There has been this notion that if you take too much pleasure in your food, then it might somehow lead to bad character. ‘In the English-speaking world, there has always been a certain ambivalence about taking pleasure at the table. Read on to discover his ultimate guide to the city. Bourdain thought it was ‘one of the greatest, most beautiful, most magical cities in the world,’ and his recommendations – spanning cafés, restaurants and hotels – are enlightening and intriguing in equal measure. His love affair with Paris was an enduring one. A lifelong devotee of excess, the chef delighted in ‘fabulously oozing cheeses, rich sauces, historic wines, the kind of thing that tends to pigeonhole a culture, make you think it’s all luxury and sodomy’. ‘To some extent, the stereotypes are true,’ he said, recognising the city’s ‘un-American propensity for high quality of life’. He was as gushing about the city as any other artistic type, admiring locals’ appreciation for the good things in life. Eat again.’ Yes, please.īourdain wasn’t, however, immune to the romance of the place. ‘Walk a little, get lost a bit, eat, catch a breakfast buzz, have a nap, try and have sex if you can, just not with a mime. The Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame and Arc de Triomphe were not on his list instead, he suggests an altogether more relaxed trip. Urging visitors to avoid the obvious, he stressed that ‘the absolute worst thing to do when you come to Paris is plan too much’. He was especially keen to dispel the fears of the reluctant. In this extract, Bourdain offers a whistle-stop tour of his favourite spots in Paris – and what drew him back, again and again, to the people, culture and food of the French capital. His posthumous book ‘World Travel: An Irreverent Guide’ has been created by his long-time editor Laurie Woolever, building on his previous writings and an hour-long interview before his death. And he was emphatic about converting the sceptical. He made the first and 100th episodes of his TV travelogue ‘No Reservations’ there, along with an episode of ‘The Layover’. The chef, writer, presenter and indefatigable traveller first visited as a child, as he detailed in his book ‘Kitchen Confidential’.
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