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Sami milking bowls

dried reindeer meat

Sami cuisine is the cuisine of peoples from the Sápmi territory of the Sami people, which spans Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Its traditional cuisine of each area has individual traits. Traditionally, the cuisine of Sápmi has been based on local materials, like fish, game, reindeer and berries. Berries have been important food, because other kinds of vegetables were not available during the long winters. Nowadays berries are parts of delicate sauces and desserts. The most valued berry of Sápmi is the cloudberry. Milk consumption was not very common.^{[citation needed]} In eastern parts of Sápmi, reindeer herding became a way of life in the 19th century and, before that, people were hunters and fishers. These days reindeer is essential for Sami cuisine, but game, fish and wild birds are also important. The cuisine of Sàpmi consists of a variety of dishes which stem from differences in geography, culture and climate.

Meat dishes[link]

Smoked salmon

Reindeer, fish and game meats are staple foods, with literally thousands of recipes and flavors - although spices other than salt are very rare. The local cuisine varies a lot depending of access to food. Sàpmi's history with its many cultural influences has led to an array of dishes. Most dishes are made of reindeer meat, although some also are made of moose or sheep. Smoking and drying have historically been used to preserve meat and fish.

• Bierggojubttsa- A soup containing meat, potatoes, carrots or other root vegetables.
• Suovasbierggo- Smoked meat, eaten as it is or fried
• Gåjkkebierggo- Dried meat, eaten as it is or in soup with potato and rice.
• Bierggomales- Cooked meat of various kind, chops and sides are common. Also tongue, marrow bones, liver are a part. The dish is more like a five-dish dinner, with the various parts served in order with hot broth from the pot.
• Guorppa- A kind of sausage made of grounded meat wrapped in omentum.
• Mallemàrffe- Blood sausage
• Slåbbå- Blood pancakes
• Sautéed reindeer
• Smoked reindeer
• Mat salong (eating salmon)^[1]

A Finnish version of sauteed reindeer...	and a Swedish version

Fish dishes[link]

Fishes in the mountains and forest areas of Sàpmi:Salmon, Common whitefish, Perch, Roach, Char Fishes of the coastal areas of Sàpmi:Cod

• Sàllteguolle- Salted fish, either gravsalted or hevay salted.
• Suovasguolle- Smoked fish
  
• Guollemales- Cooked fish of any kind.
• Dried fish of different kinds

Bread[link]

Simple homemade flatbread

• Gàhkko- Soft flatbread, baked in a frying pan or on a flat stone.
• Ståmpå- Loaf
• Gàrrpa- Thin, crusty bread.

Desserts[link]

• Jåbmå - Leafs of Mountain sorrel cooked to a stew, usually served with sugar and milk.
• Guompa - angelica mixed with milk and left in barrels to ferment.
• Cloudberrys - Eaten both fresh and as jam. Cloudberry jam goes well warm with ice cream.
• Coffee with cheese

New cooking[link]

In the last decades new influences have been introduced in traditional Sami cooking. A well-known dish of this cross-cooking is the Suovaskebab, which consists of sliced suovasbierggo, cucumber, salad and garlic dressing in a pita bread. The Suovaskebab can be found at festivals and fairs in northern Scandinavia. These days the old food culture is evolving and adapting. Fast food restaurants in Sápmi can have reindeer hamburger on their menus.

References[link]

Yotam Ottolenghi (1968) is an Israeli-born chef and restaurant owner.

Biography[link]

Yotam Ottolenghi was born in Jerusalem on 14 December 1968, son of Michael, a professor of chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Ruth, a high-school principal. His mother is German and his father is Italian.^[1] He grew up in Jerusalem's Ramat Denya neighborhood. After serving in the Israel Defense Forces, he studied philosophy at Tel-Aviv University. He also holds a masters degree in comparative literature.^[2] In 1997, he moved to the UK and trained at the Le Cordon Bleu in London for six months. He lives in west London with his partner, Karl Allen.

Culinary career[link]

Ottolenghi worked as a pastry chef at The Capital restaurant in Knightsbridge. From there, he moved to the Kensington Place restaurants and eventually became head pastry chef at Baker and Spice in Chelsea, London. In 2002 he established the Ottolenghi deli with Sami Tamimi ^[3] and Noam Bar.

As of 2010, Ottolenghi has four outlets in London: Notting Hill, Kensington, Belgravia and Islington. The Islington branch is the only branch which is a full-blown restaurant, while the other branches are take-away delis/ cafes.

In February 2011 his company opened NOPI, a restaurant on Warwick Street in Soho, London.^[4]

Ottolenghi writes a weekly food column in the Guardian weekend Saturday magazine.^[5] For four years the column was titled The New Vegetarian, and in 2011 it was expanded to include other recipes. Ottolenghi published two best-selling cookery books, Ottolenghi: The Cookbook, written with Sami Tamimi, and Plenty, winner of a Galaxy National Book Award 2010.^[6] In 2011 Plenty was also published in the US, Germany and Holland.

Published works[link]

• Ottolenghi, Yotam (1 May 2008). Ottolenghi: The Cookbook. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-192234-4. 
• Ottolenghi, Yotam (29 April 2010). Plenty. Ebury Press. ISBN 978-0-09-193368-5. 

