15 Signs Anthony Bourdain Is Your Spirit Animal

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“Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico and the Far East, eating only in Hard Rock Cafes and McDonalds? Or do we want to eat without fear, tearing into the local stew, the humble taqueria’s mystery meat, the sincerely offered gift of a lightly grilled fish head? I know what I want. I want it all. I want to try everything once.”

1. Anytime your friends dare the group to try some weird or exotic food you’re the first one to (happily) volunteer. You love trying new cuisines from different cultures and developing your palate over time.

2. There isn’t anywhere around the world you wouldn’t travel to. You get excited at the thought of visiting the places most people are too scared to go or aren’t that interested in. There’s nowhere around the world you don’t want to explore with your own eyes.

3. You love sharing your experiences of travel and adventure with people. When you get back from a trip or some crazy experience you just had you enjoy telling your stories and reliving the moments.

4. You’re not ashamed to admit you’re a foodie. You genuinely enjoy learning about food and experimenting with different flavors.

5. Solo travel is your passion. You don’t mind traveling with other people but being by yourself out there in the world is the way you like to experience other cultures.

6. You would rather hang with the locals than back at the hotel with the other travelers. You know the locals always have the best tips on where to eat, drink, and have a good time. You think resorts are stuffy and boring. You want to have the most authentic experience you can when visiting a new destination and you just can’t find that when you’re around people who refuse to leave the tourist areas.

7. In another lifetime you were probably a well-known chef at a popular restaurant or a world explorer, or both! If you could get a job combining your love for food and travel you would be ~in heaven~.

8. There is nothing too weird you won’t eat or do. You want to have as many interesting experiences in this life as possible and you love the experience of getting out of your comfort zone because that’s where you feel you really flourish. Nothing is too dark or strange for your tastes. As Tony once said, “Good food and good eating are about risk.”

9. You’re interested in people and hearing their stories. Whether it’s the guy cooking your food at your favorite deli shop or a successful business man you want to hear as many stories from as many people around the world as possible. Everyone has a story and you wish you had enough time in your life to hear them all.

10. “Your body is not a temple. It’s an amusement park” is essentially your life’s mantra.

11. You enjoy the quiet experience of drinking alone from time to time. When Tony said, “There’s something wonderful about drinking in the afternoon. A not-too-cold pint, absolutely alone at the bar…” you totally understood what he was talking about.

12. You genuinely do not understand how vegetarians or vegans are happy people.

13. You hold unconventional views about life and your personal and spiritual beliefs align with non-Western philosophy.

14. You think the key to a healthy family is all about eating together, cooking together, and enjoying the small moments together in life that bond you.

15. This quote from A Cook’s Tour completely represents how you see life.  “The journey is part of the experience – an expression of the seriousness of one’s intent. One doesn’t take the A train to Mecca.” You’re more interested in taking alternative routes throughout life to get you where you need to be (either physically or mentally).