U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with Anthony Bourdain after visiting with him in Hanoi, Vietnam in May 2016.Carolyn Kaster/AP
On Friday, as the nation mourned the death of chef, writer, and travel show host Anthony Bourdain, former president Barack Obama took to Twitter to express condolences. Recalling a moment he shared with Bourdain in Vietnam’s capital—”low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer,” Obama wrote, “This is how I’ll remember Tony.”
“Low plastic stool, cheap but delicious noodles, cold Hanoi beer.” This is how I’ll remember Tony. He taught us about food — but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him. pic.twitter.com/orEXIaEMZM
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 8, 2018
Obama dined with Bourdain on a 2016 episode of the TV host’s CNN show, Parts Unknown, where the two met at a restaurant in Hanoi. Recalling the experience for CNN, Bourdain wrote, “I can tell you that Barack Obama was, in spite of having had a high-ranking leader of the Taliban whacked in Pakistan a few days previous, very relaxed and at ease.”
Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in France on Friday morning. He was 61. “He taught us about food—but more importantly, about its ability to bring us together. To make us a little less afraid of the unknown. We’ll miss him,” Obama wrote on Twitter.
