Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

It is beyond me how one book could simultaneously make me feel so grossed out but also so very hungry.

4 1/2 stars.

One of the best!

I hate to admit it, but I read this after Anthony's tragic suicide. I'm not much of a culinary guy, but I have to admit that this was a great read. Bourdain was a man's man. A rough and tumble, streetwise guy who didn't give a damn about how chefs are supposed to act. The man had demons, and was a great chef. Highly recommend this book.

Of course everyone's going to be reading this, but honestly Bourdain is such an incredible and inspiring figure that I couldn't resist. I loved his shows and his personality, and reading the work that got him to where he was was worth the read.

I love Anthony Bourdain! If you thought the cooking industry was glamorous, you are wrong. That doesn't mean that these chefs aren't creative geniuses. It is a tough business that has chewed up and spit out plenty of dreamers. At the end of the day, this is a story about people who love food and bring pleasure to our mundane lives with this rich trade.

Excelente lectura, muy divertida y amena pero, por sobre todas las cosas, MUY honesta. Bourdain describe sin pelos en la lengua y con abundancia de detalles de que se trata ser asistente de cocina, cocinero, empresario culinario y, finalmente, un verdadero chef. Toda la experiencia de su vida al servicio del lector y para que no queden dudas respecto a como es el mundo de la gastronomía.

Imperdible para todos los aficionados a la cocina, foodies y chefs-wanna-be que hay sueltos por el mundo. Toda una inspiración para los guerrilleros culinarios.

Anthony Bourdain is een sympathieke mens. 't Is te zeggen: hij komt over als een echte mens, op zijn televisieprogramma's die ik voor zover ik kon, allemaal bekeken heb.

Ik had Kitchen Confidential ook al een tijd geleden gelezen, maar toen ik onlangs op Audible terechtkwam op zoek naar iets anders, kwam het in mijn recommendations — ik vermoed omdat ik het boek op Amazon gekocht heb, jaren en jaren geleden, maar wie weet was het wel omdat ik net een paar kookboeken gekocht heb bij Amazon.

Nu eens noir, dan weer stream of consciousness, dan pure poëzie, en dan hilarisch, en dan schrijnend: het verhaal van een rijkeluiszoon die verliefd wordt op eten, vakantiejobs in restaurants doet, en uiteindelijk uit nijd naar de koksschool gaat en professioneel chef wordt.

Maar niet vooraleer hij de hele voedselketen van de restaurantwereld doorlopen heeft, hectoliters drank verzet heeft, containers sigaretten, een cocaïne- en heroïneverslaving opgedaan en verslagen heeft, en een heel spoor van failliete restaurants achter zich heeft gelaten.

Dit is een boek dat iedereen die ooit met eten of met restaurants te maken heeft, zou moeten lezen.

Anthony Bourdain is a well-traveled, unapologetic chef who has been at the bottom of the barrel and can appreciate the stunning simplicity of sashimi or arepa as well as plates crafted through molecular gastronomy.

He knows the ins and outs of eating out and offers some valuable tips too along with some industry terms and Spanish you should never, ever repeat in polite company.

The observations about eating in any city, from New York to Tokyo, are stark and truthful. The man tells it like it is — jet lag is a bitch and sometimes all your soul needs is comfort food no matter where your are in this world.

If you follow Bourdain's television shows, then this book is right down your alley. If you're easily offended but still like reading food stories, then this book is worth stepping outside your comfort zone.

So I read this while in labor. That's pretty much an adequate summary of what I really remember about this book.

Okay, to be fair, I also found the view of the inside of the kitchen a lot less interesting than billed, probably because after Bourdain wrote Kitchen Confidential, there was much in the way of copy-catting, culminating in a plethora of TV shows providing the same inside scoop. On the other hand, the view of Bourdain trying to move from being a lay-about to actually making something of a life for himself was fascinating

I feel like this book was superseded a bit by the explosion in cooking shows and networks and all that, but I also think this book precipitated that explosion in a way, so it's a victim of its own success, I guess? I read this entire thing in Anthony Bourdain's voice. Which makes sense, since he wrote it.

I really enjoy Anthony Bourdain's writing style. As for the book itself, I definitely think this is a case of “ignorance is bliss.” I think I could have went my whole life without knowing some of the things he mentioned in this book. All in all, though, awesome read.

I've always been a little confused by the term “rock star chef”. I can understand chefs who are celebrities, your Bobby Flays, Nigella Lawsons, and whatnot. But the term “rock star”, for me, carries a little more to it than just being a celebrity - there's a certain lifestyle and personality that have to be involved.

Anthony Bourdain is a rock star chef. He's a drug addicted, uncouth, dangerous man who comes across, at times, as a bit of a douche. He's also, apparently, a pretty damn good cook. That's where the rock star metaphor breaks down a little, though. If someone says, for example, that The Clash's London Calling is the greatest album of all time, someone can easily listen to that and either agree or disagree. But if I get told Bourdain (or any other chef) is a great chef, there's no way for me to actually know that - I just have to take it on the authority of the person telling me, which is odd.

Purely as a memoir, though, this was an excellent read. Bourdain's a great storyteller, and is able to infuse a lot of humour into the story of his life. He's also not afraid to tell the more lurid parts of his life, but manages to maintain an attitude of “yeah, it was fun, but it probably wasn't the wisest choices to make”.

Pretty good insight into the world of Culinary Arts. Recommended to me by a few chef friends.

The Hunter S. Thompson of the culinary world.

It's possible I love this book because a small (perhaps larger than small?) part of me loves the restaurant industry. I might gripe, but it's fast-paced, sometimes scandalous, and always a sure-fire way to meet interesting people. Bourdain's book is a testament to that, and more. He's had quite a life, and is quite a writer. It's a quick, dirty, and entertaining read, plus I have a feeling if you're in New York and can figure out his thinly-veiled references, super-juicy biz gossip as well.

You'll learn more about the restaurant industry than you might want to. Bourdain can get very pompous and annoying, but he tells it like it is.

The subtitle, Adventures in the
Culinary Underbelly, is very apt.
Bourdain makes frequent use of
simile and metaphor in his writing;
like a junior high boy, however,
all his comparisons refer to human
excretory functions and sex acts.
The book was strangely compelling,
yet ultimately not my cuppa tea.