References[link]

External links[link]

• The Ottolenghi website
• NOPI's website
• Yotam Ottolenghi’s column in The Guardian

Sami Yusuf
Yusuf in 2011
Background information
Born	July 1980 (age 31) Tehran, Iran
Genres	Spiritique
Occupations	musician, composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter
Instruments	piano, keyboard, violin, tar, santour, tombak, oud, tabla
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Awakening Records 2003–2009 ETM International 2009–Present
Associated acts	Ian Brown, Sezen Aksu, Conner Reeves
Website	SamiYusufOfficial.com

Sami Yusuf is a British singer-songwriter, composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist musician of Azerbaijan origin.^[1]

In 2003 Yusuf released his first album "Al-Mu`allim" at the age of 23, selling over two million copies. Following the release of his second album "My Ummah" in 2005, Yusuf was heralded as "Islam's Biggest Rock Star" by Time magazine for his success in attracting a relatively young fan base from diverse regions across the world, many of whom were of Muslim backgrounds. Yusuf has sold over 9 million albums.^[2] In October 2010, following a five-year hiatus, Yusuf’s third official album "Wherever You Are" was launched, manifesting his self-coined genre “Spiritique”. Yusuf is involved in humanitarian initiatives, supporting, among others, Islamic Relief and Save the Children.

Early life[link]

An ethnic Azeri born in Tehran, Yusuf was raised in London from the age of three.^[3] He initially began composing simple melodies starting at the age of three,^[4] and performing on stage for the first time around the age of nine.^[5] His “defining moment”^[6][7] musically occurred when his father loaned him a book on the basics of the Tombak [Persian instrument]. Upon returning from a tea break, his father found that the young Yusuf had mastered the book that had taken months for his students to finish.^[8] As a teenager he was a devotee of classical music and classical icons like Chopin and Mozart, admitting that he listened to Classic FM radio station for hours in a day.^[9] He went on training professionally in several other instruments including the santoor, piano, violin, oud, setar, tar, and daf under the guidance of traditional teachers, as well as professional musicians. While producing and demo-recording for another singer, he became aware of his own singing abilities which were further developed by the encouragement of his family. Divided between pursuing a musical career or studying law at King’s College London, Yusuf opted for music while committed to “doing something dignified and respectable”.^[9] Though he claimed to having been always spiritual, he reconnected with his Islamic faith through a “religious awakening”^[10] at the age of sixteen. He then set out to share his experience with the other young British Muslims he felt were direly in search of an identity especially post 9/11. Yusuf self-produced and released his debut album “Al-mu’allim” at the age of 23, pioneering an innovative trend other Muslim artist would seek to emulate and promote, termed "Islamic pop".^[11]

Professional career[link]

(2003–2004) – Al-Mu'allim[link]

Shortly before traveling to Egypt to study Arabic, Sami Yusuf released his debut album Al-Mu`allim in July 2003 and 2004, a primarily percussive album comprising eight tracks.^[12] The radiant cube and purple background of the album cover symbolized “the light of the Prophetic message illuminating the darkness of the night”.^[12] Its feature song, "Al-Mu’allim", became an instant hit in the Middle East, North Africa, and South-East Asia topping the charts in Egypt and Turkey for twelve consecutive weeks, selling over two million copies worldwide.^[13] Believing that music can be a "powerful medium to promote ideas and establish dialogue within society”,^[14] he coalesced Eastern percussive instrumentation and Western melodies in “Al-Mu’allim” with a focus on the English and Arabic languages. The last track, “Supplication”, was used in the Golden-Globe award-nominated film, “The Kite Runner”.^[15] Though the album was described as a “project to define British Muslim identity”^[16] in a post 9-11 period — with explicitly religious themes praising the Prophet Mohammad and Allah in songs like “The Creator” and “Ya Mustafa” — it reached the ears of unexpectedly diverse range of listeners, constituting of various nationalities, ages, and races.^[12] Redirecting the current of Muslim music through his songs and professionally produced music videos (“Al-Mu’allim” and “Supplication”), Yusuf had “unintentionally” cultivated grounds for a fresh genre of music coined "Islamic Pop"^[11] by setting a new benchmark in the religious music industry. The journal Transnational Broadcasting Studies analyzed the main causes of his success by attributing it to Yusuf’s ability to blend “a religious worldview with a mainstream form of entertainment, and in doing so, [communicating] a personable, accessible expression of the Islamic faith that is in harmony with the modern world and incorporated into the mundane activities of daily life”.^[17]

(2005–2009) – My Ummah[link]

Performing at Royal Concert Hall Glasgow, April 2006

Yusuf gained worldwide recognition following the release of his second album, My Ummah, in July 2005. This album appeared in both musical and percussive versions and includes fourteen tracks. The album’s thematic elements include empowerment of women in “Free”, raising awareness of the plight of victims of conflict-laden regions like Palestine and Darfur in the respective tracks of “Try Not to Cry” (featuring Outlandish) and “Make A Prayer”; “Muhammad” was dedicated to the victims of the 2004 Beslan school massacre, whereas “We Will Never Submit” protested against acquiescence to oppression.^[18] The album, both Eastern and Western in sound, utilized wide-ranging musical instrumentation from classical instruments like piano, violin, flute and drums to ethnic instruments like oud, santour, tar, drums, tombak and more. "My Ummah" was an embodiment of Yusuf’s "utopia for the Muslim World or humanity at large".^[19] Considered a breakthrough album^{[by whom?]}, it sold over four million copies globally and was received enthusiastically by a diverse range of listeners, particularly young people, who identified closely with the topics included therein.^[20] Transnational Broadcasting Studies discussed the exposure of Muslim youth to a new dawn of Islamic “art with purpose”, accrediting this opening to Yusuf’s music that had the power "to both preserve core cultural identity and promote spiritual and material progress“.^[17] Yusuf's music video featuring the Afghan folklore “Hasbi Rabbi” became a regional hit in Egypt, and was used to launch Vodafone Egypt’s value-added-service (VAS) platform Vodafone Live.^[21] The video portrays Yusuf in multiple characters and locations: as a practicing Muslim businessman in London, a teacher playing soccer and tutoring in Taj Mahal, then a professional Volinist jubilantly laughing and chatting with his bandmates in Turkey, and finally as a jovial carpenter in the lively bazaar's of Egypt. Recognized by The Independent as the "Voice of Islam",^[22] Yusuf emphasized that he was not a "preacher",^[23] rather a musician with a message^[24] who believes in the urgent need for “a wave of people to come along and bridge the gaps, because we have so much in common, so much to learn from each other”.^[20] A major addition to his artistic repertoire was Oscar-winning director Marc Forster's proposal to Yusuf to compose a credit-piece for the Golden Globe award-nominated film, The Kite Runner.^[25] Due to time constraints on both sides however, the credit piece was never realised but “Supplication”, a track from Yusuf’s debut album, was used to voice one of the film’s climactic scenes.^[26] Reluctant to be dubbed as “Islam’s Biggest Rock Star” by Time, Yusuf later explained that he does not "want to be a rock star ... a popstar. ... I just want to make good music, and do what I feel I’m confident in doing ... and that’s music”.^[11]

