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“In the Greece episode [of Parts Unknown], he asks a question in the voice-over, something to the effect of, “Is it worse to be in a bad place with people you like, or in a beautiful place all alone?” So much of his life was going to beautiful places and being all alone.”
― Laurie Woolever, Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography

“When your objective is to get footage that illustrates a story—in this case how much destruction and tragedy exists in a place—it puts you in the awkward position of witnessing human suffering as a goal.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“The cameras were rolling; it was go time. I signaled to Jared who sent in the waitress. She placed white rice noodles, greens, fried pork rolls, two steaming bowls of broth, and two beers on the table. “I feel a little awkward sitting in front of all this good food with you guys standing there working. Did you get something to eat?” President Obama asked before starting the scene. He was one of the few people in the thousands we’d filmed who inquired if the crew was hungry.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain

“Sharing a meal put people at ease, helped them forget the cameras were there, and inspired them to open up about their lives. Most importantly, food had become our cover, at least as far as I was concerned. In Iran and Laos, it was actually thought we were CIA like in the movie Argo. And in certain ways they were right. If it wasn’t for the cover of a “food show,” we never would have been able to get to the places we did. Season after season while planning the shoots, food had morphed from the show’s raison d’être to almost an afterthought. By the end, it was a show about people far more than one about food.”
― Tom Vitale, In the Weeds: Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain