Anthony Michael Bourdain was an American celebrity chef, author, and travel documentarian known for his exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition. A 1978 graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, Bourdain spent years in many professional kitchens, notably as an executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan. He first came into the limelight with his bestselling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000).

Bourdain's television journey began with A Cook's Tour on the Food Network, followed by Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and The Layover on the Travel Channel, before moving to CNN to host Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. His work, spanning culinary writings, fiction, and non-fiction, has earned him a Peabody Award in 2014 and six Primetime Emmy Awards. Bourdain's influence extended beyond the kitchen to his role as a judge on The Taste and as a producer for The Mind of a Chef. On June 8, 2018, Bourdain's remarkable journey ended in France, where he was filming for Parts Unknown, in an apparent suicide.