, maybe Bourdain should have added “love doctor” to his resume.
