(CNN) - When the CNN "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" team contacted me in February 2014 to ask for help for an upcoming shoot in Thailand, of course I accepted without hesitation.
No culinary celebrity was more appreciated than Anthony Bourdain at the time, and his posthumous fame and recognition have only grown since. At a time when chefs are the new rock stars, he was Johnny Cash, keeping him raw and real.
Playing on his history in professional kitchens, including Manhattan's Les Halles brasserie, he liked to describe himself as a failed chef and spoke openly about past addictions. He strongly criticized over-publicized television chefs and the Michelin cult, rather using his influence to praise the street vendors and online cooks who feed most of the world.
For 17 years, through four television series ("A Cook's Tour", "No Reservations", "The Layover" and "Parts Unknown"), and in more than 50 countries, Tony let us accompany us while meeting people from all walks of life. life and explored their culinary traditions, no matter how foreign they might seem to the public. In fact, the more foreign he was, the better, but always in a local context rather than as a critical and knowledgeable observer.
And it wasn't just about food. His zigzag path around the world was strewn with jewels of philosophy.
"The more I travel," he says, "the less I know."
Watch Anthony Bourdain eat brain and blood in Thailand on his program "Parts Unknown".
I was approached by Tony's producer, Tom Vitale, who has spent most of his career working with him. Tony enjoyed working with the authors of the Lonely Planet guide, said Vitale by way of introduction, as they knew the terrain and were used to tight travel schedules.
In a series of emails, Vitale outlined her filming plans in Chiang Mai and asked for my advice on places and activities. At this point, the smash hit series was in its third season.
It was not Tony's first visit to the camera in Thailand. In 2003, "A Cook's Tour" added Bangkok to a shoot in Singapore during a long stopover in the Thai capital. Bangkok was again featured in the fifth season of "No Reservations" (2008), when Tony delved deeper into street food.
"Why would someone eat in a restaurant when they could eat like that?" he exclaims as he sits on the wooden steps of the floating market at Amphawa in Thailand, picking up shrimp cakes from a paper plate.
Tony and his crew were therefore no strangers to Thailand when they approached me to shoot "Parts Unknown" in Chiang Mai. Producer Vitale said they particularly need spectacular places where they can get rice growing, monks receiving alms at dawn and the scenery along Ping River, Chiang Mai's main waterway.
After sending Vitale a list of potential locations, he came back with another request.
Referring to my book "Sacred Tattoos of Thailand", he asked if I could arrange for Tony to be inked with a magical Thai tattoo - sak yan - somewhere in Chiang Mai. I suggested a relatively little known (at the time) master called Ajahn Nen, whom I had first met while he was a monk at Wat Si Munruang in the nearby town of Saraphi.
Now profane with his own sanctuary dedicated to Sak Yan not far from his former monastery, Ajahn Nen said he would be happy to welcome the team, so we set a date and time.
At this point, the production team had invited Andy Ricker, chef-owner of the famous Pok Pok restaurant in northern Thailand, to take Tony to his favorite restaurants in Chiang Mai and the surrounding area. Andy and I have known each other for years, and we exchanged excited emails discussing the upcoming shoot for Chiang Mai.
Karaoke cowboy
After recommending locations and agreeing to help while filming the tattoo, it seemed like my responsibilities were over. Then Vitale sent an email again, saying that Tony was wondering if I could make an appearance as a karaoke singer in a scene.
With only two days notice, they asked me to compose a drinking song in Thai that I could sing to Tony in a karaoke in Chiang Mai. Using an existing song could create licensing issues, he said. I agreed to try it - imagine how nervous I was about singing Thai on camera, let alone having to write the song myself - and Vitale replied: "Wonderful Do you have a white linen suit? I'm going for a bit of film noir with the scene. A moody mood like in this scene from "City of Ghosts." "
The YouTube link he sent was a clip from the 2002 police thriller, set in post-war Cambodia, and it showed actor James Caan singing the Khmer chestnut "'Bong Srolanh Srolanh Tae Oun" in a shabby Cambodian singalong club.