(2005–2009) Dispute with Former Label[link]

In a contractual dispute lasting from 2008 to 2009, Yusuf legally separated from his former record label Awakening. He claimed the "third" album, Without You, released by Awakening in January 2009, was released without his prior “blessings nor consent”. He stated: “I therefore wish to make it perfectly clear that an album comprised of any such recordings could only be put on to the market against my wishes and without my approval”.^[27] In mid-2009, he signed a five-album contract with the UK-based record label ETM International.^[28]

(2009 – present) – Wherever You Are Pre-Release[link]

In July 2009, Yusuf was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree in recognition of his “extraordinary contributions to the field of music” by Roehampton University in southwest London.^[29] Earlier in the year, he was selected to serve as the first Global Ambassador of HH Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser’s (Qatar's First Lady) initiative, Silatech, which seeks to engage “the public, private and civil society sectors to promote large-scale job creation, entrepreneurship and access to capital and markets for young people”.^[30] Ranked in the “Top 500 Influential Muslims of 2009 (and 2010) ”, a publication edited by Georgetown University’s John Esposito and Ibrahim Kahlin, Yusuf was described as an “internationally popular British singer-songwriter whose music has revolutionized the nasheed industry. ... He is also known for his extensive involvement in charity work”.^[31] Yusuf released his video single, “You Came To Me,” in four languages (English, Arabic, Turkish, and Persian) in the summer of 2009.^[32] Rolling Stone magazine called the style by which Yusuf sung the track’s lyrics “touching”, listing it as one of the key tracks of the “Wherever You Are” album.^[33] SamiYusufOfficial.com announced the release of “Wherever You Are”, Yusuf’s third official album, in March 2010, introducing it as “A renaissance. A Rebirth. A New Beginning”.^[34] Meanwhile in the following summer, Yusuf shared his music video “Healing” sung in English and Arabic that was created in cooperation with the KSA-based International Medical Center.^[35] It was also listed as another key track by Rolling Stone magazine.^[33] In reference to the song’s underlying philosophy of generosity in lines like “Heal and you will be healed/…Give and you will receive/It’s nature’s order”, Yusuf’s wrote on his blog: “I hope it helps, albeit in some small way, in showing that every single one of us can be a healer”.^[36] Amidst the torrential monsoons that wreaked havoc in Pakistan and affected 20 million lives in the summer of 2010, he promptly released a charity single entitled “Hear Your Call”, performed in English and Urdu, to raise funds for the displaced Pakistanis in a joint-effort with the UN-sponsored charity organization Save the Children.^[37][38] The song was featured on a short film by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Human Affairs (OCHA)^[39] appealing for renewed donations towards the relief effort. Prompted by the protests and clashes that transpired in Egypt in February 2011, Yusuf released a free track entitled “I’m Your Hope”, dedicating it to the “Shabaab” or youth.^[40] The lyrics are in English and Arabic.^[41] Sami Yusuf has expressed keen interest on initiating his own “record company to help artists and talents that are not supported” in the near future.^[42]

(2009–Present) Wherever You Are: “New Chapter” and“Spiritique”[link]

Performing live in the Maida Vale Studios,^[43][44] Yusuf explained that “It's 2009, I have different challenges, I've got different issues and I will not sing religious-themed music just for the sake of business – it's got to be what I feel”. After a five-yearlong hiatus, Yusuf released his third, official studio album named Wherever You Are in October 2010, welcoming what he termed a “New Chapter” in his professional career and music.^[45] "Spiritique" is Yusuf’s self-coined musical and philosophical classification of his music. Spiritique, according to Yusuf, is a blend of both the “oriental and occidental” sounds, underpinned by spirituality that “will utilize music as a facilitator for spiritual appreciation, regardless of race and religion”. Yusuf considers it his new sound and “something [he] wants to stand for from now”.^[46] With the exceptions of songs like “No Word is Worthy”, “You Came To Me” and "Salaam" (though the latter is more of a 'humanitarian ode' than religiously themed) the 12 track-set album purposely draws less upon religious content^[47] leaving room for interpretation for listeners of all backgrounds. Yusuf maintains, however, that it follows the “same principles and ingredients [of] honesty, [and] sincerity”.^[48] Introducing the album in its official trailer as a “mini diary of events”^[49] that occurred from 2007 to 2010, Yusuf emphasized that the content is essentially a reflection of his worldview: “This third album is about who I am and the reality of the day and age we are living in. It talks about the hypocrisy. ... it’s quite dark”.^[47] Songs like “Give the Young A Chance”, featuring lyrics by Ian Brown, incorporate heavy usage of metaphors, likening the youth to “jewels” and allusions to “gardens where birds will sing lullabies” and “sweet scents fill the air”.^[50] British singer-songwriter Conner Reeves and Turkish singer Sezen Aksu also collaborated with Yusuf in the track “Without You”.^[51] “In Every Tear, He Is There” song, another track collaboration with Conner Reeves, concludes with an African choir singing “In Every Tear/ That is where/He is There” repeatedly in Zulu.^[52] “Fragile World”, Yusuf’s admittedly own favorite track,^[53] is reflective of the “dark”^[47] experiences he underwent throughout the years.^[54] Though predominantly performed in English, several tracks include verses in Arabic, Malaysian, Persian and Urdu. It has been given 3.5 stars out of 4 by Rolling Stone magazine, and commended as a “beautifully produced album”.^[55] Sami Yusuf has visited Turkey, UAE, and Qatar to promote “Wherever You Are” and is due to travel to Egypt, Singapore, Malaysia, and Jordan in the near future,^[56] plus an upcoming European tour scheduled for spring 2011.^[57] The video for "In Every Tear He Is There" has been released and that for "Make Me Strong" was released on 6th April 2012.^[58]. Sami Yusuf has also announced his forth upcoming studio album called "Salaam" which is featuring Siti Nurhaliza, the pop-star of Malaysia. Sami Yusuf will release it soon.^[59].

