The Real Reason Anthony Bourdain Didn't Like To Be Called Chef - Exclusive

For many people, there are a few different titles that come to mind when considering Anthony Bourdain. He was a television host, a chef, and a writer. But of those three designations, there was only one that Bourdain actually liked being called or associated with. Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville sat down with Mashed for an exclusive interview to discuss his latest documentary, "Roadrunner," and talk about the life of Anthony Bourdain. That's when Neville revealed how Bourdain saw himself as a professional.

"Oh, he actually didn't really like to be called chef ... TV personality he hated," Neville said. While Bourdain despised those two professional titles, there was one he earned and loved. "He liked to be called a writer, and I think ... really fundamentally saw himself always as a storyteller, and he wrote a lot," Neville added. After all, Bourdain had spent quite a lot of time thinking about and practicing the craft.

Anthony Bourdain actually started writing well before his fame as a television host and certainly wrote while he worked in kitchens. "I actually read some short stories he wrote in college, and he wrote three mystery novels. He wrote a lot and he was really good at it," Morgan Neville explained. Of course, so much time and dedication to writing paid off well beyond the instant acclaim of 2000's "Kitchen Confidential."

But apart from the tremendous success Bourdain had hosting shows like "No Reservations," he seemed to be quite fulfilled through writing and becoming an author. "So in a way, I think that was the thing that he was always proudest of, and something I was trying to kind of channel as much as I could in what we were doing," Neville said. "So 'Kitchen Confidential' seemed to come out of the blue, but, again, it was somebody who had put in years and years of writing before that book came up," he added. Though the restaurant Bourdain formerly worked at, Brasserie Les Halles, became a memorial site after his death (via KCRW), it seems like Bourdain would prefer that people remember him by reading his writing. If you haven't, pick up Bourdain's work and give it a read after seeing "Roadrunner" to really appreciate the mysterious traveler so many admired and loved.

"Roadrunner," directed by Morgan Neville and released by Focus Features, is now playing in movie theaters.