Bourdain’s Field Notes
My friend Eric Ripert—maybe you know him from such previous buddy films as “Peru” or “Marseille”) had never been to mainland China.
Perhaps due to his adherence to the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism—and a friendship with Richard Gere—he had concerns about what kind of a welcome he’d receive. For the first few nights he slept with a tinfoil helmet around his head, convinced that “they” were onto him every time his cell phone dropped a call.
I assured him repeatedly that he was the very last person any Chinese secret service would give a shit about, but he was unconvinced. His paranoia was acute.