Anthony Bourdain’s possessions to be auctioned
NEW YORK
Fifteen months after the death of food-world icon Anthony Bourdain, a collection of more than 200 of his personal belongings will be auctioned online between Oct. 9 and 30.
Forty percent of the proceeds from the auction will be donated to Bourdain’s alma mater the Culinary Institute of America and its newly established Anthony Bourdain Legacy Scholarship, which provides grant money to students who pursue a study-abroad or a global cuisines program.
The remainder of the proceeds will go to Bourdain’s wife, Ottavia Busia-Bourdain (they were separated at the time of his death), and their daughter, Ariane.
The collection of items for sale, which includes a custom Bob Kramer steel and meteorite chef’s knife, expected to fetch the highest price of the set, reflects Bourdain’s taste for elegance and culture.
“He valued comfort, and he knew what looked good,” Laurie Woolever, Bourdain’s longtime personal assistant and collaborator, told the New York Times.
Auctioneer Lark Mason estimates that the total market value of the collection is between $200,000 and $400,000.
A few notable ones include a U.S. Navy jacket he got back in 2006, and paintings from Ralph Steadman and John Lurie, who were both guests on Bourdain’s hit show “Parts Unknown.”
Exhibits showcasing the collection will be held in New York, Savannah, Georgia, and New Braunfels, Texas.
Bourdain, who started his career as a dishwasher in New York restaurants and rose to become one of the world’s best-known TV chefs and food connoisseurs, committed suicide aged 61 on June 8 last year.
He was found hanged in his hotel room in Strasbourg, France, where he had been working on an upcoming episode of his program, which was in its 11th season at the time.
