Anthony Bourdain understood that food is more than just something you eat. From the French soup that transported him back to his childhood, to Bourdain’s favorite spots to eat and drink across New York City, he knew that mealtime is steeped in significance. But, the site of his ideal last meal wasn’t in NYC or France. It’s in London. In an interview with My Last Supper (a site that asks chefs about this very topic), Bourdain shared that his preferred final meal on earth would have been “roast bone marrow with parsley and caper salad, with a few toasted slices of baguette and some good sea salt.” He wanted it served in “the dining room of the St. John in London — after-hours” and to wash it down with a pint of Guinness.
Today, St. JOHN restaurant boasts hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers and a Michelin star. Located in the Smithfield district, St. JOHN is known for its nose-to-tail cooking, showcasing dishes like ox liver and its signature bone marrow. It’s perhaps no mystery why the London restaurant so greatly appealed to Bourdain’s palate. He was an outspoken outspoken meat eater without any apprehensions about chowing down on uncommon foods. St. JOHN also places emphasis on seasonal vegetables and, subsequently, a regularly-changing menu, complemented by a sprawling all-French wine selection and shockingly affordable prices for what one might expect from a Michelin-recognized establishment. The roast bone marrow and parsley salad costs just $16.50.
Bourdain wanted the signature bone marrow from St. JOHN of London
The world-class joint was founded in 1994 by Trevor Gulliver and Fergus Henderson in a former smokehouse — and it’s under Henderson’s expert hand that Bourdain’s last meal would be crafted. Bourdain remarked in the interview, “Naturally, I’d prefer that it be prepared and served by the creator of my favorite version: Fergus Henderson, chef and partner at St. JOHN. And in a perfect world, my pals Eric Ripert, Mario Batali, and Gordon Ramsay would be around to assist.”
Inside St. JOHN, the walls are bare white, the floorboards are raw, and remnants of its converted industrial roots can be seen hanging from the ceilings. As an Instagram post from the official St. JOHN account (beneath a photo of its signature bone marrow dish) writes, “No art, No music. These two founding rules of the dining room are not the result of puritanism … It is an expression of perfect freedom. The iconic, the philosophy-defining Roast Bone Marrow and Parsley Salad.” But, in Bourdain’s last-meal fantasy, the after-hours dining room would have temporarily amended its no-music rule: He wanted live music performances by Curtis Mayfield and the Brian Jonestown Massacre.
