AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Eight years after the death of Anthony Bourdain, people around the world still mourn the chef, author and TV star. At a movie theater in Moscow, hundreds of Russian fans gathered in September for the premiere of "Tony," the new Hollywood film based on Bourdain's early life. Among them was a man Bourdain loved to call International Man of Mystery. He's someone who became central to Bourdain's success in Russia and beyond. NPR's Charles Maynes reports from Moscow. And a note - this story includes mention of suicide.
CHARLES MAYNES, BYLINE: Oysters on the half shell, bottles of imported beer, Peroni, if you must know. Russia may be under Western sanctions, but at last month's Moscow premiere of the film "Tony," the Russian Organizers pulled out all the stops to honor Anthony Bourdain, the American chef, travel writer and something of a life coach to so many, even here.
KATERINA KODENKA: My shirt says, God, I miss Anthony Bourdain.
MAYNES: Katerina Kodenka (ph), a recent university graduate who attended the screening, says Bourdain has been one of her heroes since she was a teenager. In an age seemingly dominated by war and hate, Kodenka says Bourdain's TV essays and writings point the way towards a better world.
KODENKA: All of us - well, most of us are the same, and most of us want the same thing - peace, love and good food.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A COOK'S TOUR")
ANTHONY BOURDAIN: (As self) Russia - this is the birthplace of communism.
MAYNES: It's been a quarter century since Anthony Bourdain first set foot in Russia on his debut show "A Cook's Tour" and a quarter century since Bourdain met the man who made his travels in the former Soviet Union possible...
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "A COOK'S TOUR")
BOURDAIN: (As self) Zamir.
ZAMIR GOTTA: (As self) Tony. You made it. Welcome to Wonderland.
MAYNES: Bourdain's Russian translator and fixer, Zamir Gotta.
GOTTA: I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
MAYNES: Gotta, now 70, says he got the Bourdain gig, more or less out of the blue. Thanks to his English skills, he'd done some production work for various Western media outlets. Then one day, a phone call. Some famous chef from New York wanted to come and film a TV show about Russian food. Gotta wasn't prepared for who stepped off the plane.
GOTTA: Tall guy with earring in his ear, big ring on his finger. My gut feeling suggested that it doesn't look that he's really a chef. He's like a rock star or something.
MAYNES: If so, Gotta proved more than a roadie, not only producing behind the scenes, but appearing with Bourdain on camera.
GOTTA: He said, Zamir, honestly, you're, like, such a great icebreaker. Why don't you join me on camera? Then I said, you know, if it makes your life easier, I'm in.
MAYNES: Their chemistry, undeniable. There were eating adventures and dumb spy jokes. There was also plenty of drinking, admits Gotta. Vodka seemingly on tap.
GOTTA: Believe it or not, most people would think that it was all set up, like we were drinking water. But honestly.
MAYNES: Through the haze and a shift from the Food Network to the Travel Channel, a genuine friendship between this unlikely pair raised on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain developed. Gotta showed Bourdain Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union. Bourdain later returning the favor, filming episodes where Gotta joined him to explore parts of the U.S., including cities like Buffalo, New York, and Detroit, Michigan.
GOTTA: Born in the same year in totally different universes. Like, his parents would take him to France, now eating oysters or shrimps or pate and Zamir would line up for a piece of bread or piece of salami, or whatever is available in that time. So we kind of complemented each other, if you know what I'm saying.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR CONTENT)
ARI SHAPIRO: Many people who love food, travel and good television are in shock and mourning today.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: Morning TV host and famed chef Anthony Bourdain has died. Bourdain found unresponsive by...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: Anthony was found dead this morning in his hotel room in France.
MAYNES: When News of Bourdain's death by suicide broke in 2018, Gotta says he was as shocked and devastated as anyone. And four years later, there was another tragedy - Gotta's son Anton, named in part for Bourdain, also took his own life. Anton was just 20 years old.
GOTTA: So, for us, the parents, digging into what might have happened, why, and the open wound of Tony's departure was, like, reopened and metaphorically haunting me.
MAYNES: Gotta has spent the past several years trying to come to terms with all that loss. He followed through on a promise to Bourdain - he'd write a memoir. "The Fixer And The Chef" came out in English last year and explores their friendship. He's also launched his own boutique liquor line, available in the U.S., Zamir's Peacemaker vodka. Again, Bourdain's idea is a nod to Gotta's political idealism and the meaning of his name in Russian.
GOTTA: My parents gave me a unique name. It's like a real slogan - Ya Zamir, I am for peace. But these days, being a peace advocate is a little bit tricky, sadly.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PARTS UNKNOWN")
BOURDAIN: (As self) It's a different Moscow every time I come here.
MAYNES: Bourdain's last visit to Russia was in 2014. By then, he'd moved to CNN and even wider fame with his show, "Parts Unknown."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PARTS UNKNOWN")
GOTTA: (As self) Tony.
BOURDAIN: (As self) Wow. I guess I'm switching to vodka.
MAYNES: The episode again featured Gotta and Bourdain doing their thing, but it also scratched at the growing nationalism of President Vladimir Putin's Russia, trends that would lead to a growing crackdown on freedoms at home and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PARTS UNKNOWN")
GOTTA: (As self) What is the perception of Mr. Putin these days? After 14 years, he's in power.
BOURDAIN: (As self) My perception? Do you really want to hear it?
MAYNES: Bourdain's no-holds-barred critique depicted the Kremlin leader as fundamentally just a businessman, abusing the powers afforded by his office. And he offered a conclusion that might strike some as strangely prophetic.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PARTS UNKNOWN")
BOURDAIN: (As self) OK. So he's like Donald Trump but shorter.
MAYNES: At Gotta's Moscow apartment a few weeks ago...
GOTTA: So Ruski pelmeni is our Bourdain-style Russian dinner.
MAYNES: A simple meal of Russian basics, pelmeni or dumplings, and, of course, something to wash it down.
GOTTA: Now, dumplings without vodka is a waste.
MAYNES: For all his food travels with Bourdain, Gotta says he's never been much of a cook.
GOTTA: I just forgot to buy the rye bread. I should be punished.
MAYNES: But he sees it as his mission to continue to carry Bourdain's fundamental philosophy - that food has the power to connect people across any divide.
GOTTA: This guy really - how we say? - destructed the borders. He tried to. No walls, right? So let's create the bridges.
MAYNES: But getting to that point for Gotta has been a journey. He's done therapy and used his public appearances to raise awareness for suicide prevention programs. Slowly, he says, he's made peace with the loss of his son and famous friend and with the feelings of guilt that followed.
GOTTA: It's not your fault, so give up on that feeling guilty and digging back what might have been done, etc.
MAYNES: By all means, toast the memories, says Gotta, but every story, even his story, needs some hope.
GOTTA: Are you hungry for more? As Bourdain would put it in his show.
MAYNES: The secret, says Gotta, is to just keep moving. It's another line borrowed from Bourdain, the friend who's gone, but somehow keeps on giving.
Charles Maynes, NPR News, Moscow.
RASCOE: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
(SOUNDBITE OF LONE'S "JADED") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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