The last Thursday in May brought an announcement from chefs Eric Ripert and José Andrés, who decided to name June 25th as the international Bourdain Day. The idea was very clear. Give respect to a man and celebrate his life, in any, but most probably only obvious way – through food, company and story.
Anthony Bourdain was a chef, who while cooking didn’t become known to those outside of the business. With his first two publishings, ”Kitchen confidential” and ”A cook’s tour”, his name became a household term and introduced the lives of chefs, that were unknown to ”the public”.
In his writing, his voice is the what is so relatable. Truthful and candid, it never shied away from describing the state of things as it is, honestly and firmly, rough in vocabulary and without unnecessary garnish. Still, it is never simple and is always vast, filled with descriptions that relate to everyday popular culture, art, music, the state of the world, and politics.
Anthony Bourdain became best known when his travel and food series Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations started in 2005. The first episode aired on July 25th, the show continued for 9 seasons and had 142 episodes.
Through his travels and the food he ate, Bourdain subliminally introduced viewers from around the world to food anthropology, how what we eat describes who we are and where we come from, how our ways and our habits generate our history, the lives of our ancestors, and how through food we communicate with the world around us, form our identity and, in the end, find ourselves.
All of a sudden, we start to ask ourselves why do we eat what we eat, what is the purpose of a dish, and why we haven’t tried ”that thing right there he is eating right now on the screen, somewhere in Paris/Rome/London/Bangkok/Macau”.
In spring of 2012, the episode ”Croatian Coast” aired. With his visit, Bourdain probably did more for Croatian cuisine than anyone else did until then.
With his guide chef Mate Janković, who is an advocate for Croatian cuisine and an important spokesperson for the culinary assets we as a country are still unaware of, Bourdain paid a visit to the winery and restaurant Boškinac on the island of Pag. The head of the winery, Boris Šuljić, is a man whose family legacy and history are seen in every bottle of his, as Bourdain stated, ”monster wines”. Boškinac stands as the finest example of how respecting tradition and listening to the terroir of a place creates an important mark in the grand scheme of things.
What was prepared for Bourdain in 2012, prepared dishes that depict what Croatian cuisine is, and how the idea of Croatian gastronomy is not a crazy one at all.
Because of the location of the encounter in 2012, because of the friendship that lays between the chef and the winemaker, Boškinac is where we will have our own celebration of the first international Bourdain Day.
The name Alen Bibić is well known to every wine drinker, and even to those, who for some reason, don’t drink wine. He is for sure one of the best winemakers Croatia ever had. The BIBICH winery makes wines that in their core communicate the importance of growing local varieties in situ, on the terroir they belong to. Debit, maraština, pošip, babić, plavina or lasin are just some of the varieties that go into the wines that impress everyone who try them. Anthony Bourdain was at the BIBICH cellars, with Alen Bibić and Mate Janković. Together they tried the BIBICH wines along with a 12-course tasting menu created by Vesna Bibić, that Bourdain described as ”(…) the best restaurant meal that ever was.”
Alen Bibić will be joining us at Boškinac. Although not on ”his territory”, certainly in good company that will evoke some bitter-sweet memories of a time when he, with his life and work, gave undisputed significant to local wine varieties, produce and creativity that stands behind the BIBICH winery.
Since the role of music in any celebrations is more than understandable, and since Anthony Bourdain was a big lover of rock, jazz, blues and all its variations, Ozren Kanceljak is here to make sure good vibrations pump up the atmosphere.
Ozren Kanceljak, a.k.a. Kanca is an award-winning DJ who build his musical knowledge and expertise by working at Polet, Aquarius, Gjuro, by playing on numerous festivals, like the Weekend Media Festival, Sarajevo Film Festival, or the first R’n’B Weekend Festival.
Along with Kanca, the dynamic duo under the name Tomec & Grabber are here to present tunes from the series of albums “Dalmatian Dub”, “Dalmatian Lounge” and “Deep Into Croatia”. This will also announce the new upcoming album ”Deep Into Croatia”, that will be out this July. The album series is designed as a homage to traditional Croatian music inheritance, whiles preserving those same traditions, through a modern version in electronic execution.
The Boškinac winery will, on the 25th of June, celebrate the life and work of Anthony Bourdain, by gathering all of those who share the love and passion for the world of food and it’s people. Cook, dine and drink some wine, that’s how Anthony would do it.