April 10, 2018 - 13:31 AMT
CNN to air Anthony Bourdain’s Armenia adventures on May 20

CNN will air the episode of its original series “Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown” shot in Armenia on May 20, the TV news channel said on Monday, April 9.

Bourdain takes a wide-angle look at the culture and history of this country, with musician of Armenian descent Serj Tankian (System of a Down), and historian/Armenian resident Richard Giragosian as his guides.

Breaking bread with Tankian at a restaurant in downtown Yerevan, during dinners with locals, the host explores the native and Diaspora Armenian populations’ survival and achievements against the odds.

Described by The New Yorker as a “swaggering chef,” Bourdain has built an empire around food, which started with his New York Times best-selling book “Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” (2000). Today, he is well-known as a TV personality and has starred in shows on Food Network and his Travel Channel show, “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations,” which has Bourdain traveling to unexpected locations and indulging in those regions’ local culinary traditions.

When in Armenia, Bourdain posted a picture to his social media account of his cameraman, Jerry Risius, boarding a Russian helicopter, likely to make a journey to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), where he has been featured in pictures across social media.

Following that, he joined a plethora of other celebrities, diplomats and ordinary citizens that have been banned from Azerbaijan for visiting Karabakh.