Here are 50 inspiring, thought-provoking, and witty quotes from Anthony Bourdain:
On Travel & Adventure
- “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. But that’s okay. The journey changes you.”
- “Your body is not a temple, it’s an amusement park. Enjoy the ride.”
- “If you’re twenty-two, physically fit, hungry to learn and be better, I urge you to travel—as far and as widely as possible.”
- “Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund.”
- “I think food, culture, people, and landscape are all absolutely inseparable.”
- “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.”
- “The more I travel, the less I know.”
- “Perhaps wisdom… is realizing how small I am, and unwise, and how far I have yet to go.”
- “Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world, you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small.”
- “Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.”
On Food & Cooking
- “Good food is very often, even most often, simple food.”
- “I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you.”
- “You learn a lot about someone when you share a meal together.”
- “I, personally, think there is a real danger of taking food too seriously. Food should be part of the bigger picture.”
- “I’m not afraid to look like an idiot.”
- “Cooking is a craft, I like to think, and a good cook is a craftsman—not an artist.”
- “You have to be romantic about cooking.”
- “Barbecue may not be the road to world peace, but it’s a start.”
- “What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?”
- “An ounce of sauce covers a multitude of sins.”
On Life & Philosophy
- “Skills can be taught. Character you either have or you don’t have.”
- “Luck is not a business model.”
- “I wanted adventures. I wanted to go up the Nung River to the heart of darkness in Cambodia. I wanted to ride out into a desert on camelback.”
- “There’s a lot of joy to be had meeting people in their own world.”
- “I don’t have to agree with everything you say or do to appreciate you as a human being.”
- “I don’t want to be remembered for my work. I’d rather be remembered for who I was.”
- “Be a traveler, not a tourist. Try new things, meet new people, and look beyond what’s right in front of you.”
- “There is no final resting place of the mind.”
- “I don’t have to agree with you to like you or respect you.”
- “Sometimes the greatest meals on vacations are the ones you find when Plan A falls through.”
On Success & Passion
- “Find something you’re passionate about and keep tremendously interested in it.”
- “I understand there’s a guy inside me who wants to lay in bed, smoke weed all day, and watch cartoons and old movies. My whole life is a series of stratagems to avoid and outwit that guy.”
- “Do we really want to travel in hermetically sealed popemobiles through the rural provinces of France, Mexico, and the Far East?”
- “I wanted to see the world—and I wanted the world to be just like the movies.”
- “When dealing with food, ignore the critics, the doubters, and the haters.”
- “What do you like? What exactly do you want to do? Find out. And then do it.”
- “You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”
- “I wanted the world to be just like the movies.”
- “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move.”
- “There’s something wonderful about drinking in the afternoon. A not-too-cold pint, absolutely alone at the bar.”
On Culture & Humanity
- “The world is not a white canvas. The world is richly painted with many colors.”
- “There is no better way to understand a people than through their food.”
- “The great outdoors is a place to see, not a place to be seen.”
- “I travel not to escape life but so that life does not escape me.”
- “You can’t become a decent cook unless you eat good food, unless you understand how things taste.”
- “Meals make the society, hold the fabric together in lots of ways that were charming and interesting and intoxicating to me.”
- “Traveling isn’t always glamorous, but it’s always worth it.”
- “Wherever you go, you take yourself with you.”
- “I’m all about hospitality.”
- “If you’re in a place where you’re afraid to sit down and eat something, you’re missing out on a big part of what travel is about.”
Anthony Bourdain’s words continue to inspire, challenge, and move people all over the world. His legacy is a reminder to explore, be open, and embrace the adventure of life.