Notable Tours/Concert Performances[link]

Yusuf arrives in the Netherlands on tour in 2006

Yusuf’s tours and concert performances throughout the past eight years have been extensive. His more notable^{[by whom?]} tours include sold-out concerts in the Royal Albert Hall and Royal Concert Hall in the UK in 2006, in addition to a comprehensive Germany tour in 2007. He performed to crowds of thousands in Bosnia, Canada, France, Belgium, Finland, Austria, Greece, and the Netherlands (which he considers one of his favorite concerts).^{[citation needed]} He toured the United States in 2006 and 2007, singing at venues in Los Angeles, Detroit, Dallas, Chicago, and New Jersey in venues like the LA Shrine Auditorium.^{[citation needed]} In the Middle East and Asian regions, he performed to tens of thousands in Egypt’s Cairo and Alexandria, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Algeria, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Tajikistan, and Saudi Arabia. He received a record crowd of 250,000 in Istanbul, Turkey earning the name “Islam’s Biggest Rock Star” in Time magazine. In an early concert in Azerbaijan, Yusuf experienced what he likened to a “hero’s welcome” in his ancestral homeland.^{[citation needed]} Over 50,000 people attend his shows in the Casa Music Festival in Casablanca, Morocco in 2007, exceeding by double the venue’s space limit.^{[citation needed]} In the highly publicized concert at Wembley Arena [dubbed the press as the “Muslim Live Aid”^{[citation needed]}], which served as a milestone event where approximately two million pounds were raised for the relief effort in Darfur, Sudan. It was warmly received by a thank-you video message by the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.^{[citation needed]} Performing in The Velodrome in Capetown, Durban, and Johannesburg in his 2008 South Africa Tour, Yusuf accompanied the Agape Children Orphanage’s choir, singing along with their feature song “We Are Together” – the title of a multi-award winning HBO film on the Agape Children’s Orphanage. After performing in the Moroccan Fez Wold Sacred Music Festival in 2009, he agreed to do a free concert for the locals that drew in approximately a hundred thousand attendees, with one day’s notice.^{[citation needed]} Packing venues again in Faruma Arena, Denmark, Grugahalle in Germany, and De Doelen in Netherlands, Yusuf introduced his forthcoming album, “Wherever You Are”.^[60] Sami Yusuf has visited Turkey, UAE, and Qatar^[56] to promote “Wherever You Are” and is due to travel to Egypt, Singapore, Malaysia, and Jordan^[56] in the near future. An upcoming European tour is scheduled for spring 2011.^[57]

Acclaim/Recognition[link]

• “Islam’s Biggest Rock Star” – Time Magazine (2006)^[20]
• “Biggest Star in the Middle East” – Guardian (2006)^[61]
• “King of Islamic Pop” – Al-Jazeera (2007)^[11]
• IOL Star of 2009 (2009)^[62]
• 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2009 (2009)^[63]
• BBC’s 30 More Famous Britons (2009)^[64]
• First Global Ambassador of Silatech (2009 – Present)^[65]
• Doctor of Letters Award – Roehampton University (2009)^[66]
• 500 Most Influential Muslims in 2010 (2010)^[63]

Collaborations[link]

• Outlandish – Try Not to Cry, I’ve Seen (2005)
• Erkan Mutlu – Wherever You Are (2010)
• Sezen Aksu – Wherever You Are (2010)
• Ian Brown – Wherever You Are (2010)
• Conner Reeves – Wherever You Are (2010)

Charity Work/Humanitarian Initiatives[link]

• Charity Event for Disabled Children – Cairo, Egypt (2005)^[67]
• Evening of Inspiration – Islamic Relief/UK Tour (2006)^[68]
• Evening of Inspiration – Islamic Relief/US Tour (2006)<refname=time1/>
• Evening of Inspiration – Islamic Relief/US Tour (2007)^[69]
• Wembley Arena – UK (2007)^[70]
• Agape Children’s Orphanage concert – South Africa (2008)^[71]
• Telethon Fundraiser for Gaza (2009)^[72]
• Gaza Rally – Istanbul, Turkey (2009)^[73]
• First global ambassador of Silatech (2009)^[74]
• “Hear Your Call” – Save the Children, Pakistan (2010)^[75]
• “I’m Your Hope” (2011)^[76]
• “In Every Tear, He Is There” – Haiti, South Africa (2011)

