Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

I dated a fellow who worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years, and if I hadn’t I would never have been able to accept the truth of the overheated subculture revealed in Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. The lives behind the kitchen doors are like the social hierarchy of another universe. The true nature of the sweaty, profane, oversexed, marginalized, slash and burn staff that puts a meal on someone’s table would be a revelation to most diners. If you have ever bussed a table, poured a drink at a bar, been stiffed on a tip, had a perfectly fine meal sent back, been ripped off by your supplier or dated the hostess, Bourdain will bring back memories.

I love Anthony Bourdain. He's cynical & intelligent & loves food & cooking & being alive. He's a pleasure seeker of the first order. He's honest & knows when he's been bad, self-destructive, or boorish. He knows how to laugh at himself. He likes The Sex Pistols & Television & The Cramps. He rocks!

This book is well-written and often hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud while reading & then having to say, "Honey, hold up, you gotta hear this." My sweetie, having spent many years on the line in everything from Mexican to Italian to 5-star French kept laughing, then shuddering, then saying things like, "I've had that day." This was followed by shudders & general cringing and the tale of the drunken Belgian pastry check who burnt his show more puff pastries & threw an industrial-sized tray hot from the oven at the dishwasher's head. The dishwasher escaped decapitation and 3rd degree burns because he knew how to duck.

Bourdain is honest & brutally funny & combines his personal experience in & of kitchens with historical tidbits and other analysis. Anyone who is dreaming of opening a restaurant should his chapter, "A Day in the Life." It'll make whatever desk job you're currently doing look pretty damned good. show less

I think Julia Childs and Henry Miller have a secret lovechild and his name is Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain's delight in exposing the gutter in tha galleyand pirate crews in the kitchen is effusive and vivid in this tell-all of life from dishwasher to chef in New York kitchens. Sometimes it is a bit too Manhattan-centric, but Bourdain makes no apologies for that or any of his ribald ways, drug-taking or the sending back out of reclaimed bread. Yes, you may never look at the bread basket, buffets, or fish special again after this revelatory book.

Hearing it read by the author is a real treat. His use of New York and culinary slang in long, multi-adjective rants sounds like a hip Beat's rhythmic patter.

5.1 Nailed it. I loved the humor, honesty and warts-and-all look at the culinary industry. This book aged like fine wine and stinky French cheese. So good. Incredibly devastating that Bourdain is gone.

I finally got around to reading Bourdain's classic as a long time fan of his "No Reservations" program on the travel channel. His gritty voice rings true as he narrates the unconventional career path he has taken. This has to be one of the finest and most thorough accounts of the cooking life and the high-pressure, turbulent, and maddening effort that it demands. Kitchen Confidential should serve as a fair warning to all those who think they can translate a few nice home cooked meals into a restaurant. If anyone deserves to be globetrotting on the tv for a living, it is this guy.

I'm sad I waited until after his death to read this wonderful culinary memoir. I was hooked from page one, this was an amazing and impossible to put down book. Bourdain pulls back the curtain on what is really happening in kitchens and it's fascinating, scary, and very exciting. It's not all fun and games, it takes dedication, thick skin (physically and emotionally), endurance, and skill. Filled not only with his journey into the culinary belly of the world, this memoir also dishes on what days to order meats and seafoods, how to tell if a restaurant deserves your business and many other useful tidbits that I would never have known in a million years. He is also very real about his vices, addictions, and drugs found in virtually all show more restaurants of the world. Superbly written, witty, and engaging this memoir is not just for foodies, it's for everyone. Sad we lost such a great personality, but his voice will live on through his books and on his shows. show less

A few months ago, I sat down to write what I truly meant when I gave a book three or four or five stars. The standard for five? No criticisms, and a book that will stick with me and influence me for a long time. Kitchen Confidential met that standard for me. There are few things I love more than writing, traveling and food and this book spoke directly to all three of those passions. Anthony Bourdain writes with a unique voice, every word both richly descriptive and precisely chosen for the task at hand. He reveals a hidden world of professional cooking, a culture that felt as rich and unique as the furthest flung jungle tribes. Writing a book of this caliber, with such a strong voice, is a formidable task, but what truly sets this book show more apart is the passion that imbues every page. I felt that I got an honest look into the heart of a flawed genius, and when I reached the last page, I was truly sorry the journey was over. show less