I reread Kitchen Confidential in memory of Anthony Bourdain. I still can't believe he's gone.

I enjoyed the book and smiled at Anthony's brash-yet-loveable style. Plus, it reminded me of my baby brother, who is also a chef.

Highly recommended for restaurant workers and foodie fans.

It's hard to know how to classify "Kitchen Confidential." Memoir? Expose? Humor? Its author Anthony Bourdain is easier to pin down: the hard-drinking, hard-swearing, hard-living executive chef of a New York restaurant who can't write a sentence without being funny, poignant, or offensive, often simultaneously. Bourdain's book ranges freely over his French childhood where he first got obsessed with food, his time at fry-shacks, grill bars, and the Culinary Institute of America which variously taught him to cook, his exceedingly checkered career as chef for a variety of restaurants both doomed and successful, and his observations on the underbelly of the restaurant biz. He can be lyrical and almost tender (his fierce advocacy for the under-appreciated Latinos who make so much of America's three-star cuisine, and get so little recognition) but things really get fun when he lets it rip. Targets for his sarcasm include celebrity chefs who don't actually cook, the Food Network, and restaurants who pretty up leftover Saturday-night crap and package it for $29.99 as Sunday Brunch. Bourdain's macho testosteronal voice would be unbearable if he didn't make just as much fun of himself as he does of everyone else: he recounts stealing from restaurants in his youth, cheating through Chicken Stock class in the Culinary Institute, snorting cocaine on the job, not being able to cook worth a damn compared to his culinary idols, and in general being an asshole. Maybe he is, but he's a funny asshole and he sure can write. You will never order fish on Tuesday again after reading this book, and you will never walk into a restaurant without looking at the kitchen doors and wondering if the crew making your food is the kind of swaggering foul-mouthed unabashedly entertaining batch of borderline outlaws who are depicted so vividly in Bourdain's pages.

"No, I want to tell you about the dark recesses of the restaurant underbelly - a subculture whose centuries-old militaristic hierarchy and ethos of 'rum, buggery and the lash' make for a mix of unwavering order and nerve-shattering chaos - because I find it all quite comfortable, like a nice warm bath. I can move around easily in this life. I speak the language. In the small, incestuous community of chefs and cooks in New York City, I know the people, and in my kitchen, I know how to behave (as opposed to in real life, where I'm on shakier ground). I want the professionals who read this to enjoy it for what it is: a straight look at a life many of us have lived and breathed for most of our days and nights to the exclusion of 'normal' social interaction. Never having had a Friday or Saturday night off, always working holidays, being busiest when the rest of the world is just getting out of work, makes for a sometimes peculiar world-view, which I hope my fellow chefs and cooks will recognize. The restaurant lifers who read this may or may not like what I'm doing. But they'll know I'm not lying."

Before No Reservations, there was Kitchen Confidential, Anthony Bourdain's straightforward, occasionally too-honest account of the restaurant industry and the demented geniuses who make their living from it. Although there are plenty of meditations on food (the very first section describes the moment when Anthony Bourdain first fell in love with food) and cooking, this is first and foremost a book about restaurants: what kind of people work there, what sort of people should and shouldn't own one, and what goes on behind the scenes. This really functions more as a collection of essays rather than a straightforward memoir, because although events happen in mostly chronological order, there are large gaps missing (for instance, in one chapter Bourdain discusses the time he worked at an Italian restaurant and learned to love Italian food, and in the next chapter he's describing a typical day at his job as head chef of Les Halles) and there's no clear narrative arc. It's a good, in-depth look at the inner workings of restaurants, well-written and brimming with Bourdain's signature no-bullshit piss-and-vinegar tone that I love so well:

"Vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter-faction, the vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn. To me, life without veal stock, pork fat, sausage, organ meat, demi-glace, or even stinky cheese is not a life worth living. Vegetarians are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit, an affront to all that I stand for, the pure enjoyment of food."

I've worked as a waitress for about two and half years now, so most of the things Bourdain reveals about the food service industry weren't all that shocking to me (people working in a restaurant are often drinking and/or on drugs during service? yawn.) but the book was still able to give me a new perspective into a part of the restaurant industry that I was unfamiliar with. In a restaurant, working the floor and working back of house are two very different worlds, and it was cool to get a look into how the other side lives. It also gave me more sympathy to how damn hard the cooks have to work - after reading sections like the description of Bourdain working as the head chef during the dinner rush, I will never complain again about the cooks where I work taking twenty minutes to make two burgers in the middle of Friday night dinner rush:

