I never heard of him until he said he wanted to poison President Trump. His soul was eaten up by festering bitterness, I guess.
Well, I'm kinda a foodie and a recovering cook-wanna-be-chef, so I've heard of him. Enjoyed his travelogues, which more often than not, featured him semi (or in one case I remember well) completely in his cups.
Exploring the world's cuisine was his forte, and his view of the part of the world that he was in was interesting to me.
I agree his politics sucked -- he got into it a little bit when he actually went to West-By-God-Virginia and encountered a few folks who believe in the 2nd Amendment and won't put up with the gun grabbers (and Bourdain was one of those) who are mired in what they're told to think about firearms.