Anthony Bourdain Always Said This Is What He Wanted to Eat for His Last Meal on Earth

Anthony Bourdain died on Friday of apparent suicide, news that shook fans from his chef colleagues, to President Barack Obama, to ordinary people all around the world who had been inspired by the chef's work and worldview. Amid the tragic news, shocked fans sought answers — and perhaps solace — in Bourdain's archived interviews.

While no obvious single explanation immediately emerged, many details from past interviews read like powerful philosophies, even prophecies, under the sad circumstance. One notable thread was what Anthony Bourdain had always said he wanted to eat for his last meal on earth.

"If I knew I was going to die tomorrow morning I’d probably be eating some really high-end sushi tonight,” he told The Wrap in 2013. 

More specifically, in 2016 he wrote in The Guardian that he'd like that sushi to come from Japan's famous Sukiyabashi Jiro.

“Ideally, my last meal would be at Sukiyabashi Jiro, a tiny sushi bar below street level in Tokyo. It serves some of the finest quality sushi anywhere on the planet,” he wrote. “I think I’d prefer to die like an old lion — to crawl away into the bushes where no one can see me draw my last breath. But in this case, I’d crawl away to a seat in front of this beautiful hinoki wood sushi bar, where three-Michelin starred Jiro Ono would make me a 22- or 23-course omakase tasting menu."

May Bourdain find peace now, amid all his most favorite foods.