Discography[link]

• Al-Mu`allim (2003) – 3 Million^[77]
• My Ummah (2005) – 4 Million^[2]
• Without You (2009)
• Wherever You Are (2010) – N/A

Soundtracks (Singles)[link]

• "Supplication" – Adapted in “The Kite Runner” (2007)
• "Palestine Forever" (2009)
• "Anything For You" (2009)
• "You Came to Me" (2009)
• "Healing" (2010)
• "Hear Your Call" (2010)
• "I’m Your Hope" (2011)
• "In Every Tear, He Is There" (2011)
• "The Source" (2011)
• "Forgotten Promises" (2011)

Music Videos[link]

• Al-Mu’allim – Dir. Hani Osama
• Supplication – Dir. Hani Osama
• Hasbi Rabbi – Dir. Hani Osama
• Mother – Dir. Hani Osama
• Asma Allah – Dir. Hani Osama
• Healing – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk
• You Came to Me – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk
• In Every Tear He Is There – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk
• Hear Your Call – Dir. Daniyal Noorani
• I’m Your Hope – Dir. Kareem Shaaban
• Forgotten Promises - Dir. Siros Kerdouni
• Make Me Strong – Dir. Jacob Viit Kusk

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sami Yusuf's Official Website

Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain in June 2006
Born	Anthony Michael Bourdain (1956-06-25) June 25, 1956 (age 56) New York City
Cooking style	French
Education	Vassar College Culinary Institute of America
Spouse	Nancy Putkoski (1980s–2000s) Ottavia Busia (April 20, 2007–present)
Television show(s) A Cook's Tour Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations The Layover

Anthony Michael "Tony" Bourdain (born June 25, 1956) is an American chef, author and television personality. He is well known for his 2000 book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and is the host of Travel Channel's culinary and cultural adventure programs Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and The Layover.

A 1978 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and a veteran of numerous professional kitchens,^[1] Bourdain is currently a chef-at-large, whose home base is Brasserie Les Halles, New York^[2] where he was executive chef for many years.

Early life and family[link]

Anthony Bourdain was born in New York City to Pierre (d.1987)^[3] and Gladys Bourdain, and grew up in Leonia, New Jersey.^[4] Bourdain has French ancestry on his father's side; his paternal grandfather emigrated from France to New York following World War I.^[5] Bourdain's mother worked for the New York Times as a staff editor^[6]. Bourdain was a student at Englewood School for Boys, graduating in 1973.^[7] He attended Vassar College before dropping out after two years, and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978.

Bourdain married his high-school girlfriend, Nancy Putkoski, in the 1980s, remaining together for two decades before divorcing; Bourdain has cited the irrevocable changes that come from traveling widely as the cause of the split.^[8] He currently lives with his second wife, Ottavia Busia. Together, they have a daughter, Ariane, born on April 9, 2007; the couple wed on April 20, 2007.^[9] Busia has appeared in several episodes of No Reservations – notably the episode on Sardinia, her birthplace; the Tuscany episode, in which she plays a disgruntled Italian diner; the Rome episode, and the Naples episode.

Culinary training and career[link]

In Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain describes how his love of food was kindled in France when he tried his first oyster on an oyster fisherman's boat as a youth while on a family vacation. Later, while attending Vassar College, he worked in the seafood restaurants of Provincetown, Massachusetts, which sparked his decision to pursue cooking as a career. Bourdain graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978, and went on to run various restaurant kitchens in New York City – including the Supper Club, One Fifth Avenue, and Sullivan's – culminating in the position of executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles beginning in 1998. Brasserie Les Halles is based in Manhattan, with additional locations in Miami and, at the time of Bourdain's tenure, Washington, D.C. and Tokyo, Japan.

Media career[link]

Writing[link]

Bourdain gained immediate popularity from his 2000 New York Times bestselling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, an outgrowth of his now famous article in The New Yorker called "Don't Eat Before Reading This".^[10] The book is a witty and rambunctious exposé of the hidden and darker side of the culinary world, and is a memoir of Bourdain's professional life as well.

Bourdain subsequently wrote two more New York Times bestselling nonfiction books: A Cook's Tour (2001), an exotic account of his food and travel exploits across the world, written in conjunction with his first television series; and The Nasty Bits (2006), another collection of exotic, provocative, and humorous anecdotes and essays mainly centered on food. Bourdain's additional books include Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook; the culinary mysteries Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo; a hypothetical historical investigation, Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical; and No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach. His latest book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook, the sequel to Kitchen Confidential, was published in 2010.

Bourdain's articles and essays have appeared many places, including in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Observer, Gourmet, Maxim, Esquire (UK), Scotland on Sunday, The Face, Food Arts, Limb by Limb, BlackBook, The Independent, Best Life, the Financial Times, and Town & Country. On the Internet, Bourdain's blog for Season 3 of Top Chef^[11] was nominated for a Webby Award for best Blog – Cultural/Personal in 2008.^[12]

Television[link]

The acclaim surrounding Bourdain's racy memoir, Kitchen Confidential, led to an offer by the Food Network to host his own food and world-travel show, A Cook's Tour, which premiered in January 2002. In July 2005, he premiered a new, somewhat similar television series, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, on the Travel Channel. As a further result of the immense popularity of Kitchen Confidential, the Fox sitcom Kitchen Confidential aired in 2005, in which the character "Jack Bourdain" is based loosely on the biography and persona of Anthony Bourdain.

