Some people dream of the stage; others wish for a whirlwind Hollywood romance or a family of four. Gretchen Dellner dreams of sitting in a five-star restaurant, sampling exotic food and making jabs at waiters and vegetarians. Gretchen Dellner dreams of being Anthony Bourdain.
Bourdain is a renowned chef and author who now travels the world on his show No Reservations. He makes his way across the globe restaurant-by -estaurant, offering viewers a vicarious taste of daring dishes and waiters a sarcastic comment or two. It is a life lived entirely by his own rules, the kind that Gretchen hopes to have one day.
Dellner, a senior English major at Wittenberg University, hasn’t quite figured out how she plans to fill Bourdain’s shoes. Like many who have reached senior-in-college status all too quickly, Dellner remains undecided about the future. When asked about career goals, she rattles off a few English-major standards—publishing, editing, etc.—while impatiently flicking blonde strands out of her eyes as she concentrates.
“I really just want to travel,” Dellner admits with a smile. It may seem like an ordinary goal, but the way Dellner tells it with a sudden sparkle in her brown eyes and new excitement in her voice it is clear that she has some extraordinary plans.
“I want to go to Spain,” she declares.
Dellner was born in Newark, Ohio, where she has lived in the same house her entire life and attended the same Catholic school for fourteen years. Her chosen college is only a few short hours away. Having spent her entire life in one place, Dellner’s future now revolves around her desire to go elsewhere. In her free time, Dellner says she can often be found watching the travel channel, where she was introduced to and immediately fascinated by Mr. Bourdain.
The connection between Dellner and Bourdain isn’t immediately apparent. Dellner has no plans to attend culinary school and be honored with a chef’s hat, nor does she appear particularly interested in a career as a writer—two of Bourdain’s most notable accomplishments. And while Bourdain is known for trying all kinds of daring (and often disgusting) kinds of foods, Dillner claims that her favorite is comfort food: mashed potatoes and meat loaf,. Of course, she does confess to a love of sushi, only slightly hindered by her inability to use chopsticks.
So where’s the connection? They clearly share a good sense of humor and have mastered the art of sarcasm, but it's the lifestyle that brings the two together. The freedom to spend a life traipsing across the world, doing what she loves and on her own agenda appears to be Dellner’s real desire, and it’s not hard to see why. The freedom. The fun. The food. What’s not to love?
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