--- title: Anthony Bourdain Reflects on His Bro Date with Barack Obama description: In a new profile the chef-turned-TV-personality considers the experience of slurping noodles with the then-President in Vietnam. canonical: https://time.com/4661891/bourdain-obama-noodles/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-06T23:25:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:40:52.580Z og:title: Anthony Bourdain Reflects on His Bro Date with Barack Obama og:description: According to the rogue chef, Obama needs beer clearance og:url: https://time.com/4661891/bourdain-obama-noodles/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e57a10bf6487f0f/6988b6457cdbac02a0d56d63/obama5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5104 og:image:height: 2871 og:image:alt: Obama og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Anthony Bourdain Reflects on His Bro Date with Barack Obama twitter:description: According to the rogue chef, Obama needs beer clearance twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1e57a10bf6487f0f/6988b6457cdbac02a0d56d63/obama5.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Anthony Bourdain Reflects on Teaching Barack Obama How to Slurp Noodles > Sponsored content. 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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0d50093e-6546-4040-a44e-a11980e8344f&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 6, 2017 11:25 PM UTC  President Obama speaks during his final presidential news conference, on Jan. 18, 2017. President Obama speaks during his final presidential news conference, on Jan. 18, 2017. Pablo Martinez Monsivais—AP  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Feb 6, 2017 11:25 PM UTC When then-President Barack Obama visited Vietnam last spring, he and [food world rockstar Anthony Bourdain](http://time.com/4325309/anthony-bourdain-airplane-food/?iid=sr-link1) had the ultimate jet-set bro date: a noodle-slurping catch-up at a casual local diner. In [a new _New Yorker_ profile](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/13/anthony-bourdains-moveable-feast) on Bourdain, whose career as a down-and-out chef has morphed into a profession of unofficial cultural diplomacy thanks to his lauded CNN show, he reflects on the [dinner the two famous guys shared](http://time.com/4345465/barack-obama-anthony-bourdain-vietnam-food-meal/?iid=sr-link1) for a wallet-friendly $6—and the freedom the former president is not afforded, thanks to his especially high profile. “How often do you get to sneak out for a beer?” Bourdain asked Obama as they settled into their bun cha meal. “I don’t get to sneak out, period,” Obama had replied, according to the story. Bourdain then walked Obama through the ritual of noodles, broth, and sausage consumption by instructing him to “dip and stir… and get ready for awesomeness.” “Even drinking a _beer_ for him is a big thing,” he explains in the _New Yorker_ story. “He’s got to clear it.” Bourdain also mused on Obama’s more philosophical leanings. “I believe what’s important to him is this notion that otherness is not bad, that Americans should aspire to walk in other people’s shoes,” he says. 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