In July 2006, Bourdain was in Beirut filming an episode of No Reservations when the Israel-Lebanon conflict broke out. Bourdain and his crew were evacuated with other American citizens on the morning of July 20 by the United States Marines.^[13] Because of the unexpected conflict only a few hours of footage were available from the first restaurant on their agenda. Bourdain's producers compiled the Beirut footage into a No Reservations episode which aired on August 21, 2006. Uncharacteristically, the episode included footage of both Bourdain and his production staff, and included not only their initial attempts to film the episode, but also their firsthand encounters with Hezbollah supporters, their days of waiting for news with other expatriates in a Beirut hotel, and their eventual escape aided by a "cleaner" (unseen in the footage), whom Bourdain dubbed "Mr. Wolf" after the character portrayed by Harvey Keitel in the movie, Pulp Fiction. The episode was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007.^[14]

Bourdain has appeared five times as guest judge on Bravo's Top Chef reality cooking competition program: first in the November 2006 "Thanksgiving" episode of Season 2; and then again in June 2007 in the first episode of Season 3, judging the "exotic surf and turf" competition featuring ingredients including abalone, alligator, black chicken, geoduck and eel. His third appearance was also in Season 3, as an expert on air travel, judging the competitors' airplane meals. Bourdain also wrote weekly blog commentaries for many of the Season 3 episodes, filling in as a guest blogger while Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio was busy opening a new restaurant. Bourdain next appeared as a guest judge for the opening episode of Season 4, in which pairs of chefs competed head-to-head in the preparation of various classic dishes; and again in the Season 4 Restaurant Wars episode, temporarily taking the place of head judge Tom Colicchio, was at a charity event. He is also one of the main judges on the Top Chef All-Stars Season 8.

Bourdain appeared in an episode of TLC's reality show Miami Ink which aired August 28, 2006. Artist Chris Garver tattooed a skull on Bourdain's right shoulder. Bourdain, who noted it was his fourth tattoo, said that one reason for the skull was that he wished to balance the ouroboros tattoo he had done on his opposite shoulder in Malaysia while filming Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.

Bourdain made a guest appearance on the August 6, 2007 New York City episode of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern; Zimmern appeared as a guest on the New York City episode of Bourdain's No Reservations airing the same day. On October 20, 2008 Bourdain hosted a special, "At the Table with Anthony Bourdain," on the Travel Channel. Bourdain also has a brief cameo appearance in the 2008 movie Far Cry.^[15]

In 2010, Bourdain appeared on Nick, Jr.'s Yo Gabba Gabba! as Dr. Tony. He is currently consulting and writing for the HBO series, Treme.^[16][17]

Travel Channel announced in July 2011 that it would be adding a second one-hour ten-episode Bourdain show to be titled The Layover, premiering November 21, 2011.^[18] The show's concept is that each episode features an exploration of a city that can be undertaken within an air travel layover of 24 to 48 hours.

Also in 2011, Bourdain voiced himself in a cameo on an episode of The Simpsons entitled "The Food Wife" in which Marge, Lisa, and Bart start a food blog called "The Three Mouthkateers" and Homer winds up in a meth lab.^[19]

In May 2012, Bourdain announced that he would be leaving the Travel Channel to host a show for CNN focusing on other cuisines and cultures.^[20]

Publishing[link]

Ecco Press, a division of HarperCollins, announced in September 2011 that Bourdain would have his own publishing line, which would include acquiring three to five titles per year that "reflect his remarkably eclectic tastes".^[21] The first books that the imprint will publish, to be released in 2013, will include Spaghetti Junction: Riding Shotgun with an L.A. Chef by Roy Choi, Prophets of Smoked Meat by Daniel Vaughn, and Fight Shark by Mark Miller.^[22] Bourdain has also announced plans to publish a book by Marilyn Hagerty.^[23]

In describing the line, Bourdain said, "This will be a line of books for people with strong voices who are good at something – who speak with authority. Discern nothing from this initial list – other than a general affection for people who cook food and like food. The ability to kick people in the head is just as compelling to us – as long as that's coupled with an ability to vividly describe the experience. We are just as intent on crossing genres as we are enthusiastic about our first three authors. It only gets weirder from here."^[24]

Public persona[link]

Bourdain in Chicago in 2007

Because of Bourdain's liberal use of profanity and sexual references in his television show No Reservations, the network has placed viewer discretion advisories on each segment of each episode. In recent seasons, the advisories include animation that is related in some way to the episode.

Known for consuming exotic ethnic dishes, Bourdain is famous for eating sheep testicles in Morocco, ant eggs in Puebla, Mexico, a raw seal eyeball as part of a traditional Inuit seal hunt, and a whole cobra – beating heart, blood, bile, and meat – in Vietnam. According to Bourdain, the most disgusting thing he has ever eaten is a Chicken McNugget,^[25] though he has also declared that the unwashed warthog rectum he ate in Namibia^[26] and the fermented shark he ate in Iceland^[27] are among "the worst meals of [his] life."

He has been known for being an unrepentant drinker and smoker. In a nod to Bourdain's (at the time) two-pack-a-day cigarette habit, renowned chef Thomas Keller once served him a 20-course tasting menu which included a mid-meal "coffee and cigarette": a coffee custard infused with tobacco, together with a foie gras mousse.^[28] Bourdain stopped cigarette smoking in the summer of 2007 because of the birth of his daughter.^[29] He is also a former user of cocaine, heroin, and LSD. In Kitchen Confidential he writes of his experience in a trendy SoHo restaurant in 1981: "We were high all the time, sneaking off to the walk-in refrigerator at every opportunity to 'conceptualize.' Hardly a decision was made without drugs. Cannabis, methaqualone, cocaine, LSD, psilocybin mushrooms soaked in honey and used to sweeten tea, secobarbital, tuinal, amphetamine, codeine and, increasingly, heroin, which we'd send a Spanish-speaking busboy over to Alphabet City to get."^[30] In the same book, Bourdain frankly describes his former addiction, including how he once resorted to selling his record collection on the street in order to raise enough money to purchase drugs.

