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Boise man creates tribute to Anthony Bourdain on local restaurant

Posted at 4:35 PM, Jun 11, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-11 18:35:19-04

Scott Sword doesn't consider himself to be an artist, but felt compelled to create a Treasure Valley spot to honor chef and TV personality Anthony Bourdain. 

Bourdain died by suicide on June 8, 2018

"This is, hopefully, a way for, not only the Bench, but for Boise to have something dedicated to Anthony Bourdain," Sword said. 

Sword is a software engineer by trade and created the mural in Photoshop. 

"I don't ever do big installations like this," Sword said. "I typically only do these types of projects for family and friends."

The mural is located on back side of Boise Bench restaurant Petite 4. It was adhered with wheat paste, which can last up to 10 years. 

"I feel like it has a good home," Sword said. "This is where the kitchen staff will come on their breaks... I know that people in the food industry will have a very special relationship to a piece like this."

A nod to Bourdain's time in the kitchen, the wheat paste is made of flour, water and sugar. 

"From a cooking standpoint, it's like a bechamel," Sword said. "You just paint that on, put the paper up and then coat it. It just kind of fuses to the wall. It's really, actually, difficult to get off." 

The mural also contains quotes from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, a novella Bourdain quoted frequently on his shows. 

While Sword usually uses his artistic skill set to make gifts for family, in a way, he says, it felt like Bourdain was part of his own. 

"Something that is evident is the amount of people who were affected by his loss; it felt different to me knowing that he's gone" Sword said. "By his skills as a video maker, a writer and a poet... we all feel like we were related to him, like he's family."