“Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown” Travels To Punjab, India In The Season Three Premiere Airing Sunday, April 13

Eight Episode Season Includes Trips to Lyon, France, Mississippi Delta, and Russia; “Prime Cuts” Special Leads into Season Premiere

The Emmy® award-winning CNN Original Series Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown returns for its third season of eight new episodes on CNN, Sunday, April 13 at 9pm, ET, beginning with a look at the people, food, culture and history of India’s Punjab region.

Hosted by popular television personality, renowned chef and best-selling author Anthony Bourdain, this season of “Parts Unknown” includes excursions to Las Vegas, Lyon, France, Mexico City, the Mississippi Delta, Russia, Bahia, Brazil, and Thailand. Airing just prior to the start of season three will be an edition of Prime Cuts at 8pm, ET. The one-hour special will offer viewers a preview of the new season.

The hit series, which launched on CNN April 14, 2013, ranks as the network’s top rated regularly scheduled program in the P25-54 demo and averages approximately 818,000 total viewers per premiere episode. *

Below are descriptions of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown season three episodes (airdates subject to change):

“Punjab, India”(April 13) – In the season premiere of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, the host dives into the ever-changing state of Punjab with a trip to Amritsar, sampling cuisine at the dhabas (roadside restaurants), a gurpurb festival (Sikh celebration), and a free community vegetarian restaurant, while meeting with local residents who give their perspectives on life in this sometimes contentious region of India, bordering Pakistan.

“Las Vegas” (April 20) – Bourdain travels to Las Vegas, a city known for over-indulgence, with food author Michael Ruhlman and visits locales that include Huntridge Tavern (in the shadow of the strip), and famed restaurant é by Jose Andres. Also featured in the episode are Penn Jillette, and former mayor Oscar Goodman.

“Lyon, France” (April 27)- In this food-centric episode, Bourdain accompanies world-renowned chef/restaurateur Daniel Boulud as they travel back to Boulud’s hometown of Lyon, France for a “once-in-a-lifetime” pilgrimage to the city’s rich food culture and legendary chefs, with a focus on Nouvelle Cuisine innovator Paul Bocuse.

“Mexico City” (May 4) Bourdain travels to Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Cuernavaca to commune with local residents who express their passion through food, art, and the struggle for an improved quality of life. Addressing the latter issue, Bourdain talks with journalist Anabel Hernandez on the impact of the area’s drug trade-related violence.

“Mississippi Delta” (May 11) Bourdain goes off the beaten path and explores some of the food and history of Mississippi including downtown Jackson’s Big Apple Inn, known for its “Pig Ear Sandwich” and as a Civil Rights Era gathering place, and then travels into the Mississippi Delta to Po’ Monkey’s Social Club, a juke joint located in an old sharecropper structure.

“Russia” (May 18)– On the eve of the Olympic games in Sochi, Bourdain takes his first trip in nearly 10 years to Russia, accompanied by his longtime traveling partner Zamir Gotta. Looking through the lens of a now Putin-controlled Russia, Bourdain confers with prominent locals, visits Moscow’s historic Metropol Hotel, takes the Grand Express train to St. Petersburg, and explores the drinking and dining scene.

“Thailand” (June 1) – Bourdain and his crew head to the Chiang Mai province of Northern Thailand along with celebrated chef and Thai food specialist Andy Ricker (Pok Pok restaurants) to explore the country’s distinctive eating and drinking scene that varies by region and season.

“Bahia, Brazil” (June 8) Parts Unknown tours Bahia, known as the “African heart of Brazil” and internationally recognized for its Afro-Brazilian music, art, design and food. A look at the dance/martial art of Capoeira, the region’s legendary food vendors, Salvadoran fishing neighborhoods, and a BBQ on the beach are featured.

To complement the viewing experience, CNN has published a Flipboard mag “Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown.” Visit: http://Flip.it/BourdainCNN to follow Bourdain’s social media feeds, dig deeper into destinations for season three and get to know featured chefs from the episodes.

The season premiere episode, “Punjab, India,” will be streamed live online at CNN.com. Additionally, viewers can find updates, behind-the-scenes photos, and exclusive content from Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown by following the show’s Twitter account @partsunknownCNN, and accessing the CNN Parts Unknown Facebook page. During each show, viewers are invited to go to the live blog at CNN.com/partsunknown and join in the conversation using the #PartsUnknown hashtag on Twitter.

Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown is produced by Zero Point Zero Production with Executive Producers and Founders Chris Collins and Lydia Tenaglia, along with Executive Producer Sandra Zweig. The Emmy award winning Zero Point Zero Production has produced programs with Anthony Bourdain for more than a decade, including Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, The Mind of a Chef, The Getaway, The Layover, A Cooks Tour, and Decoding Ferran Adria.

CNN Worldwide is a portfolio of two dozen news and information services across cable, satellite, radio, wireless devices and the Internet in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide. Domestically, CNN reaches more individuals on television, the web and mobile devices than any other cable TV news organization in the United States; internationally, CNN is the most widely distributed news channel reaching more than 271 million households abroad; and CNN Digital is a top network for online news, mobile news and social media. Additionally, CNN Newsource is the world’s most extensively utilized news service partnering with hundreds of local and international news organizations around the world. CNN is division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company.

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* Source: The Nielsen Company, Sun 9p-10p, Season 1 Average = 4/14/13-6/9/13 excluding 5/26/13, Season 2 Average = 9/15/13-11/10/13 excluding 10/27/13, Live+7 data stream.

Downloadable Season 3 image here: Anthony Bourdain