Kitchen Confidential: Culinary Adventures

Good behind the scenes work. Love the stories and wisdom. My food life has been forever changed. Don’t eat seafood on Monday.

Bourdain gives us a view into his history and his kitchens and the fantastic characters who dwell in each place. All the stories are putatively true, but Bourdain is potentially something of an unreliable narrator. It's not so much that he's lying to you, but it's more the sense that all the stories are so good, so perfect, and so over the top that you can't help wonder if the truth is being stretched here and there for the purpose of making the tale that little bit taller. This is all a backhanded way of complimenting Bourdain, so let's be direct with the praise: Bourdain is a wonderful storyteller. His anecdotes are clever and well-crafted, and they keep your attention and keep you moving from tale to tale. You get a feel for the life of a line cook -- of the preparation and the pressure and the ways in which people successfully (and, more often than not, unsuccessfully) attempt to cope with the lifestyle. You hear about the cons played on the unsuspecting and inexperienced owners, exploited by those in the know for whatever can be wrung from them. And you wonder a little bit if you're getting a bit of the same treatment in your role as the reader... Ultimately, though, all is forgiven because of the sheer entertainment value of those stories. For me, I'd give the book 4.5 stars if I could, mainly because I'd like a little more big picture than what Bourdain gives. He compellingly describes the trench warfare of the line -- the day to day tactics of it all -- but skimps on the overall strategy of the restaurant business. It's there in bits and pieces, but doesn't get the comprehensive treatment of, say, the preparation of a mise en place. But if you let that little gripe prevent you from purchasing the book, then you're making a mistake. Kitchen Confidential is worth your time and money.

Tony Bourdain is a smart, witty, funny, and deeply twisted individual, and is also a first-rate writer whose non-fiction is as entertaining and expressive as any novel I have ever read. I first became aware of Tony through his cable television show "No Reservations" (which is the only television show that I go out of my way to see each week.) I immediately bought this book after seeing the episode on Icelandic cuisine, as I thought he was intelligent yet not another insufferable food snob. He is a man who wants to try everything and has absolutely no fear or prejudices about food and excels at telling it like it is. This book recounts his life and career rising to the top of the pack in the culinary world. It is a deeply personal and unvarnished look at the world of big-league professional food, and is full of insights on both food and the restaurant business. When I was younger I worked as a line cook in a relatively nice restaurant. Although my experience was somewhat less frenetic and more sanitary than the scene in New York, I can certainly attest that the cast of characters (and their flaws) revealed in this book is right on the money. One thing I like about Bourdain and this book is that he tells the truth even when it's ugly. He explains why, for instance, not to order meat well done or why not to even think about ordering fish on Monday. (He's right on both accounts.) He doesn't dodge his own past when others would fail to mention diversionary activities such as a heroin addiction, and even though he comes across as cantankerous, he is a guy you can take at his word. Some of this book is pure gold, not just for cooks and would be chefs, but for everyone. His writing ("Rules to Live By," page 64, and "A Commencement Address," page 293 in particular) is excellent and applies to any profession. He also shares many inside secrets of Les Halles (and other restaurants he has worked at), of winning "mise-en-place" (or just "meez;" people who really want to cook professionally should take this to heart), and technical opinions (why and how to use an offset serrated knife.) This book is coarse and not for the faint of heart, but if you really want to know about cooking or cooks, it is the best (and funniest) single volume ever written. I highly recommend this book

As Advertised. Good read.

A classic grimy account of the NY culinary scene from the late 80s to 90s.