Saturday, June 9, 2018

Anthony Bourdain, Industry Champion

I can't wrap my head around Anthony Bourdain being gone. No one in this industry is cooler than him. No one. By the time I read Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, I'd seen all that and more in an industry that usually picks you as opposed to you picking it. Nothing Bourdain wrote about surprised me - what I did find surprising, was that anyone wanted to read about it. There's much more to be said here, but no one said it in ways so brutally honest and as wonderful and brilliantly as Anthony Bourdain did.

You work long enough in this industry and you can see the passion that some of us have for this way of life - and you can see the lack of passion in those who use it for their own personal gain - which there wouldn't be anything wrong with if they didn't look down on the industry that helped them reach their goals, and look down upon any of us who choose to remain in this life.

I have at least some insight regarding both a lack of passion for the restaurant lifestyle, and a strong sense of passion for it. While I've worked in other industries in various capacities, I've been in the hospitality business most of my working life. My work ethic is strong enough to have served me well in any job that I've held, but in the restaurant world it's always served me better. See what I did there? Restaurant/served?

In my younger adult years, I did my job well and I like being good at my job. I struggled with a sense of wanting to be on the way to somewhere better, struggled with people in my life who constantly told me I should be/do something else. Someone once told me that I had a meaningless job. It was the same type of job she held for years. Her telling me that hit me like a ton of bricks. While I can't say that I'm bitter about that remark, I can say that I take offense to any statement from anyone else that is meant to cast doubt and make anyone feel bad about anything that may have a very profound meaning to them.

My job, on its worst days, is anything but meaningless. I can say that because of Anthony Bourdain. No, I'm not a chef - although I am a decent cook, and I have nothing but mad respect for chefs and the people who work in kitchens. If you've never witnessed the people who work those jobs and never let up and hang onto their passion for this business and food, I can tell you that it's a sight to marvel at. Anthony Bourdain shed favorable light on working in this wonderful industry - light from any number of directions...cool, difficult, easy - or people who are so good at their jobs that they make it look easy. Sometimes it's the perception that it's easy that causes people outside of our industry to look down their nose at our work. In my opinion, Anthony Bourdain put a stop to that kind of shit - and above anything else he brought to light about the world of restaurants, that is what I'm most grateful to him for. Why? Because it ignited the sense of passion that I should have had all along. Passion for good food, good drink - and let's be honest here, not always in moderation. Passion for hard work and pride in a job well done - both my own and that of the rest of the team.

There's something to be said working for an owner who demands the best out of their employees and fully expects to get the best out of them - because they expect the same out of themselves and are every bit as hard on themselves when they drop the ball as they are on any of us when we drop the ball. What separates the men from the boys - and the women from the girls when a ball gets dropped, is owning it and admitting it. Without getting defensive, without pointing a finger to blame someone else. I feel very fortunate to work for an owner who is to this industry, what Vince Lombardi was/is to professional football: Legendary - and who works harder than most of his employees. There's a huge difference between a boss and a leader. Huge.

At work last night, I knew exactly what kind of looks I'd see on my coworkers over the loss of Anthony Bourdain. While I'm not a chef, I carry that same look of a loss that will never get any easier to stomach. It's loss that cut off a part of more hearts than I could count. Of course Anthony Bourdain would come up in conversations - I lost count of how many I took part in, always keeping my input brief; it's sad, horrible loss, and then I had to exit. It's not in my nature to talk about the negative things that torment anyone to the breaking point where they don't want to live anymore. I hate speculating and gossip well enough as it is - I don't need to know more about Mr. Bourdain's demons and torment. I, along with everyone else in this industry, need him to still be here.

The industry I work in is filled with some of the most creative, inspiring and hard working people I've ever met and had the pleasure of working for and with - and all of us have lost our greatest champion. It seems sad to raise a glass to Anthony Bourdain - I say that not to dishonor the man in any way, but rather because some people can't drink, at least not without it seriously harming their life and the lives of those who love them. You can figure that one out, particularly if you happen to work in our industry. I'd much rather honor him by remembering how his writing flat out bitch slapped me upside the head and made me realize what I should've known all along: my job is anything but meaningless.

Rest in peace, Anthony Bourdain - and thank you. Peace, good people - take with you the fact that nothing on your journey is meaningless unless  you make it so.

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