Anthony Bourdain inspired many throughout his life, and one of those is José Andrés. As chefs, they had a lot in common, and they had a special friendship. Andrés has a new travel show now available to stream on Discovery+, and he told PEOPLE, he tried to ‘emulate’ his late friend.
© GettyImagesLike the title suggests, José Andrés and Family in Spain follows his travels with his daughters, Carlota, 23, Inés, 21, and Lucía, 18. He took inspiration from Bourdain when it came to capturing the moment for television. “I had a good mentor. He was a poet,” he said.
“He was a guy that understood the moment and was able to transform the moment into a phrase that we’ll forever remember,” the James Beard Foundation award winner said.
Andrés acknowledged that he’s still a “learner” but said, “sometimes I try to emulate him.” He’s not the only one that was inspired, he said his daughters try to too.
Andrés has always wanted to pay tribute to his friends since he died by suicide on June 8th, 2018. In 2019 he and Eric Ripert called on everyone to honor him for what would be his 63rd birthday on June 25.
“I suffered so much grief after what happened that I only hope people will turn all that grief into the happiness of life, and remembering how Tony made the world a smaller place by bringing us all together,” Andrés told Esquire.
“In my case, and in the case of many others, he was always there trying to give a push to help anybody else or any other idea that he was thinking was worth helping,” he added. “If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have that Puerto Rican book probably, because why would I? This is who Tony always was.”
