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Restaurateur honours late Anthony Bourdain with dinner supporting youth mental health

June 25 fundraiser to be held at Uli’s in White Rock
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Executive Producer and narrator chef Anthony Bourdain, at the October 2017 premiere of “Wasted! The Story of Food Waste,” at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in New York. (Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP photo)

A fundraiser dinner planned for this coming Tuesday on White Rock’s waterfront aims to celebrate an “iconic humanitarian” while raising support and awareness for youth dealing with mental illness.

Tyson Blume of Uli’s Restaurant (15021 Marine Dr.) said 100 per cent of proceeds from #BourdainDay for DiscoverY will be donated to Sources DiscoverY program, which offers short-term counselling for struggling youth and young adults.

The fundraiser was planned in honour Anthony Bourdain, the well-known chef, author and TV personality who took his own life a year ago in France.

READ MORE: Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain found dead at 61

In material promoting the fundraiser, Blume describes Bourdain as “an international treasure.”

“For me personally, I have never been so sad to lose someone I have never met and I think part of that is because you could see how genuine of a human being he was,” Blume writes.

Blume told Peace Arch News that he appreciated Bourdain’s “take on the world,” and how he provided insights on people and places that many would otherwise have never imagined.

“His show was really more about people than it was about food,” Blume said Wednesday. “He just brought you to families… real-life stuff.

“There’s not enough of those kind of people in this world. Unfortunately, I think it was also his undoing.”

Noting Bourdain was said to have taken his life as a result of years struggling with mental illness, specifically depression, Blume said he could see how some of the things Bourdain saw in his travels could take a toll.

Celebrating Bourdain while supporting a program that helps youth navigating a difficult journey was an easy decision, said Blume.

“If you can help one child or youth, that’s huge,” he said.

Tickets to the dinner – which is taking place on what would have been Bourdain’s 63rd birthday – are $125.

Blume noted that guests familiar with Bourdain will notice a theme in the evening’s eight-course menu.

“A lot of the meals… there’s some play on stuff that he liked,” he said.

“Seven of them, if you watch enough shows, you’d recognize a kind of play on what he liked.”

As example, Blume pointed to the planned dessert, which is a cheese dish. It’s “because he hated baking.”

For tickets to Tuesday’s event, call 604-538-9373.



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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