Sad truth behind 'chummy' Anthony Bourdain photo revealed by food critic

Legendary restaurant critic Jay Rayner has bought into the Tony hype, the new film based on the late Anthony Bourdain, with an anecdote of his own about when they met for an episode of Parts Unknown.

Tony, directed by Matt Johnson, follows 19-year-old Bourdain (played by Dominic Sessa) during an impulsive summer spent inside a kitchen for the first time in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

The flick sees Bourdain, then going by ‘Tony’, dabbling with drugs for the first time, learning the art of oyster shucking, and eventually enrolling in the Culinary Institute of America, thus embarking on a thirty-year career as a chef.

Following the release of his book, Kitchen Confidential and the launch of his show, A Cook’s Tour, Bourdain eventually transitioned away from active line cooking, with his titular CNN travel and food show, Parts Unknown, becoming something of his magnum opus.

In June 2016, the icon, who died at the age of 61 whilst filming in France, headed to St. John in Smithfield, London, where he met with Rayner, now 59, for an episode of Parts Unknown.

The pair famously discussed British cuisine, ate roast bone marrow with parsley salad and a pie made from potato and pig’s head, and discussed the aftermath of the British Brexit vote.

Rayner has used Tony’s release to reminisce about the meal they shared together. He uploaded an image to Instagram with chef Fergus Henderson, 63, on the left, Bourdain in the middle, and himself on the right.

“Have just found this admittedly lousy pic from June 2016, and specifically the Sunday after the Brexit vote (27th?). Bourdain was filming the London episode of his series Parts Unknown and he’d asked me to eat with him on camera at St John,” the culinary icon wrote.

Jay Rayner (right) has shared the sad reality behind an image he took with Anthony Bourdain (central) (Instagram/@jayrayner1)

“It was an odd set up. The restaurant was closed, chairs stacked on the tables around us in the unlit shadows. Fergus Henderson himself served the dishes, in particular a magnificent pig head and potato pie, but he then retreated and was not part of the chat.”

Raynor claimed the chat saw him and Bourdain discussing UK politics, and that from the outside in, it probably appeared that they were ‘very chummy’.

However, it appeared that wasn’t the case, with the food critic claiming that while the star’s manners were ‘impeccable’, he had a charm that could switch ‘on and off with the cameras’.

“That night he felt a little elsewhere. Frankly if I’d been on the road for 200 days a year or thereabouts I too might have felt like that,” he reasoned.

“Anyway here’s the pic. It reminds me just how tall he was, because I am not exactly short.”

Fans have come out in droves to debate the arm-in-arm photograph and Rayner’s sentiments, with one typing: “Brilliant post - Bourdain is often made out to be the perfect protectionist - however what you so perfectly depict is that he wasn’t always perfect or himself. I think the picture also perfectly represents this.”

Epiosdes of Parts Unknown can be streamed now (Bruce Gilbert/Newsday RM via Getty Images)

“Met him once in a bar at Abergavenny, he had to make way for my mother's wheelchair, and we received the charm - I was swooning inside as I LOVED his writing. I just remember his smile and his presence,” replied someone else.

A third commented: “You look tiny! (I jest) What a moment this was. That episode was great and really captured the mourning period in those weeks after the shock of the Brexit vote.

“I always enjoyed that part with you and Tony talking about the UK and where it would be now. Being in an entirely closed restaurant felt really apt and close to the mood of the post Brexit vote gloom,” they continued.

A24’s Tony has been supported by the Bourdain estate, who claimed it wasn’t a ‘standard biopic’ that doesn’t attempt to ‘summarise a life’.

Tony, based on the early life of Anthony Bourdain, has the approval of the former chef's estate (A24)

“Guided by the vision of director Matt Johnson, the film depicts one transformative summer in 1975 in Provincetown, Massachusetts,” a spokesperson told The Guardian.

“It is an interpretation, as that part of Tony’s life will always remain somewhat unknown. We appreciate the portrayal of Tony’s complexity, his intellectual appetite and his conviction – qualities that eventually took him around the globe and endeared him to so many.

“We hope this film serves as a reminder that every journey has a start, and that audiences see the beginnings of the man who taught us how to be better explorers on our own paths,” the spokesperson added.

Tony is currently available to view in the cinema.