'Working with Tony was a truly rewarding experience'. Photo / AP
'Working with Tony was a truly rewarding experience'. Photo / AP
Opinion
Canongate Books' CEO Jamie Byng published four books by Anthony Bourdain. Here, he remembers his first encounter with the celebrity chef and pays tribute to his friend.
I first met Tony in Siberia, a very cool bar in New York. It was 1996 and I was there because it was the book launch of a brilliant novel, Joel Rose's Kill Kill Faster Faster, and I was publishing the book in the UK.
Joel introduced my wife and me to this lanky, louche-looking and dangerously charming man at the bar, told me Tony was a writer I should check out and pointed to a copy of his debut, a darkly comic crime novel called Bone in the Throat, that had pride of place on the shelf behind the bar. But more important than that, Joel made clear that Tony was a very dear friend.
Over the next two hours, in what became an increasingly drunken party, Whitney and I spent much of our time talking with Tony. He was as entertaining as he was hip as he was knowledgeable. His passion for many things came to the fore — not least crime fiction, writing generally, New York and rock 'n' roll. One thing we had not talked about was food. Until I naively and quite casually asked Tony if he could recommend anywhere to eat in the area.
"You want to eat? You're talking to the right f***in' guy!"
We were then frog-marched out of Siberia, across a couple of blocks to a restaurant where, from the moment we walked in, the three of us were treated like royalty.
Whitney and I had no idea what was going on until it started to dawn on us that there was more to Tony than met the eye.
The staff in this smart joint were bowing and scraping, doing whatever they could to ensure Tony and his guests were happy. Tony was the chef and this was his world. We felt lucky to be in it.
I read Bone in the Throat shortly after this first encounter and before you could shuck an oyster, we had acquired the rights to it and the follow-up, Gone Bamboo. But before we had published our editions of either, I commissioned Tony to write a novella and the resulting piece was Chef's Night Out, a thinly veiled autobiographical story that Tony described to me as being the route into Kitchen Confidential, the book that truly put him on the map.
Working with Tony was a truly rewarding experience, one that extended far beyond the traditional publishing relationship. Legendary Random House editor Joe Fox once said, "Never expect gratitude from an author but be grateful when you get it", and one of the things I loved about Tony was his great appreciation of things — be they ingredients, people, passion, the planet, films, music — anything done with care and purpose.
He also had an effortless swagger that reminded me of Nick Cave, another "bad boy" who oozes style and punk poetry and yet is kind, gentle, thoughtful and eloquent.
The last book I worked with Tony on was a collection called Bobby Gold and this emerged in part from conversations we had about George V Higgins and in particular his book, The Friends of Eddie Coyle, which Tony regarded as one of the greatest novels ever written.
'One of the things I loved about Tony was his great appreciation of things'. Pictured is Jamie Byng, Anthony Bourdain's publisher.
Bobby Gold was his way of respecting Higgins. Tony believed in paying dues and championing those things in life that ignited something in you. In this sense he was truly a vital spark and the manner in which his life has been snuffed out is unbearably sad. I am just one of many who misses greatly this exuberant, soulful and beautiful man.
• Canongate is releasing new editions of Bone in the Throat, Gone Bamboo and Bobby Gold on August 9.
• A new season of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown begins on Friday, 8.30pm on Food TV.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7) • Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) • Youthline: 0800 376 633 • Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7) • Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm) • Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7) • Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155 • Samaritans 0800 726 666 • If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
