Why Anthony Bourdain Had A 'Morbid Fear' Of The Entire Country Of Switzerland
The hills are alive with the sound of terror, according to Anthony Bourdain. The chef and travel host spent years traveling the world to explore parts unknown, highlighting all types of cuisines and dishes while showcasing different cultures through his connections with the people he met in each place. With his various TV shows like "Parts Unknown" and "No Reservations," Bourdain clocked thousands of hours of travel time filming in over 80 countries across the world, and imparted wisdom on how to find the best local restaurants when traveling. While he didn't shy away from mainstream European locations like Italy (one of Bourdain's favorite food destinations) or the Greek islands, he refused to ever bring his crew to Switzerland.
Anthony Bourdain was known for eating some wild things (that is, wild to some). After all, this is the man who ate a live beating heart of a cobra in Vietnam (where he also shared an affordable meal with President Obama in Hanoi) and fermented shark in Iceland. But when it came to the land of cheese and chocolate, he couldn't get past his "morbid fear," as he described it to Conan O'Brien in 2016. He explained that he must have blocked out "some terrible childhood experience while watching 'Sound of Music'" that just left him with a general fear of the land of milk and honey, including its "scary" hole-filled cheese and "horrifying" yodeling that "you can feel in your marrow."
Why an open man closed himself to Switzerland
Anthony Bourdain's life was complicated, but this block against Switzerland is a bit shocking considering his whole approach — which made him so beloved until his death by suicide in 2018 — was his openness. He never avoided the unknown, instead choosing to dive into the unfamiliar with curiosity and respect, showing viewers that one person's perspective is just that: their perspective, which differs from someone else's. As he told Food and Wine in 2016, "people, particularly Americans, need to be more inspired to travel and be adventurous with the things they eat. And if they are curious about the world and willing to walk in somebody else's shoes — that is surely a good thing." As Bourdain showed repeatedly, when you approach others with curiosity, respect, and openness — in other words, a genuine desire to meet at eye level — then you'll find a shared connection, sometimes in the most unexpected places.
And yet, when it came to Switzerland, fear overtook Bourdain's famous curiosity and commitment to try anything. His comments to Conan weren't just a late show bit either; he ranked Switzerland third among the five things that scare him the most (behind mimes and his top fear, clowns). Bourdain wrote on the List app in 2016: "I live with a persistent dread of alpine vistas, chalet architecture, Tyrolean hats, even cheese with holes in it. You will notice I have never been there. That's because Switzerland frightens me" (via Thrillist). Switzerland wasn't the only popular place unexpectedly missing from Bourdain's shows; he also never filmed in Athens, Munich, or Seville, among others, although he never gave reasons why.
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