"The printer is going nonstop now. My left hand grabs tickets, separates out white copy for grill, yellow copy for sautee, pink copy for me, coffee orders for the busboys. My right hand wipes plates, jams gaufrette potatoes and rosemary sprigs into mashed potatoes, moves tickets from the order to the fire positions, appetizers on order to appetizers out. I'm yelling full-time now, trying to hold it together, keep an even pace. My radar screen is filled with incoming bogeys, and I'm shooting them down as fast as I can. One mistake, where a whole table comes back because of a prematurely fired dupe, or a bad combination of special requests ties up a station for a few critical seconds, or a whole roasted fish or a cote de boeuf has been forgotten? The whole line could come grinding to a dead stop, like someone dropping a wrench into a GM assembly line - utter meltdown, what every chef fears most. If something like this happens it could blow the whole pace of the evening, screw up everybody's heads, and create a deep, dark hole that could be very hard to climb out of."

Required reading for anyone who plans to eat at a restaurant in the near future.

One last thought: does anyone else remember Kitchen Confidential being a failed sitcom once upon a time? I faintly remember watching one episode when it briefly aired, and it was about one of the chef guy's mentor coming to the restaurant, and I remember that he was this really tough exacting guy who would tell his students that he "made two chefs like you in the toilet this morning." I was sure that I was misremembering and that the two weren't related, but then I got to the bit where Bourdain describes his time at the Culinary Institute of America and one of his instructors totally used to say that. Does anyone remember that this show happened?

First time I heard of Anthony Bourdain was on some TV show. He seemed like a cool guy, but I didn’t think of him as a chef. He seemed to be nothing but a TV presenter who travels around the world. I didn’t think that he really mattered much in the culinary world. Most of the chefs that we see on TV either cook or get other people judged on ability to cook and/or perform in the kitchens.
Anthony Bourdain wasn’t doing anything of that. He was simply enjoying food…in some unique way.
Not long ago I stumbled upon his book called “Kitchen Confidential”. He succeeded in noteworthy profiling of American chefs/cooks and provided accordingly an awe-inspiring study of behaviour as well as dispositions, which are to be discerned in many American professional kitchens, “ insensitive to gender preference, and the gorgeous mosaic of an ethnically diverse workforce.” The culinary world appears to be the unruly kingdom of extreme personality types. Without stereotyping, Bourdain draws a fine line between objective observation and personal experience, which is emotional for the most part. This, probably, makes him the best writer among the chefs as well as the best cook among the writers.
Another important aspect of this book is Bourdain’s view of food and its connection with certain “habits” in American restaurants. He writes about brunch as “an open invitation to the cost-conscious chef, a dumping ground for the odd bits left over from Friday and Saturday nights or for the scraps generated in the normal course of business.” Although brutally honest, his attitude is a pure expression of passion for cooking and affinity for superb cuisine. Term “Failing Restaurant Syndrome” suggests an extensive explanation on what is to be avoided when starting up a restaurant, which obstacles should be predicted and what kind of attitude is required in order for someone to survive in the restaurant world called “a hole that statistically, at least, will almost surely prove dry.”
What really impresses me most is Bourdain’s talent to illustrate someone’s traits with such meticulousness wrapped in compassion and recognition. In his book “Kitchen Confidential” he showed an impressively deep understanding of human nature. He would write for example …he… “who could keep it together, show up on time, keep his mouth shut, and do the right thing – even if he woke up every morning naked and covered with puke on a cold bathroom floor.” Or: “ My love for chaos, conspiracy and the dark side of human nature colours the behaviour of my charges, most of whom are already living near the fringes of acceptable conduct.”
This is an amusing, smart book about loyalty and treachery, friends and enemies, pride and shame, endurance and cessation.
Anthony BourdainAnthony Bourdainn  n

First off, I didn’t realize that this book is 20 years old. It doesn’t address Bourdain’s tv work. It didn’t matter.

Second, Bourdain is a crude, abrasive man. That didn’t really matter either.

What matters is that this book was fascinating from the first word to the last. It is an autobiography, but strictly of his career-related life. Which includes a bit of childhood and his intriguing first jobs.

Omg this book was fun! What a crazy life he lived! I will never experience restaurants the same way. And my husband and I are REALLY into restaurants. I had no idea that a chef’s story would include stories of pirates, gangsters, thieves, druggies, and so much adventure! Not one moment was boring or slow. And it’s read by the author on audio.

I’m definitely buying those knives he recommends. And eating a lot less chicken. Not ordering fish on Monday. Read this book. You need to know.

Maybe 3.5 stars, sometimes 4. It has lots of interesting anecdotes, but it was somewhat repetitive at parts. While interesting for the non-culinary inclined, I think it would be better received by someone with a kitchen background or a person who has worked in food and beverage.

Some parts of this book talk about fantastic food and will leave you drooling. As a result, you will want to hop the next flight and travel the world visiting as many restaurants and trying as many types of food as you can.