Bourdain is also noted for his put-downs of celebrity chefs, such as Paula Deen, Bobby Flay, Sandra Lee, and Rachael Ray, and appears to be irritated by both the overt commercialism of the celebrity cooking industry and its lack of culinary authenticity. He has voiced a "serious disdain for food demigods like Alan Richman, Alice Waters, and Alain Ducasse."^[31] Bourdain has recognized the irony of his transformation into a celebrity chef and has, to some extent, begun to qualify his insults. He has been consistently outspoken in his praise for chefs he admires, particularly Thomas Keller, Gordon Ramsay, Eric Ripert, Ferran Adrià, Fergus Henderson, Marco Pierre White, and Mario Batali.^[32] Bourdain has also spoken very highly of Julia Child, saying that she "influenced the way I grew up and my entire value system."^[33]

Bourdain is also known for his sarcastic comments about vegan and vegetarian activists, saying that their lifestyle is rude to the inhabitants of many countries he visits. Bourdain says he considers vegetarianism, except in the case of religious strictures as in India, a "First World luxury."^[34] He has clarified that he believes Americans eat too much meat, and admires vegetarians who allow themselves to put aside their vegetarianism when they travel in order to be respectful of their hosts.^[35]

Bourdain's taste in music is also a matter of public record. His book, The Nasty Bits, is dedicated to "Joey, Johnny, and Dee Dee" of the Ramones. Bourdain has declared fond appreciation for their music, as well that of other early punk bands such as The Stooges, Dead Boys, Television, The New York Dolls, and The Voidoids. Additionally, Bourdain writes in Kitchen Confidential that the playing of music by Billy Joel in his kitchen was grounds for immediate firing (coincidentally, Joel is a fan of his and has subsequently visited the restaurant^[36]). In the 2006 No Reservations episode in Sweden, Bourdain proclaimed that his all-time favorite album (his "desert island disc") is the groundbreaking punk record Fun House by The Stooges; he also made it clear that he despises the Swedish pop group ABBA. On his 2007 No Reservations Holiday Special episode, the rock band Queens of the Stone Age were the featured dinner guests, adding food-inspired holiday songs to the episode's soundtrack.

Interests and advocacy[link]

Bourdain is an advocate for communicating the value and tastiness of traditional or "peasant" foods, including specifically all of the varietal bits and unused animal parts not usually eaten by affluent 21st-century US citizens.^[37] Bourdain has also consistently noted and championed the high quality and deliciousness of freshly prepared street food in other countries – especially developing countries – as compared to fast food chains in the U.S.^[38]

Bourdain often acknowledges and champions the industrious Spanish-speaking immigrants – often from Mexico or Ecuador – who make up a majority of the chefs and cooks in many U.S. restaurants, including upscale restaurants, regardless of cuisine.^[39][40] Bourdain considers them to be talented chefs and invaluable cooks, underpaid and unrecognized even though they have become the backbone of the U.S. restaurant industry.^[41][42]

Awards and nominations[link]

Bourdain was named Food Writer of the Year in 2001 by Bon Appétit magazine for Kitchen Confidential.^[43]

A Cook's Tour was named Food Book of the Year in 2002 by the British Guild of Food Writers.^[44]

The Beirut episode of Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, which documented the experiences of Bourdain and his crew during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Programming in 2007.^[14]

Bourdain's blog for the reality competition show Top Chef^[11] was nominated for a Webby Award for best Blog – Culture / Personal in 2008.^[12]

In 2008, Bourdain was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America.

In 2009 and 2011, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations won a Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming.

In 2010, Anthony Bourdain was nominated for a Creative Arts Emmy for non-fiction writing.

In 2010, Anthony Bourdain was awarded an Honorary CLIO Awards, which is given to individuals who are changing the world by encouraging people to think differently.

Bibliography[link]

Nonfiction

• Bourdain, Anthony (2000). Kitchen Confidential. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN 1-58234-082-X. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (2001). A Cook's Tour. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN 1-58234-140-0. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (2001). Typhoid Mary: An Urban Historical. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN [[Special:BookSources/1-58234-133-9|1-58234-133-9]]. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (2004). Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-58234-180-4. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (2006). The Nasty Bits. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-59691-360-8. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (2007). No Reservations. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1-59691-447-6. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (2010). Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook. Ecco/HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-171894-7.

Fiction

• Bourdain, Anthony (1995). Bone in the Throat. New York: Villard Books. ISBN 0-679-43552-2. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (1997). Gone Bamboo. New York: Villard Books. ISBN 0-679-44880-2. 
• Bourdain, Anthony (2001). Bobby Gold. Edinburgh: Canongate Crime. ISBN 1-84195-145-5. 

