Anthony Bourdain

“People are generally proud of their food. A willingness to eat and drink with people without fear and prejudice… they open up to you in ways that somebody visiting who is driven by a story may not get.”

“Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”

“I, personally, think there is a really danger of taking food too seriously. Food should be part of the bigger picture.”

“Avoid at all costs that vile spew you see rotting in oil in screwtop jars. Too lazy to peel fresh. You don’t deserve to eat garlic.”

“Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me. The perfect meal, or the best meals, occur in a context that frequently has very little to do with the food itself.”

“You have an impeccable argument if you said that Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo are food capitals. They have a maximum amount of great stuff to eat in the smallest areas.”

“When you’re eating simple barbecue under a palm tree, and you feel sand between your toes, samba music is playing softly in the background, waves are lapping at the shore a few yards off, a gentle breeze is cooling the sweat on the back of your neck at the hairline, and looking across the table,

“Understand, when you eat meat, that something did die. You have an obligation to value it not just the sirloin but also all those wonderful tough little bits.”

“Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one’s life.”