It was a far cry from the bustling, kaleidoscopic street scenes that Anthony Bourdain routinely plunges into during his television travelogues: an empty, dimly lit pier building on the Hudson River at the edge of the meatpacking district.

But Mr. Bourdain, the uncensored chef, author and peripatetic culinary traveler, strode through the echoing space the other day at full throttle, talking nonstop and flinging his rangy arms to point out this or that planned attraction: a steaming noodle stall, a vibrant farmers’ market, a mezzanine cluttered with food stations and bars.

“Think of an Asian night market,” he said. “Eating and drinking at midnight.”

For more than a year, New York’s culinary grapevine has been buzzing over Mr. Bourdain’s broadly stated intention of opening a major food market somewhere in the city, but details have been scant. Now he has confirmed that he and his partners have subleased the main concourse and mezzanine of Pier 57, at 15th Street, one of the largest shipping piers on the Hudson.