Anthony Bourdain, Filmmaker

Placing Bourdain's legacy in cinema—not the kitchen.

Anthony Bourdain is best known as a celebrated chef, author, international traveler, and TV personality. However, this book argues why Bourdain is best understood first and foremost as a filmmaker and that his cinematic legacy is just as relevant. Studying Bourdain's travelogues, documentaries, and food films in the context of film history, film criticism, and cultural studies emphasizes the ways that his work evokes questions of authenticity within documentary filmmaking, reimagines ethnographic filmmaking as a practice, and deconstructs the Western male gaze. This book also positions episodes from his television shows, such as Parts Unknown and No Reservations, within and between genres, where Bourdain employed a variety of techniques to tell the passionate and vibrant stories that were so beloved by viewers. In this accessible and detailed account, Bourdain's body of work is reenvisioned as genre-bending and influential in the evolution of documentary film.