Bourdain Day: People around the world celebrate Anthony Bourdain's birthday
Today, on what would have been Anthony Bourdain’s 63rd birthday, the late chef’s colleagues, friends and fans are celebrating “Bourdain Day”.
The holiday, which asks that those who wish to remember and honour the celebrity chef who died by suicide on 8 June of last year raise a glass to Bourdain on camera, was started by Bourdain’s close friends Eric Ripert and José Andrés.
In May, the two celebrity chefs announced on Instagram they would be honouring their friend, and celebrating both his legacy and his birthday on 25 June.
“On this day we will celebrate the life, legacy and birthday of our dear friend Anthony,” Ripert wrote. “Wherever you are and whoever you’re with on 06/25 join Chef Jose Andres and I by taking a moment to post and share your tributes and memories of Anthony using #BourdainDay and wish him peace, love and a very happy birthday on his journey.”
On Tuesday, Andrés and Ripert followed through with their promise, posting a video of themselves in Singapore raising a glass to Bourdain, and asking that “people of the world join us”.
And, according to the Ripert, it doesn’t matter if it’s a glass of beer or water, or a meal from a food truck - as long as it is enjoyed in memory of the late chef.
A post shared by Eric Ripert (@ericripert) on May 30, 2019 at 4:00am PDT
Describing the grief that he felt after his longtime friend’s death, Ripert told Esquire he wants people to “turn all that grief into happiness of life,” and remember how “Tony made the world a smaller place by bringing us all together”.
Ripert said: “I hope that this is a place that many people will go, will enjoy life, will have a drink. They will cook, they will go to a food truck. They will go to [a] picnic. They will go to [a] street vendor. A hot dog, a fancy restaurant, whatever.
“And they will toast Tony and wish ‘Happy Bourdain Day’ on Instagram, on [the] internet, on Twitter. That’s it.”
A post shared by Jose Andres (@chefjoseandres) on Jun 24, 2019 at 11:42am PDT
On Instagram, the hashtag has been used more than 4,000 times by people eager to celebrate and remember the chef.
On Twitter, hundreds more have shared their own tributes to the chef, including fellow celebrity chefs Rachael Ray, Andrew Zimmern.
I’m so grateful for a day in honor of a man I respected very deeply. He was cool and brilliant. Over the years we found common ground through humor, music and food. I miss his wit and presence. Singular man.#BOURDAINDAY 🙏🏻 @ericripert @chefjoseandres pic.twitter.com/DnhnIiI4mt
— rachael ray (@rachaelray)
It’s #BourdainDay
I plan on posting some cool stuff later today to celebrate my friend. Many of you asking me what you can do to support the culture shift that Tony championed, a way of looking at the world and embracing its people.
Support his legacy!https://t.co/kmHaim2lgy— Andrew Zimmern (@andrewzimmern)
In addition to celebrating Bourdian with a toast, Ripert and Andrés also launched the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America.
Discussing the scholarship for students at Bourdain’s alma mater, the chefs said: “We hope that this scholarship will help his memory live on for students who want to experience the world as Anthony did - through cuisines and cultures everywhere.”
The late chef’s legacy has also influenced restaurants around the country to host special events in his honour, with proceeds benefiting organisations dedicated to mental health awareness.
Jesse Souza, the executive chef of the Six Seven Restaurant in The Edgewater hotel in Seattle told CNN the restaurant’s special event will benefit Big Table, a Seattle non-profit that helps those in crisis in the hospitality and restaurant industries.
“We want to bring awareness to mental health while offering something special to our community,” she said.