Behind the Scenes of the New A24 Bourdain Biopic: Filming on Cape Cod

A new A24 film about Anthony Bourdain's early years, based on his memoir Kitchen Confidential, was shot almost entirely on location in Massachusetts, according to the film's locations manager Charlie Harrington.

The movie follows a young Tony as a dishwasher in Cape Cod kitchens, a period Bourdain himself described as being a "spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive, and thoughtless young lout."

Most exteriors were filmed in Provincetown, where the story is set, and in Dennis, a town about an hour south. A few scenes were shot elsewhere in the state, including Wheaton College in Norton, a house in Brockton, and a home in Plymouth.

Harrington, who lives on Cape Cod and is the same age as Bourdain, said he spent the same summer in Provincetown, which helped him scout locations. He noted that filming in Provincetown during the busy third week of June was challenging, requiring the art department to dress the street to hide non-period details like pot dispensaries.

Key spots include Spiritus Pizza, where Bourdain's love interest Nancy worked in real life, and where Tony reportedly slept on the walk-in cooler. Other Provincetown locations include the Lobster Pot, the Old Colony Tap, and exteriors of The Flagship restaurant.

In Dennis, the crew used a house near the dunes for Antonio Banderas' character, beach scenes, and Gina's By the Sea, a closing restaurant chosen for its Cape Cod feel despite a small kitchen that the director felt added intimacy. Harrington said he became friends with property owners and remains so, calling the experience memorable.

The film's tagline notes that before he was Anthony Bourdain, he was just Tony.