Diners who stop by Grace Meat + Three (4270 Manchester ) in The Grove on Friday, November 14, will have the opportunity to meet a special guest: Zamir Gotta. The Russian television personality and producer is perhaps best known as the travel companion of the late, great Anthony Bourdain on No Reservations.
Gotta will be on hand to meet with diners and sign copies of his new book, The Fixer and The Chef: My Adventures With and Without Anthony Bourdain, which was released this summer.
“I met Tony Bourdain in 2001, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, filming an episode of A Cook’s Tour,” Gotta writes in a blurb promoting the book. “From that day on, we were comrades in search of new emotions and experiences greater than ourselves. In 2011, he told me to write my story. It took me 14 years to look back, to filter my life through the lens of our 17-year friendship. Tony showed me the way out of my cage, from the weight of being Soviet-born to becoming a citizen of the world. I had the honor of being his travel companion for 10 TV episodes—across time zones, across different tables, riding trains, dilapidated cars, and horse carts, from cold to heat, sunshine to rain and back again.”
Gotta is no stranger to St. Louis, having come to town previously for events at Elaia, Olio, Peacemaker Lobster & Crab Co., and Intoxicology, where he promoted his Peacemaker Vodka in 2017.
In addition to Friday’s event at Grace, his current St. Louis tour also included a stop at Anthonino’s Taverna on The Hill. Grace co-owner Rick Lewis says Friday’s event will be a casual affair, where guests can meet Gotta, have their books signed and enjoy half-price appetizers and drink specials from 4–6 p.m.
Like many, Lewis was first introduced to Gotta while watching No Reservations and connected with him in person through a friend of a friend. He hopes other fans of the show will take advantage of the opportunity to meet Gotta firsthand, experience his energy, and hear stories about his travels across the globe.
“He’s a character,” Lewis says. “For anybody who was a fan of his or the show, it’s a great opportunity to come connect with someone who has experienced food from all over in different scenes. It’ll be a pretty laidback event where it’s easy to connect and talk.”
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