Anthony Bourdain's Real Name: Anthony Michael Bourdain

Quick answer: Anthony Bourdain's real name is Anthony Michael Bourdain. He was born on June 25, 1956, in New York City. He died on June 8, 2018, in France.

Real name and early life

Biography.com lists his full name as Anthony Michael Bourdain. Bourdain is his family surname, and he never used a pen name or stage name.

He attended Vassar College and graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1978. He then spent years in professional kitchens, including a long stretch as executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in Manhattan.

Quick facts

• Real name: Anthony Michael Bourdain
• Known as: Anthony Bourdain
• Born: June 25, 1956, in New York City
• Died: June 8, 2018, in France
• Known for: Chef, author, and TV host
• Notable work: The New Yorker, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, A Cook's Tour, No Reservations
• Sources checked: Biography.com, The New Yorker

Career highlights

In 1999 The New Yorker published his essay "Don't Eat Before Reading This," a blunt look inside restaurant kitchens. It led to Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (2000), a New York Times bestseller that launched his writing career. He also wrote crime fiction and nonfiction history.

On television he hosted A Cook's Tour on Food Network (2002–2003), the Travel Channel's No Reservations (2005–2012) and The Layover, and CNN's Parts Unknown from 2013. He also judged The Taste. He died on June 8, 2018, in France, while filming Parts Unknown.

Parts Unknown won Emmy Awards. Bourdain's blunt, literary voice shaped a generation of food and travel writing. His approach treated meals as a way into a place's politics, history, and ordinary life, rather than simply reviewing restaurants. His books and shows remain widely read and streamed.

Name notes

Anthony Bourdain is his real name. Michael, his middle name, rarely appeared on his book covers or TV credits. Fan sites often copy names from one another, so we checked this page against Biography.com and The New Yorker. Where sources disagree, we say so rather than guess. We also leave out middle names, nicknames, and origin stories that we couldn't confirm in a reliable source. A popular claim isn't enough to earn a place on this page if no encyclopedia, official record, or major news outlet backs it up.