While the changing seasons can be difficult to navigate, Bourdain’s work offers some essential survival tips
At the end of August, I took my partner to Broadway Market to get some fish and chips. When we sat down, I dramatically declared – like Jesus to his disciples – that this was our last summer meal. While the cost of living crisis and the subpar weather arguably made this summer incredibly mid, it’s hard not to mourn the end of summer and all the pleasure and possibility it brings.
From warm summer nights gossiping with friends and enjoying fruit while it’s in season to the chemical nourishment the sun generously provides, summer makes everything feel beautiful and happy, even when you don’t feel beautiful or happy. On a hot summer’s day, the world looks like it was plucked straight out of a movie, making us more appreciative of the people in our lives, the children we see playing in the park, and the bees that buzz right past us.
And then it ends. Even though we know it’ll happen, the end of summer always feels abrupt and cruel. Our lives move from being primarily outdoors to indoors – and it can feel a little harder to get up in the morning. While this isn’t true for everyone, with the changing seasons revitalising the lives of many, the decreased levels of sunlight in autumn negatively impact our mood and perception of the world. But many people online want to combat autumn blues and lean into the season, and they’re doing that with the help of the late and great television host, writer and chef Anthony Bourdain.
It’s Anthony Bourdain autumn baby pic.twitter.com/OhfbeDV7SK
— 𝖍𝖞𝖆𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖍𝖚𝖘 (@eyeeofmarss) September 18, 2023
On TikTok, CHAR Food Guide, a food and drink guide company for Ireland, made a popular TikTok encouraging people to romanticise this new season by attempting to have an ‘Anthony Bourdain Autumn’. As Sian for CHAR explains, an Anthony Bourdain Autumn is “an ode to the big man himself, who knew how to live life properly, even when the weather starts to change.” To fully maximise your Anthony Bourdain Autumn, CHAR created a guide. The first step is to bundle up, get some jumpers, your finest leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses (while the sun is still shining) so you can look a little mysterious and sexy. Next, you must accessorise with three things: a black coffee that’s a little over-extracted, a cigarette (or book) and a baguette. Finally, you need to be at a cafe of some sort, somewhere where you can sit outdoors to enjoy your surroundings and people watch. Overall, according to CHAR, to have an Anthony Bourdain autumn, one must be: sitting, sipping, observing and chilling. Which is what Bourdain was best known for.
@charfoodguide With the #tomatogirlmakeup and #blueberrymilknails of it, we decided there was no better way to celebrate the arrival of favourite time of the year by creating an arbritrary aesthetic for it. Introducing: Anthony Bourdain Autumn 🍂 An excuse to soak up the last of the sun’s rays while being moody, enjoying a treat and looking cool in your own head. #fyp #irish #dublin #cafesindublin #anthonybourdain #autumnaesthetic #charfoodguide #foodindublin #wheretoeatindublin #autumnindublin #dublincafes ♬ suono originale - CHAR Food Guide
While Bourdain did tragically end his life in 2018, he is remembered and admired most for his love of food and pleasure and how, through food, he taught the public about life, love and living in the moment. In his last public interview with Popula, Bourdain shared the moments in life where he had felt the happiest: “To sit alone or with a few friends, half-drunk under a full moon, you just understand how lucky you are; it’s a story you can’t tell. It’s a story you, almost by definition, can’t share. I’ve learned in real time to look at those things and realise: I just had a really good moment.” This quote is continuously shared on Tumblr and TikTok, sites where people, young and old, come together to appreciate Bourdain and (because of him) appreciate the simple things in life.
Bourdain’s work focused on nourishing people, pleasing others and “giving the best you’ve got”. While the changing seasons can be difficult to navigate, we can look to Bourdain’s work for some essential autumn survival tips: to nourish oneself, to be kind and take care of others and to give the best you’ve got. That's the best way to have an Anthony Bourdain Autumn.
Join Dazed Club and be part of our world! You get exclusive access to events, parties, festivals and our editors, as well as a free subscription to Dazed for a year. Join for £5/month today.