Tony later told me that he and Vitale had concocted the Chiang Mai karaoke scene in sneaky homage to one of his favorite films. Several other episodes of "Parts Unknown" contain similar cinematic Easter eggs, although they may be difficult to spot.
So now I had to sing; I had to write the song; and I had to imitate a world famous actor. Nothing like a little pressure to run the juice.
The producers recorded an instrumental piece of background karaoke in New York. This music was sent to me just hours before I met Tony and Andy in rustic karaoke in the middle of nowhere.
Just to make it a little more difficult for me, I composed the lyrics in northern Thai dialect, because I knew that most karaoke customers would be from the North.
The day of the shooting, I met Tony and Andy on the little bamboo and thatch karaoke spot they had found outside the city just at sunset. While the crew were busy installing lights and rewiring the karaoke machine - a massive jukebox with crazy reverberation and bass frequencies shaking the roof - Tony invited me over for a drink before the camera at a table in the corner.
Andy had brought a few bottles of lao khao, a moonlight of illicit rice that was wrapping a nasty uppercut. Off camera, Tony was just as charismatic and engaging as he appeared in front of the camera, but with the volume down a notch or two.
He expressed admiration for my work on Lonely Planet, and the three of us exchanged travel stories and travel anecdotes as first-time travelers. It took a while to set up, and we polished one or two bottles of lao khao - straight, without a hunter, and with the most pleasant taste with each glass.
I might have hit a little harder than usual, to be "in character" as a drunk karaoke singer, but in truth to deal with the fear of the scene. I have been playing and singing in rock pub bands since the age of 15, but I never dreamed of going into a virtual international arena like this.
Finally, the crew said it was time to roll up the tape, so I put on the white linen jacket I had borrowed from a friend and moved to another table where I needed to sit alone and drink lao khao until they call me to sing. Just before the cameras rolled, Vitale ran towards me with a thick red scarf to throw around my neck, to complete the outfit that James Caan had worn in "City of Ghosts".
If I remember correctly, we did about 20 karaoke performances. In five minutes I no longer had to pretend to be drunk. The Thai country clientele seated at the other tables had no idea who these crazy (foreign) farangs were who had invaded their hidden karaoke hut. At first amazed to see a tall white guy singing (a little badly, but it was part of the act) in northern Thailand, they loved him soon, and it didn't seem to bother to sit down after each taken from the same song.
In the finished episode, released in June 2014, Tony delivers classic replicas of Bourdain while I sing.
"This guy is pretty good!", Followed by a sharp voiceover a few moments later: "It could be me one day, I think. Things are going a little bad, I derail, it would be too attractive. I see myself to sing happy birthday in German to tourists in a hotel bar in Jakarta or Bangkok. "
After the scene, there was more lao khao at an outdoor table with Tony, Andy and Austin Bush (my successor for Lonely Planet Thailand, who came for the filming), and a few large bottles of Thai beer as well.
I think back to those moments when I hear another voiceover that Tony adds to the karaoke scene: "It may surprise you, but I'm not an alcoholic. I never drink at home. There is no beer in my fridge. If I 'I don't work, I don't hang out in bars. But if I was an alcoholic and I hung out in bars, I would stay here. "
Diamond Armor protection
For the tattoo scene, I took the crew to Ajahn Nen's samnak sak yan, a special sanctuary dedicated to inking traditional Thai tattoos. While the cameras and sound were being organized, Tony and I sat cross-legged in front of the tattoo master while helping them craft an appropriate sacred design.
Tony, whose arms and torso were already showing a lot of ink at the time, said he was open to anything. Explaining that Thai tattoos work like medical prescriptions, in the sense that they are given to remedy a problem, I asked Tony if there was anything missing in life. He shrugged and said "Joe, I have more than I ever wanted. And then some."