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Bourdain, Anthony. Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Updated ed., New York: Harper Perennial (January 9, 2007).
• Bourdain's biography on TravelChannel.com

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Anthony Bourdain

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Anthony Bourdain

• Anthony Bourdain official Travel Channel website
• Anthony Bourdain at the Internet Movie Database
• Anthony Bourdain at the Chef and Restaurant Database
• One-hour video interview from Authors@Google (2007)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (June 2011)

Sami Yaffa
Background information
Birth name	Sami Takamäki
Born	(1963-09-04) 4 September 1963 (age 48)
Genres	Rock, glam punk, glam rock, blues
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Bass guitar
Years active	1977–present
Associated acts	Hanoi Rocks, Michael Monroe, Pelle Miljoona Oy, Jetboy, Jerusalem Slim, Demolition 23., New York Dolls, Mad Juana

Sami Yaffa (born Sami Takamäki September 4, 1963 in Finland) is a bass guitarist best known for his time in Hanoi Rocks during the 1980s. He is currently the bassist for the Michael Monroe band. He also plays guitar in his own band "Mad Juana".^[1]

Biography[link]

Yaffa first began playing music when only fourteen years old in 1977 with a band called Babblers.^{[citation needed]} He went along with another member of the Babblers (Pepe Seivo) and formed a punk rock band, Suopo, in 1979. They did not record any material and stayed relatively unknown even in the Finnish punk rock scene. Around this time Yaffa also played with another Finnish punk rock band, Pohjanoteeraus.^{[citation needed]}

Hanoi Rocks[link]

In 1980 Yaffa joined future Hanoi Rocks bandmate Andy McCoy in Pelle Miljoona Oy. The two of them took part in the band's most successful album "Moottoritie On Kuuma". Before the group toured they both decided to leave and to join Hanoi Rocks.^{[citation needed]}

Hanoi Rocks became the biggest band in Finland at the time, releasing a string of successful albums.^{[citation needed]} The group moved from Stockholm to London and continued to gain fans and influence the music scene there. In London, Yaffa, along with Hanoi Rocks bandmates Nasty Suicide and Razzle, as well as Knox of the Vibrators, recorded an album under the name Fallen Angels. Knox continued to perform as Fallen Angels after, though the Hanoi Rocks members including Yaffa never played with the band onstage.^{[citation needed]}

Playing with Johnny Thunders and Jetboy[link]

After Razzle's death, Yaffa left Hanoi Rocks and formed Chain Gang with Pelle Almgren in Stockholm. They only recorded one EP under the name Pelle Almgren & Sam Yaffa. 1987 saw Yaffa doing a couple of gigs with then London based Johnny Thunders. Another member of the New York Dolls, Jerry Nolan, was also in the group. At this time Yaffa considered getting a day job and quitting his music career.^{[citation needed]}

Around this time he was asked to join San Francisco-based band Jetboy. He joined the band and stayed with them until 1990. He recorded two albums with Jet Boy: "Feel The Shake" and "Damned Nation". Although Jet Boy toured all over the States, Yaffa still found time to play with Johnny Thunders' band on his US tour and with a group called Stronzo (Featuring Mark Ford of the Black Crowes and Craig Ross of Lenny Kravitz's band). He also played a gig with Michael Monroe's solo band in Los Angeles in 1988.^{[citation needed]}

In 1989 Yaffa briefly joined a Finnish band Smack who had moved to Los Angeles. He played bass on tracks "Can You Dig It" and "Crazy River". He was credited as Ulan Bator because he was still in Jetboy at the time and had been asked not to use his real name.^{[citation needed]}

Jerusalem Slim[link]

Yaffa moved to New York in 1990 to join Hanoi frontman Michael Monroe in a new band, Jerusalem Slim. The group featured Billy Idol's guitarist, Steve Stevens. The band broke up in 1992, because of Michael Monroe's and Steve Stevens' strong musical disagreements.^{[citation needed]} They nonetheless released an album.^{[citation needed]}

Yaffa played in a band called Love Pirates with Gass Wylde of the Pretenders from 1990–1993. Between 1991–1994 Yaffa also played in Alison Gordy's band. Gordy had earlier played with Johnny Thunders and had also performed minor roles in several television shows. Yaffa played on Gordy's album Blonde and Blue.

Demolition 23 and Mad Juana[link]

Demolition 23 saw Yaffa in another band with Michael Monroe. This group also featured Jay Henning (Star Star) and drummer Jimmy Clark. Henning was later replaced with Nasty Suicide. The group broke up with only one album after Nasty left in the middle of a European tour. Henning committed suicide a few years later in 1997.^{[citation needed]}

Earlier in 1993 Yaffa and Monroe recorded Steppenwolf's song "Magic Carpet Ride" with Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash for the movie Coneheads.

In 1995 Yaffa formed Mad Juana (briefly known as Lewt Vagrant) with his wife Karmen Guy. Yaffa described the band's sound as "Think of the Pogues meets (the) Clash with all acoustic instruments. Beautiful female voice in a Velvet Underground dungeon."[1]. The following year he played bass on an album by Jan Stenfors, aka Hanoi Rocks' Nasty Suicide.

From around 2000 to 2002, Yaffa played in the NYC-based band Vasquez with former DGeneration guitarist Richard Bacchus. Along with drummer Eric Kuby, this trio released one CD, titled "Two Songs", and also recorded a live record which remains unreleased to this day (Yaffa is in possession of the master tapes).

In 2002 Yaffa toured in the US and in Japan with Murphy's Law. He then joined up with Joan Jett and played with her for a year, until 2004.

In 2006, when not working with the revamped New York Dolls, Yaffa also toured as a member of Jesse Malin's backing band.

Recent events[link]

Yaffa joined the current incarnation of the New York Dolls in 2004 and features on the group's new album One Day It Will Please Us To Remember Even This. He is still also playing acoustic guitar with his wife in Mad Juana.

In his satirical autobiography, British writer Seb Hunter states that Yaffa was his hero during the 1980s when he played bass for Hanoi Rocks.

On 25 January 2010, ex-Hanoi Rocks singer Michael Monroe held a press conference is Los Angeles, introducing a new band named after the lead singer. Yaffa was introduced as the band's bass player. The new Michael Monroe band started to tour in March 2010, and continued to tour for the Summer. The band's first live album was released in late September, and their first studio album will be released in 2011.^{[dated info]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• MadJuana.com