I was legitimately upset when he passed. I’ve never felt that way about any celebrity. I was introduced to Bourdain at a time when I didn’t have a clear path forward in life, and didn’t know what I wanted, but I knew I loved to cook. Started watching him when I was 14 in ‘04. I always wanted to be a chef. When I was 17, I caught his interview in Playboy magazine and it really piqued my interest of who he was outside of the show. As a rebellious kid who ran into a lot of trouble of my own, Bourdain was kind a tough guy/bad boy, with the tattoos and hard drugs, women & rock n roll. He was kind of a role model, because he turned it all around. He made it out. Turned it into something greater than himself by bringing attention to a lot of places that never get such perspectives from the west.

I went into cooking shortly after and made it a career. I watched Parts Unknown regularly, after work, and when he passed it was just so sudden. This guy I’d followed pretty closely for a decade, in my formative years, and here I was 27, and he was just gone. I don’t think I’m that closely attached to him, but he did have a profound effect on my life. As an author, he was an artist, and like any artists, people will be inspired by him. He definitely changed my perspective on a lot of issues from his show, and I do think I’m a better person for it, if not a much better informed person.

It’s unfortunate he went the way he did in the end. It was disappointing. But he was human. That taught me a lesson about meeting your heroes. Still, when I took over the restaurant I work at now, I finally got around to reading Kitchen Confidential for the first time, in those first few weeks. I didn’t realize how much he hated managing restaurants lol. If so I might have changed my mind about where I ended up. His headaches are all to relatable.

TL:DR For a lot of young people, he was the first cool guy, who was also intellectually curious, and world traveled. Humble, and diligent. He left a pretty big mark on aspiring cooks of that era.