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Kitchen Confidential
by Anthony Bourdain

Kitchen Confidential is for diners who believe that their sublime sliver of seared foie gras, topped with an ethereal buckwheat blini and a drizzle of piquant huckleberry sauce, was created by a culinary artist of the highest order, a sensitive, highly refined executive chef. The truth is more brutal.

More likely, writes Anthony Bourdain, that elegant three-star concoction is the collaborative effort of a team of "wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts, and psychopaths," in all likelihood pierced or tattooed and incapable of uttering a sentence without an expletive or a foreign phrase. Such is the muscular view of the culinary trenches from one who's been groveling in them, with obvious sadomasochistic pleasure, for more than 20 years.

Bourdain, currently the executive chef of the celebrated Les Halles, wrote two culinary mysteries before his first (and infamous) New Yorker essay launched this frank confessional about the lusty and larcenous real lives of cooks and restaurateurs. He is obscenely eloquent, unapologetically opinionated, and a damn fine storyteller - a Jack Kerouac of the kitchen.

Those without the stomach for this kind of joyride should note his opening caveat: "There will be horror stories. Heavy drinking, drugs, screwing in the dry-goods area, unappetizing industry-wide practices. Talking about why you probably shouldn't order fish on a Monday, why those who favour well-done get the scrapings from the bottom of the barrel, and why seafood frittata is not a wise brunch selection . . . But I'm simply not going to deceive anybody about the life as I've seen it."

Sumi Hahn

Kitchen Blender Overdrive (November 2003)
Reviewer: "morrisalex"

Once I picked this up I could not put it down. It flows naturally like a good velote and hits you right in the face like a great wine. Whether you are a foody, chef or just looking for an entertaining read this is a must.

Anthony's travels through the underworld of chefdom confirm your worst fears and also build your appreciation of the hard slog that kitchen life really is for most non-TV chefs. From the characters he has met and shows fond affection for in his early years, to the intricacies of fighting to get the clean cloths at the start of a shift.

If your not a chef it is hard to believe at times, but speak to any chef who has read this book and they will tell you that it is very close to their reality. The ride goes from the very top of the souffle to the grimy bottom of the bowl. A must read.

Rock 'n Roll Cook's Tale (October 2003)
Reviewer: "akkerr" - See all my reviews

Anthony Bourdain is a very good writer. His style is that easy flow that seems like he's just talking to you - and it suits this book perfectly.

From his drug-hazed beginnings in chefdom to his (later) lucid appreciation of all things culinary, you do get a real sense of the chaos and artistry that takes place in most kitchens.

He changes tack about 3/4 of the way through and goes from being a hard-nosed old-hander, telling you like it is, to a more self-effacing well-rounded chef, explaining that his way is not always the best way.

It's a culinary roller-coaster ride, full of sharp little stories, and handy advice for people eating out in restaurants (what to avoid, specifically!) - as well as an open and honest assessment of his own career.

An easy read - quite rewarding, not particularly gripping, but worthwhile all the same.

Rich pickings from a full table (May 2003)
Reviewer: "critico"

As fast and furious as a prep-cook working his way through a pound carrots needing dicing and only a butchers knife at hand and a minute to go. Bourdain lets it all hang out and confirms that cooks are one special breed indeed - when solemnly exercising their creative talents let alone when they're inebriated and/or intoxicated. Both happens a lot in the book but it all helps convey the gristy salty experience it must be to stand with a kitchen akin a bedlam and roomful of people waiting for the soufflé that just collapsed.

It also makes one wonder why we enjoy eating out - even the most unimaginative person can guess what shenanigans go on in the kitchen (and if not, read this book and you won't need any imaginative powers at all). They get up to all sorts and yet, we continually put our palates, stomachs and ultimately lives in the hands of cooks, chefs and kitchen porters.

Why? Well, Anthony Bourdain has quite clearly survived 25 years in the trade with both tastebuds and narrative powers intact so why shouldn't we - when there is so much to gain. OK, so he does have some sensible advice, which he says he follows himself, including the no-seafood-on-Mondays rule.
Read the book and I think you'll find it as wholesome and satisfactory as four course meal with the one lingering thought it might just have been that one notch closer to perfection had there just been three.

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