I’ve been in Anthony Bourdain’s corner since an old buddy of mine lent me Bourdain’s claim to literary fame ‘Kitchen Confidential’: a Gonzo-esque recap of a life at parts drug-addled, but always lived fast and hard by Bourdain as he climbed the totem pole of the restaurant business to his current exalted status as a kickass restaurant/travel show host. Get paid obscene amounts of moolah to travel to exotic locations that offer incomparably delectably authentic dieshes? Uh, fuck yeah bro. Count me in.
Watch an episode of Bourdain’s ‘Part’s Unknown‘ or ‘Layover‘ series and you’re apt to see the tall, gangly, booze enthusiast charismatically dine on some of the best food the world has to offer, while engaging in conversations with the culinary industry’s brightest individuals; all while Bourdain gives off an enviably chilled-out, no-fucks-given kind of vibe.
Well it’s exactly that whole no-fucks-given getup that Bourdain recently advocated in his speech at SXSW. I quote, “not giving a fuck is a very good business model.” Okay so to unpack that further, Bourdain elaborated going on to say: “Everyone on TV wants to stay on TV.” For Bourdain to be one of the few dashing, adventuresome gentleman in theory willing to leave the business, actually ends up providing him phenomenal leverage for being able to increase his control over his various projects’ creative direction.