Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks

On his 2016 state visit to Vietnam, in addition to meeting dignitaries and officials, then-President Barack Obama was slated to have dinner with chef, writer, and TV personality Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain had pitched his show, No Reservations, as his way of combining his love of travel with his professional expertise—a “when-in-Rome avidity with which he partakes of local custom and cuisine” (315). He deliberately pursued the most authentic and obscure experiences possible, offering a level of immersion unusual for the genre. Bourdain began as a writer, with his expose of the restaurant industry, Kitchen Confidential, making him a sensation in 2001. But his television show was the fulfillment of his greatest dreams. Vietnam was one of his favorite destinations, dating back to an early love of Graham Greene’s novel The Quiet American, which is set in that country. For his dinner with Obama, Bourdain suggested a casual dining experience at a noodle restaurant. The president luxuriated in the rare opportunity to take in the scenery in a public space rather than a private dining room.

In his own 2016 meeting with Bourdain, Keefe is struck by his muscular frame from a regular Brazilian martial arts exercise routine, and by his devotion to every detail of his work. Bourdain reflects on his obsession with authenticity, and his view, shared with Obama, that immersion in other cultures is enriching rather than frightening. Bourdain reflects that his life is so packed with travel he has little time for a personal life, which is in stark contrast to his working-class upbringing in New Jersey.

Then, he only read about foreign countries, though he obsessed over the memories of a brief visit to France. He left college for culinary school, and he soon was drawn to the “outlaw machismo” (322) of kitchen culture and a chef’s unconventional hours and lifestyle, which included extensive drug use. Still, he and his wife, Nancy Putkowski lived a quiet life, with only occasional international vacations, as he moved from kitchen to kitchen, gaining a reputation for improving struggling restaurants. This led to the executive chef job at Les Halles, the work that would inspire Kitchen Confidential. The book became a sensation, and Bourdain acquired a quiet celebrity in the culinary world.

Keefe has dinner with Bourdain at a well-known Korean restaurant in New York. Bourdain’s fame is “ironic” (326)—even his best friend, the fine dining expert Eric Ripert, admits that Bourdain is a technically skilled chef but not an innovator. Keefe posits that this is why he has never opened his own restaurant. Bourdain’s next planned project is a huge open-air market where chefs will cook their national cuisines.

Bourdain’s work changed his life. A 2006 episode required filming in Beirut during hostilities there, an experience after which Bourdain decided to have a child with his then-partner Ottavia Busia. Bourdain continues traveling, though he delights in his daughter Ariane, born in 2007.

Bourdain’s more recent writing includes a 2010 meditation on unsung hero Justo Thomas, the fish expert at Le Bernardin, who personally butchers hundreds of pounds of fish per day. Bourdain maintains that cooks are harder workers than writers, though he nourished literary ambitions throughout his culinary career. Bourdain also reflects on his years of drug addiction, and while some accuse him of romanticizing them, he points out in Kitchen Confidential that he was the only one of his friends to achieve sobriety, though his first marriage collapsed as he traveled more and sought celebrity.

Keefe, in Hanoi with Bourdain in 2016, reflects that Bourdain’s later career has enabled him to focus his show on realism rather than the “sensationalism” (335) of eating the most unusual organ or animal possible. He has been known, in recent years, to reconcile with those he has criticized, such as celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. Bourdain’s obsession with authenticity has included an increased willingness to cover conflict and politics, arguing that what people eat is not a realm apart. His TV show Parts Unknown has become a cultural touchstone. Bourdain is uncomfortable with his status as a source of information about global conflict, but Keefe points out that his travels in Southeast Asia no doubt influenced a tirade against Henry Kissinger. When Keefe compares this animus to Bourdain’s feuds with other chefs, Bourdain shoots back, “Emeril didn’t bomb Cambodia!” (339).

In 2016, Bourdain tells Keefe his second marriage has ended, not acrimoniously, in part because of the demands of his work. Bourdain shows no signs of slowing down. He visits now-familiar locations to cover how they have changed. Later that year, he nearly accidentally overdoses on wine and painkillers while on a writing trip to France. This renews Bourdain’s longtime obsession with his own mortality, and he writes a long email of apology to his former wife, Nancy Putkowski.

Keefe considers how Bourdain’s work changes the places he visits. Mere days after Bourdain’s dinner with Obama, the restaurant sold out of the signature noodle dish the president had eaten. As Keefe and Bourdain ride through Hanoi’s streets on a Vespa, Keefe ponders his mortality and the energy of the city. He watches Bourdain’s martial arts practice the next day, and his seemingly boundless energy. Keefe closes with a brief mention of Bourdain’s death by suicide in June 2018.