Other parts will disgust you and leave you nauseous. You will never look a restaurant food the same way - and may not want to eat it at all unless you get a good look at the kitchen and the people preparing the food.

Bourdain doesn't pull any punches talking about the life of the kitchen staff fueled by drugs, alcohol, sexual innuendo, sarcasm, anger, impatience, and tyranny. Some how, as a result, schedules are met, food is delivered, and customers are satisfied. Food prep is a lifestyle that can occupy the serious chef 24/7. It is something I will not take for granted in the future.

R.I.P. Chef Bourdain

n  My book club voted on this memoir as our Book of the Month for December.n

I was totally on board. I know next to nothing about Anthony Bourdain, except that he visited West Virginia in 2017 for his show, CNN's Parts Unknown. The reason I know this? I'm a born and bred West Virginia girl, and he genuinely seemed to like my home state, Tweeting:

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This place moves me like very, very few other places. And I been everywhere. #WestVirginia

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After that, he held a special place in my heart. West Virginia gets such a bad rap in the media...it was nice to see a celebrity portray it in a positive light. I was genuinely saddened to hear he'd passed away last year.

Needless to say, because of his genuine affection for my home, I was excited to read his memoir.

Unfortunately, it felt as though Bourdain was strolling down memory lane and sharing stories about his odd assortment of friends/co-workers. Yes, he talked about food, but mostly in French, which I didn't understand. And yes, I chuckled a few times (especially about the "me/meat" story), but my enthusiasm was dampened by the repetitive nature of the story and lack of a clear timeline. The book seemed more like a random collection of stories and memories with zero cohesion, though at times, he'd share little gems like this one:

“I'm not going anywhere. I hope. It's been an adventure. We took some casualties over the years. Things got broken. Things got lost. But I wouldn't have missed it for the world.”

Rest In Peace.

Recommended for foodies everywhere.
2.5 stars

If you are like me and love food, watching Top Chef and Food Channel, think that cooking is art, an outlet for creativity, consider chefs featured on such shows (including Anthony Bourdain) as super-sophisticated artists, you are up for a surprise with this book.

Bourdain definitely crushes all preconceived notions we might have about the industry. You remember those foul-mouthed, unkempt, ever-fired-and-hired kitchen workers with shifty pasts you've come across at some points in your life? I thought I simply had a misfortune of working in crappy places, but, apparently, all cooks are exactly like that! There is no such thing as a sophisticated cook, according to Bourdain. In his book, cooks are a dysfunctional lot - drug-addicted, unable to hold a "normal" job, people from the fringes of the society. Actually, Bourdain is one of these people himself. He supports this statement by numerous stories of his drug-, crime- and sex-infused culinary career. As for artistry in cooking, there is none. Cooking is all about mindless, unvarying repetition. Only a few executive chefs in high-end restaurants have a luxury of being creative with the food they make.

Besides the anecdotes about dysfunctional kitchen workers, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly is a sort of biographical account of Bourdain's cooking career. He talks about how his love for food came about. He takes us on his life journey - from a dishwasher in a seaside joint to an executive chef position in a swanky NYC restaurant. He describes his experiences in failed and successful businesses. Offers practical advice about the industry and food. The morsels of wisdom I am taking away from this book are: don't order specials and don't attend brunch buffets (apparently, both are dumping grounds for old leftovers); don't eat at places with dirty bathrooms; vegetarians are crazy and sickly people who can't be trusted.

As a narrator, Bourdain is very entertaining. He is a no-nonsense, no-holding-back kind of writer, sarcastic and witty and, I assume, quite honest about his exploits. One does start to wonder however if he is laying the bad boy thing a little too thick. It is interesting that in spite of his years-long heroine, cocaine, and alcohol addictions and his bad behavior at work, he not only managed to line one chef job after another in decent places (no McDonald's and Shoney's on his resume) but maintained a marriage as well.

While I thought the book was entertaining, I finished reading it thinking it needed some editing help. First, it is not very well structured, the narration is not cohesive in any shape or form, it reads like a bunch of anecdotes thrown together in no apparent order. The stories of debauchery become repetitive and redundant by the end where I started skipping chapters because none of it was new. Finally, seeing some pictures of people and places Bourdain talks about would have been great too.

Nevertheless, I would recommend this book to all food lovers and especially people who are toying with the idea of becoming restaurateurs or cooks. The author's advice and warnings about the business are sound. I, personally, am convinced not to ever get involved in this business, in any capacity, and will try to continue enjoying food knowing what actually goes on behind the kitchen doors.

For English version please scroll down

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Selbstportrait eines leidenschaftlichen Chefkochs

Anthony Bourdains Küchengeschichten haben mich bestens unterhalten und auch einiges über das Kochen gelehrt.

