Anthony Bourdain Loved Filipino Food, and We Loved Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain has died. In news that came as a shock to his many fans, the acclaimed chef, writer, and journalist was found dead in his hotel room in France on Friday morning, June 8, CNN reported. He was 61 years old.

In his life, Bourdain was many things, but best-known as a food and travel journalist. As the host of Parts Unknown, Bourdain circled the world and explored the cuisines and cultures of even far-flung and lesser-known places. He did this openly and honestly; with a sense of adventure and a genuine curiosity about food and about what food can say of people and places. As such, many of the stories he told were a service to both his audience and his subjects. Bourdain once described his work on Parts Unknown himself: "We ask very simple questions: What makes you happy? What do you eat? What do you like to cook? And everywhere in the world we go and ask these very simple questions."

In fact, ours is one of the many cuisines that Bourdain has tackled. In episodes of Parts Unknown, Bourdain featured Filipino food and culture: Jollibee and Jollispaghetti, halu-halo, and even sisig. Excerpts of these features are now available online. As we mourn Bourdain's untimely passing, let's not forget the man he was, the work he did, and how he figured into the advancement of Filipino cuisine.

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He once called Jollispaghetti "deranged, but strangely alluring."

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In the second episode of Parts Unknown's first season, he also swung by a Jollibee branch in the States.

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He also tried halu-halo during his time here in the Philippines.

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Bourdain also got to experience Christmas here.

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He ate homemade adobo once, and learned that "the answer to who makes the best adobo is mom makes the best adobo."

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Bourdain also famously loved sisig, and called it his "single favorite Filipino street food; and quite possibly the best thing you could ever eat with a cold beer."

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During a Piers Morgan segment, Bourdain easily ate balut, and even explained what it means to Filipinos.

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Bourdain also worked on a more in-depth feature on Filipino food in an episode of his other food and travel show, No Reservations. There, he got to try lechon, kilawin, and bulalo.

Throughout his career, Bourdain had several brushes with Filipino cuisine. He seemed to have something of a soft spot for our food, or at least a tendency to talk about it. Ours was one of the many cuisines that he shared his spotlight with, and for that, we salute Anthony Bourdain.