A professor in Louisiana is cooking up a class inspired by the late chef and food chronicler Anthony Bourdain. It was reported that the three-credit course titled “Anthony Bourdain and His Influencers” would be offered at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, starting in spring 2019.
The class, according to a course summary posted on Twitter by professor Todd Kennedy, will include lessons that compare some of Bourdain’s most famous work with the “writings and films that influenced him.”
In an interview with PEOPLE, Kennedy said, “What he did is so unique. We talk about connections between literature and film and art and politics and history, but we’re always trained to talk about them separately. He goes all in and puts all those things, along with food, in conversation to try to understand the culture he’s looking at. And that speaks to people.”
Kennedy, who heads the university’s film department, went on to say that Bourdain’s passing allowed him to reevaluate what he really liked about the celebrity chef, which promoted him to create the class. Kennedy said he admired how Bourdain helped audiences understand the countries he visited by quoting literature and making references to films.
The college will also be offering an online, accelerated version of “Anthony Bourdain and His Influencers.” The course may be listed as a literature class, but Kennedy hopes the course will also become a space for aspiring chefs to pay homage to the late personality.
By: Maytinee Kramer
