Netflix, give us 12 seasons of Anthony Bourdain!
All twelve seasons of ‘Parts Unknown’, Anthony Bourdain’s culinary travel series, will be available on Netflix from June 1. At least, if you live in England or Ireland, because here, everything by the legendary chef has actually been removed from the streaming service. But there is hope…
Anthony Bourdain began his career as a chef in New York. In 2000, he published a book about his experiences. He put all the drink, drugs and misery of working as a chef in that steamy, chaotic restaurant hell between the covers of ‘Kitchen Confidential’, which immediately became a bestseller.
Pad thai with a hangover
Bourdain then began presenting a television programme, perhaps because after revealing all those secrets, he was no longer truly welcome in most kitchens. His greatest success came with his programme Parts Unknown, in which he flew all over the world for a salad with pig’s ear, the hottest chilli sauce or the perfect omelette. The travel adventures, generously doused in alcohol, were brought to the screen so inspiringly that you immediately wanted to get on a plane to eat Bangkok’s very best pad thai after litres of Mekhong and a cold-sweating hangover. It’s deeply sad that Anthony died two years ago; fortunately, he left behind a comforting number of travel documentaries.
Carrot cake strategy
Unfortunately, those travel adventures of Anthony Bourdain can no longer be found on Netflix. How can that be? It has to do with the licence, Netflix customer service tells us. ‘If we don’t have that licence, we’re not allowed to broadcast it. And perhaps we’ll have it again in a few weeks.’ People in England and Ireland are luckier, then, because from June 1 all twelve seasons of Parts Unknown will be available on the platform there. Will we get that in the Netherlands too? ‘I can’t see that here in the system,’ says the friendly customer service representative. But there really is something we can do, she says. ‘If it appears often on Twitter and Facebook, headquarters might think: it’s so popular, perhaps we should arrange that licence quickly.’ Thanks, customer service: we now know what we need to do. Will you help us?
