Anthony Bourdain Wanted Sushi as His Last Meal

Anthony Bourdain had a very specific idea for his last meal: sushi.

In a 2013 interview with The Wrap, Bourdain brought the subject up himself, telling the site, “If I knew I was going to die tomorrow morning I’d probably be eating some really high-end sushi tonight.”

Three years later, Bourdain still thought sushi would be the perfect final meal and even knew where he wanted to eat it.

“Ideally, my last meal would be at Sukiyabashi Jiro, a tiny sushi bar below street level in Tokyo. It serves some of the finest quality sushi anywhere on the planet,” Bourdain told The Guardian in 2016. “I’d be alone at the sushi bar.”

Bourdain said he would prefer to die “like an old lion – to crawl away in to the bushes where no one can see me draw my last breath.” However, in this situation, he would crawl to the sushi restaurant.

“I’d like to eat as one does at Jiro: quickly,” Bourdain explained. “The rice is always perfect, the seaweed the right consistency and not soggy and the fish at the carefully regulated, preferred temperatures that Jiro works so hard to ensure.”

Bourdain said he “risk” displeasing chef Jiro Ono by ordering sake. Hopefully, he could convince Juro to join him.

“After the final course, usually Jiro’s incredibly precise tamago (omelette), preferably while I’m still chewing, you could step up behind me and – KGB style – shoot me in the back of the neck,” Bourdain said. “As I sagged to the floor, in my last conscious seconds, I would know that this night, no one on Earth had eaten better than me. Pure pleasure.”

Bourdain was remarkably consistent about having sushi as his last meal. In 2013, he told TMZ if someone was going to execute him tomorrow, “I’d like to be eating some really good sushi tonight.”

Jiro was featured in an episode of Bourdain’s Travel Channel series No Reservations, when he visited Tokyo for an epsiode. Bourdain also co-wrote the graphic novel Get Jiro: Blood & Sushi. The 2011 documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi was also about Jiro.

The 61-year-old Bourdain’s last meal was not in Japan, but in France, where he was filming a new episode of his CNN series, Parts Unknown. He was found dead from an apparent suicide in a hotel Friday morning. He was discovered by his close friend, chef Eric Ripert.

“Anthony was my best friend,” Ripert wrote in a statement on Twitter. “An exceptional human being, so inspiring & generous. One of the great storytellers who connected w so many. I pray he is at peace from the bottom of my heart. My love & prayers are also [with] his family, friends and loved ones.”

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

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