'She Knows She's Loved,' and Everything Else Anthony Bourdain Said About Daughter Ariane

"Children create themselves independently of us. All you can do is show, like in my case, my daughter feels loved. She knows she’s loved. She has good self-esteem. Very important. And good martial arts skills. She knows she can take any boy in her age group. That’s all I can do as a father."

— to Popula

"She's a weird kid with weird parents. She goes to school with a lot of kids with very differing backgrounds who come from different places. She understands that not everyone lives like her. She's traveled a lot and enjoyed it, and I like to think that has given her a restless and curious mind. I encourage that in every way I can."

— to mom.me

"I became a father at fifty years of age. That's late, I know. But for me, it was just right. At no point previously had I been old enough, settled enough, or mature enough for this, the biggest and most important of jobs: the love and care of another human being."

— from his book Appetites: A Cookbook

"She's been training jiu-jitsu since age 4. My sole duty as a parent and as a father, particularly raising a little girl who is going to grow up to be a young woman, is that she will never look to men for affirmation, or anyone else for affirmation or self-worth or be physically intimidated by anyone. My daughter spinning arm bars is a thing of envy — Ronda Rousey quality."

— to mom.me

"From the second I saw my daughter's head corkscrewing out of the womb, I began making some major changes in my life. I was no longer the star of my own movie — or any movie. From that point on, it was all about the girl.

"Fatherhood has been an enormous relief, as I am now genetically, instinctually compelled to care more about someone other than myself. I like being a father. No, I love being a father. Everything about it."

— from his book Appetites: A Cookbook

"I'm sure my wife has a different view on this, but if I could go back to the diaper-changing, wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-to-soothe-crying-baby phase of fatherhood? I'd be overjoyed."

— from his book Appetites: A Cookbook

"While I feel strongly that to try and make a small child into one's own image as a pint-size 'foodie' would be at best annoying and at worst a form of child abuse, I am secretly proud when she reaches for a hunk of salty Pecorino, a caper, or an anchovy, as she is apt to do on visits with my wife's family in Italy. I admit to shamelessly praising her when she, to our surprise, became enamored with oysters on the half shell."

— to Bon Appétit

"I am very much enjoying the fatherhood phase of my life. I used to love it when my father made pancakes for me. Cooking breakfast and brunch professionally really kind of ruined breakfast service for me for a long time. I am grateful to my daughter and her friends, especially when they have a sleepover party for making brunch fun again!"

— to USA Today

"I also do feel I have things to live for. There have been times, honestly, in my life that I figured, 'I've had a good run — why not just do this stupid thing, this selfish thing … jump off a cliff into water of indeterminate depth.' [Before my daughter I would] "go to places where I was, frankly, asking for trouble. It was a daredevil move. In retrospect, I don't know that I would do that today — now that I'm a dad or reasonably happy."

— to PEOPLE