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 Kitchen Confidential Updated Ed: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.) :: 0060899220
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| Most diners 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 in Kitchen Confidential, 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. CIA-trained 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 favor 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 Editorial Descriptions are usually submitted by the manufacturers, publishers and authors. Contact us if you are one of them, and wish to change the above description. |
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Author: Guest
About a year and a half ago I was in Manhattan, staying at E. 29th & Lexington Ave. I wandered over a block and ran into Brasserie Les Halles. I'm probably flaunting my ignorance here, but at the time, I had no idea who Chef Anthony Bourdain was. I'd never seen his books or his now somewhat overexposed face on television. It was about 3:00 pm, when my wife and I entered the fairly large and very authentic-feeling French Bistro. After consulting the menu, I had my eye on one of the several beef variations. Our server, a youngish woman of relatively unspectacular attributes, urgently suggested that we try the special, which to the best of my recollection was an oxtail of sorts. We needed to hurry because there were only two orders left and it would be a shame to miss out on such a gastronomical delight. I kind of remember it being not unlike an osso bucco. I wish I had read "Kitchen Confidential" before we both ordered the "special" that day. The handsome dish arrived in all its glory, with its rich sauce having reduced way too long, which unfortunately caused the meal to be much too salty. About $75 later we left, a little dissapointed, but not completely pissed off, as there was a certain something about the place and our experience, that felt substantial. There was a sensibility of quality that permeated our lunch. Say what you will about Mr. Bourdain's in your face style, but the man has a refreshing, clear and invigorating approach. His take is based on real-life, in the trenches experience. He is very intelligent, has a great sense of humor and is actually a very talented writer. And for those mush-head vegetarians who may be insulted by his opinions, take a page out of his book and stop taking yourselves so seriously! Better yet, don't read his books or eat in his restaurants. I happen to live in Berkeley and I'm happy to report that yes, we can all get along. Kitchen confidential is a very entertaining, well written book with something for everyone. I only wish he had been present that day, as it would have been fun ripping into him about the too-salty food, not realizing he is actually the anti-celebrity and at the top of the heap of the cooking world.
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Author: Guest
Anthony Bourdain emphatically has a problem with kitchen personnel who call in sick, especially vegetarian ones "brought down by any rumor of a cold." But I suspect that vegetarians, being health-conscious virtually by definition, are simply putting their own well-being ahead of the momentary staffing needs of their employers. Which policy would their customers prefer? We can guess at Bourdain's choice: the open sores on Chaucer's Canterbury cook. It should also be pointed out that vegetarians, being thinkers again virtually by definition, are probably less inclined to live from paycheck-to-paycheck, and therefore have the financial wherewithal to call in sick when they are sick, instead of coming to work coughing and sneezing all over the food because their world would fall apart if they missed an hour's pay.
Bourdain also has a problem in general with vegetarians, especially vegans, both of whom are "the enemy of everything that is good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to everything I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food." (He once described a vegetarian meal he had in Berkeley as "soul destroying.") Even allowing for comic provocation, his view is really astonishing. For starters, it's the exact logical opposite of moral truth. People simply cannot be criticized for not unnecessarily killing and eating animals in their daily life. But it is also illogical in Bourdain's own stated world-view: that people should be open to other cultural norms. Well, what of the vegetarian cultural norm, as found, for example, in Berkeley?
Bourdain writes of his daily need for (among other horrors) veal broth. I suggest readers do a little research on how veal is made. It's not exactly soul enhancing. Vegetarians are affected by such matters, and for this sin they are comically damned (along with many others) in this comical book.
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Author: Guest
This is an interesting read into the back alleys of life inside a restaurant. If you've ever worked in the BOH or FOH, you'll probably recognize similarities between your own crazy stories, and his.
I highly recommend this book. It's a quick read... you won't want to put it down! I wish there was a sequel.
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Author: Guest
I was pointed to this book by a Food Network fan who loves food and thought this was a great story about how people become chefs, why they are passionate about cooking and good food and why the lives of chefs are so interesting. I would certainly agree that the book was entertaining--it was funny and moved along very well, plus I did learn a lot about the restaurant business and what I should look for when I am eating out. It was informative and a good read, so certainly worth reading for people who love cooking and chefs, but also great for people like me who just enjoy a good story that is well told--nothing complicated or too deep, but certainly a good bedside book.
My one complaint about the book is that Bourdain makes all of the characters alpha-male (or female), profane and hard living carcitures, which makes them seem a little unrealistic and not at all memorable, but in the end the book overcomes that flaw and is still very worth checking out.
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Author: Guest
A really fun and open read. This autobiography/memoir provides honest insight into the more glamorous end of the in the chef's world.
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