- The place of his suicide was first misreported as Paris, then as Strasbourg, but he actually died in the small town of Kaysersberg, Haut-Rhin, France. The idyllic town is best known as the birthplace of Nobel Peace Prize recipient Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965). Public Prosecutor Christian de Rocquigny du Fayel from Colmar, France, said that Bourdain died by hanging at the luxury hotel Le Chambard' in Kaysersberg. His body was discovered by celebrity French chef and close friend Eric Ripert.
- Some of the weirdest delicacies he had ever consumed include "Balut" (developing feathered bird embryo boiled and eaten straight from the shell); "Raw Seal Eyeball" (sampled while eating with Inuits in Canada); "Roasted Sheep's Testicles" (consumed in a Moroccan desert); "Bull's Penis & Testicles"; "Hákarl" (heavily ammoniated fermented shark dish); "Cobra Heart" (sliced out of a live snake and eaten while still beating); "Maggot Fried Rice" (self-explanatory); "Warthog Anus" (the worst meal of his life, consumed with a tribe in Namibia).
- He and Ottavia Bourdain welcomed their first child, a girl named Ariane Bourdain, on 4/9/07. She weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz.
- His father was of French, and some Spanish, ancestry, with family that had lived in Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay. His mother was of Ukrainian Jewish and Austrian Jewish descent.
- Les Halles owner Jose Meirelles initially wanted him to go by the French version of his name, Antoine-Michel, much to Bourdain's protests.
- As a guest on BBC TV's Breakfast (2000) (9/2/10), he surprised hosts Bill Turnbull and Susanna Reid when he disclosed that his all-time favorite restaurant was the British "St. John" run by friend and chef Fergus Henderson in London's Smithfield district.
- His work has appeared in "The New York Times", "The Times of London", "The Observer", "Scotland on Sunday", "The Face", "Limb by Limb", "Black Book" and "The Independent", and was a contributing authority for "Food Arts" magazine.
- He studied at Vassar College, worked for some time in the seafood restaurants of Provincetown (MA) and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America before running kitchens at New York City's Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue and Sullivan's.
- Nominated for the 2016 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Letters category.
- Nominated for the 2017 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Enterprise category.
- Older brother of Christopher Bourdain.
- Had been in a romantic relationship with Italian actress Asia Argento at the time of his death.
- Nominated for the 2018 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Arts and Letters category.
- Son of Gladys Bourdain.
- He was nominated for the 2022 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Enterprise category.
- He was nominated for the 2023 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performing Arts and Entertainment category.
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