I translated for Ajahn Nen, who thought for a minute and then asked Tony, "Do you have enemies?" Tony stared at the master with a solemn look, then looked at me. "I do."
After a brief discussion, Ajahn Nen and I decided that the right magic design for Tony would be Diamond Armor (Kraw Phet), a rectangular matrix of diamond shapes and one-letter seals that protect from his enemies. The reflective defense of the tattoo is so powerful that it is thought that whatever evil your enemies wish to inflict on you, it will turn against them.
Where to place the design was the next decision. Again, Tony was happy to take the needle anywhere on his body. I pointed to an empty space on his right inner forearm, and the master nodded, so that's where he aimed.
After Tony offered the master a ceremonial plate holding a white flower, three sticks of incense, two candles, a pack of cigarettes and Thai currency, Ajahn Nen began to plant the ink in the delicate skin of the wrist and Tony's forearm using sharp, bifurcated steel. needle attached to a thin steel rod.
Once the design was completed, the master chanted a series of mantras and sprinkled holy water, using a reed whip, on his head and shoulders, to give power to the tattoo. Throughout, Tony's face showed no indication of pain, until it was time to get up.
Bourdain says that his "previous life is simply not adequate" after tasting a bitter buffalo tendon soup, enriched with bile.
His knees were so locked after 45 minutes sitting on the floor that it took three of us to help him get up.
I had dinner with Tony and Andy another night during the filming, but without the cameras. The "real Tony" - if that's what I saw - was much more laid back, sweet and introspective than the sarcastic New Yorker everyone sees on screen.
Escape
When I heard about Tony's death on June 8, 2018, I was devastated. I can still hardly believe he is gone. He was such an important pioneer for the food and travel media, and a role model for so many of us writers, not to mention the cooks, restaurant staff and life lovers everywhere.
I recently saw the Bhutanese episode of "Parts Unknown", which aired as the very last segment of season 11, after Tony's death. The show follows Bourdain and filmmaker Darren Aronofsky as they eat with traditional yak herders in the Himalayas and visit the monastery of the mythical " madman ", a 15th-century Buddhist monk named Drukpa Kunley who preached enlightenment through non-prohibited sexual intercourse.
In Thimphu, the country's capital, they share a traditional meal prepared by Kesang Choden, owner of the Folk Heritage restaurant. The scene lovingly captures the unique colors, textures and cooking methods, but Tony is not seen until the dining room begins.
Bourdain and Aronofsky enjoy Bhutanese cuisine with the locals. Watch Parts Unknown Sunday at 9 p.m. ET / PT on CNN.
On a whim, the other day, I asked a Bhutanese friend if she could put me in contact with Choden. I was given a phone number, and after a few tries, someone finally answered. I had already seen Choden's cherub face in Parts Unknown, so it was easy to imagine as we were talking about his cooking experience for Tony and his team.
"The camera people were there most of the day while we were cooking," she said. "They asked me to do everything in a very traditional way, the way we eat Bhutanese, not the way we usually cook for tourists.
"Mr. Bourdain arrived when the dishes were ready. I was impressed with the way he tried each dish without hesitation, even the fried yak skin. He appreciated everything that we did for him and me. Said it was "very original". We put a lot of peppers in the food because that's how we eat. He ate them all. "
Since the episode aired in June 2018, Choden says that his Folk Heritage restaurant has received a steady stream of visitors asking to eat what Tony ate.
Temple bells, valleys covered with thick forests and snow-capped peaks fill the background of the episode. Tony notes the complete absence of Starbucks and KFC. There are several verbal and visual references expressing how climate change is affecting even one of the most remote places on Earth.
Towards the end of the Bhutan show, as he and Aronofsky place small votive terra-cotta stupas in sheltered crevices on a secluded cliff, Tony says, weary enough: "I know, it's beautiful. I'm glad that 'it has not been f ** ked yet by the world. "