Ich zweifle kein bisschen an seinen Ausführungen über Organisation und Arbeitsweise in der Küche und glaube sofort, dass in den USA in Restaurantküchen massenhaft unterbezahlte Illegale aus Süd- und Mittelamerika beschäftigt werden.

Ein bisschen geholpert hat es für mich aber bei seinen Charakterbeschreibungen und den zwischenmenschlichen Geschichten. In Grundsätzen kenne ich die weniger angenehmen Absurditäten aus eigener Erfahrung (ich habe in meiner Jugend eine Weile in der Gastronomie gearbeitet). Die Mafia-Connections, der Drogen- und Alkohol-Missbrauch, die Suchtprobleme aller Art, die Kriminalität war alles offen ersichtlich (mein Bar-Chef hat damals z.B. über die Bar hinweg in großem Stil Heroin vertickt). Trotzdem kommt mir Bourdains Geschichte an einigen Stellen ein bisschen zu wahnsinnig vor. Das mag allerdings auch daran liegen, dass er sehr komprimiert erzählt.

Was ich aus dem Buch mitnehme ist, dass er offenbar ein verrückter Fanatiker und nicht unbedingt eine angenehme in Sinne von leicht umgängliche Persönlichkeit war.

Mir hat’s gefallen und ich vergebe 4 Sterne.

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Self-portrait of a passionate chef

Anthony Bourdain's kitchen stories entertained me tremendously well and also taught me a lot about cooking.

I have no doubts about his remarks about the organization and working methods in the kitchen, and I immediately believe that underpaid illegals from South and Central America are employed en masse in restaurant kitchens in the USA.

For me, however, it got a bit bumpy with his character descriptions and the interpersonal stories. Basically, I know the less pleasant absurdities from my own experience (I worked in the restaurant business for a while in my youth). The mafia connections, the drug and alcohol abuse, the addiction problems of all kinds, the criminality were all openly evident (at that time my bar chef, for example, was selling heroin on a large scale across the bar). Even so, Bourdain's story strikes me as a little too insane in some places. However, this may also be due to the fact that his narrative is very condensed.

What I take away from the book is that he was apparently a crazy fanatic and not necessarily a pleasant in the sense of an easy-going person.

I liked it. 4 Stars.

"Though I've spent half my life watching people, guiding them, trying to anticipate their moods, motivations and actions, running from them, manipulating and being manipulated by them, they remain a mystery to me. People confuse me. Food doesn't. (299)

"I don't know, you see, how a normal person acts. I don't know how to behave outside my kitchen. I don't know the rules. I'm aware of them, sure, but I don't care to observe them anymore - because I haven't had to for so many years." (245)

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly displays Anthony Bourdain's philosophical character, the underpinnings of the everyday culinary world (not the reality tv one viewers soak up on food network), and an elemental truth that lacks the bulls*t we in customer service know to be the real restaurant industry. It's full of grit, funny moments, bizarre coworkers, hardworking latinos that go unappreciated, Italian gangsters, overly optimistic restaurant owners, and the scars physically and mentally being in food service create. Bourdain's voice almost goes in the direction of Hunter S. Thompson, guiding us through the culinary underbelly. He brings up his screw-ups, frequent drug use, and his constant state of outcast him and his fellow cooks, sous-chefs, waiters, and other coworkers are placed under. Anyone in the restaurant business will fully understand this book and what Bourdain is referring to. The bouncing around of restaurants feels repeated at times, but otherwise this was a fun romp inside of the world of cooking.

Un racconto "onesto" sulla vita da chef di A. Bourdain.
L'autore non si fa sconti.
Interessante anche per tutti i suggerimenti culinari disseminati nel libro.

Sometimes mouth-watering, other times nauseating, and at all times 100% candid, Anthony Bourdain's memoirs of the underbelly of the culinary world might very well turn you off completely from ever eating out again, even as it celebrates the life-affirming, glorious, and sensual nature of food in our lives.

Bourdain is not just a celebrity who ghost wrote a bestseller. He is a true writer who happens to write about food. His flamboyant, rich style may not sit lightly on every reader's stomach and may even cause indigestion. Overall, I found it highly entertaining but I did think that the book tended to drag on a bit.

A travelogue to Japan, in particular, felt like an appendage to an otherwise coherent narrative. For all his worldliness, Bourdain's impressions of Japan reminded me of a wide-eyed, 19th century European poet in the first throes of Orientalism.

If you are looking for politically correct, polite, refined, collection of tips and advice to improve your next dinner party, please stay FAR FAR AWAY. Bourdain's culinary world makes the debauched world of drug-addled, over-sexed, grimy rock stars and their groupies feel quaint.