The point is that even now, almost three years after his death, Bourdain’s words hold weight. “Any time that thought in your head is, ‘Oh, that’s something I want to try,’ just f-in’ do it.” After confirming it was a genuine invite, Habiger took his first class with Bourdain and a few others, and when he tells the story to The Manual, he’s calling from the car, driving to his first class session after the year-long pandemic lockdown. Those words have stuck with him, Habiger says. What Does the New COVID-19 Delta Variant Mean for Travel? Bourdain wasn’t just a practitioner he was a fanatic, and he went on to explain that he and his entire production crew made it a habit to find local gyms in the cities they visited, rolling every morning before the shooting schedule commenced.ħ International Destinations for Vaccinated Americans to Travel Safely Right Now “You spend a lot of time talking about jiujitsu,” Habiger remembers, laughing. But he couldn’t be sure.īourdain was in town for a week shooting a Nashville episode of his CNN show Parts Unknown, and after first speaking with Habiger in his speakeasy, The Patterson House, and then at his James Beard-nominated restaurant, The Catbird Seat, the two continued off the record - about what was really going on in Nashville, its interloper chefs coming down from New York with big egos and dismissive opinions, and about jiujitsu.

At least Habiger thought it was an invitation.

Photo: CNNĬhef Josh Habiger had just wrapped the second of two shoots at his Nashville establishments when Anthony Bourdain invited him to a jiujitsu class. Share Laurie Woolever and Anthony Bourdain.

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