Recipe Mutiny: Auction of Anthony Bourdain’s Chef’s Knife, Vinyl, Apparel & More Starts Today

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Auction of Anthony Bourdain’s Chef’s Knife, Vinyl, Apparel & More Starts Today

Bidding starts today on nearly 200 items once owned by the late chef, author and TV personality Anthony Bourdain, including a custom knife used by Bourdain, some vinyl from his personal record collection, original pieces of art, apparel, and more.

The auction—which starts today and runs through October 30—is broken into categories the reflect Bourdain’s varied interests in film, music, art, travel, and cooking. Among items on the block, via online auction house iGavel, are a custom Bob Kramer steel and meteorite chef’s knife, a U.S. Navy bomber jacket Bourdain received while “leaving Beirut in a hurry in the midst of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict in 2006,” and a small record case with vinyl records from Bourdain’s collection including The Kinks and The Velvet Underground.

Over his career and up until his 2018 suicide, the bestselling author (“Kitchen Confidential” and “The Nasty Bits“), and host of popular food/travel programs like “Parts Unknown” established a larger than life persona and dedicated fanbase like few others in the food world. The gritty NYC-born chef was revered the world over for his wit, wisdom, and benevolence alike.

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“The items being sold present a coherent portrait of Mr. Bourdain. They include art by Ralph Steadman (the Hunter S. Thompson collaborator and a friend of Mr. Bourdain’s) and the artist John Lurie; a steel and meteorite chef’s knife; various books, records and several manuscripts of the chef’s own work. . Many of them speak to the quiet elegance favored by Mr. Bourdain, who told Ms. Woolever that he wanted his Manhattan apartment to feel like the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. . “He valued comfort, and he knew what looked good,” Ms. Woolever said. “He was definitely aware of how to play to his assets. When Vogue magazine approached us to do a story about him and I presented to him, my thought was, ‘He’s not going to want this.’ As was the case with so many things, I was wrong. He said, ‘Oh I absolutely want to do this, out of a sense of sheer vanity. I’m so flattered.’”” [@Jonesieman of @nytimes – link to full article available in bio] [Photo Credit @cnn @davidscottholloway] . Property from the Collection of Anthony Bourdain will be available in an online auction from October 9-30 on #igavelauctions presented by @larkmasonassociates. Lots will be available for preview from October 2nd. Watch this space. . #anthonybourdain

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Other items up for auction include an original, typed manuscript for Bourdain’s 1995 novel “Bone in the Throat,” two paintings purchased by Bourdain by artist John Lurie, and various artifacts collected during the taping of Bourdain’s food and travel TV series. Some items, like the Kramer knife, are expected to earn as much as $6k at hammer, and the entire Bourdain auction could bring in as much as $400,000 in total according to a spokesperson.

Per the official auction page, 40 percent of the proceeds will benefit the Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship at The Culinary Institute of America (his alma mater) with remaining proceeds benefiting Anthony Bourdain’s personal estate.

Want to bid? Check out the lots for the Anthony Bourdain auction here.