After 25 years of sex, drugs, bad behaviour and haute cuisine, chef and novelist Anthony Bourdain has decided to tell all. From dishwasher to chef, from the Rainbow Room in the Rockerfeller Center to drug dealers in the East Village, his tales are as unpredictable as they are funny and shocking.
Kitchen Confidential
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Amazon Review
Kitchen Confidential is for diners who 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, 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.
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 favour 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
Review
'Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino.' -- A.A. Gill
'Extraordinary...written with a clarity and a clear-eyed wit to put the professional food-writing fraternity to shame.' -- Observer
'It's not exactly Delia.' -- Guardian
'Just reading it I felt sated...real, fast and frantic, this book conveys the buzz of the kitchen in a way that only a real cook will be able to understand.' -- The Times
'More gripping than a Stephen King novel.' -- Sunday Times
'Extraordinary...written with a clarity and a clear-eyed wit to put the professional food-writing fraternity to shame.' -- Observer
'It's not exactly Delia.' -- Guardian
'Just reading it I felt sated...real, fast and frantic, this book conveys the buzz of the kitchen in a way that only a real cook will be able to understand.' -- The Times
'More gripping than a Stephen King novel.' -- Sunday Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
22 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
Anthony Bourdain, Executive Chef at Les Halles, New York, has written far more than yet another memoir. Within these pages you will find humour, tragedy, pathos, engaging wit and attention gripping story telling ability. Oh yes, and horror! Never before has the lid been fully lifted from the bubbling cauldron of a professional kitchen to reveal to a hitherto unsuspecting public the full contents therein. Drugs, sex, rock'n'roll and much worse in the sort of excesses which put Fellini and Ken Russell to shame! Gasp at the incredulous characters who appear, sometimes occasionally, in Mr Bourdain's kitchens. Be afraid - be very afraid - as Mr Bourdain tells us all those little tricks of the trade which go on behind closed - or swinging - doors. Having attended catering college and started a career as Sous Chef many years ago I admit that some of these tricks are fairly common knowledge. But there are still tales here which grabbed my attention and made me vow never to go near certain restaurants again! Being based in America gives this book a certain distance - the sort of 'it couldn't happen over here' attitude which predated the arrival of McDonalds - and eccentricity which may deter many from buying it. Their loss. They will be missing out on one of this year's surprise successes, one of the most entertaining food books on the market and the sort of brutal reality that seems to have been lost in this country. Quite possibly, though, it is not lost but just hidden under a glutinous sauce of celebrity chef and Deliaism!
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Michael Ambjorn
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
As fast and furious as a prep-cook working his way through a pound carrots needing dicing and only a butchers knife at hand and a minute to go. Bourdain lets it all hang out and confirms that cooks are one special breed indeed - when solemnly exercising their creative talents let alone when they're inebriated and/or intoxicated. Both happens a lot in the book but it all helps convey the gristy salty experience it must be to stand with a kitchen akin a bedlam and roomful of people waiting for the soufflé that just collapsed.
It also makes one wonder why we enjoy eating out - even the most unimaginative person can guess what shenanigans go on in the kitchen (and if not, read this book and you won't need any imaginative powers at all). They get up to all sorts and yet, we continually put our palates, stomachs and ultimately lives in the hands of cooks, chefs and kitchen porters.
- Why? Well, Anthony Bourdain has quite clearly survived 25 years in the trade with both tastebuds and narrative powers intact so why shouldn't we - when there is so much to gain. OK, so he does have some sensible advice, which he says he follows himself, including the no-seafood-on-Mondays rule.
Read the book and I think you'll find it as wholesome and satisfactory as four course meal with the one lingering thought it might just have been that one notch closer to perfection had there just been three.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
First off, let me just say that this is a fantastic book. I had a lot of fun reading it, which is why I'm giving the book itself 4 stars.
However, I feel that I should warn people about the Kindle version. They seem to have used OCR or something, as there are LOTS of typos and mistakes. "I" (referring to Bourdain) often becomes "J", words are pushed together ("I did notthink that..."), and punctuation is often missed out entirely. It's very frustrating and often makes sentences hard to understand. I found myself having to re-read sections in order to make sense of them.
If you can look past these faults then go for it, but be warned. I hope that all Kindle books haven't been reproduced as poorly as this (this is my first Kindle purchase).
However, I feel that I should warn people about the Kindle version. They seem to have used OCR or something, as there are LOTS of typos and mistakes. "I" (referring to Bourdain) often becomes "J", words are pushed together ("I did notthink that..."), and punctuation is often missed out entirely. It's very frustrating and often makes sentences hard to understand. I found myself having to re-read sections in order to make sense of them.
If you can look past these faults then go for it, but be warned. I hope that all Kindle books haven't been reproduced as poorly as this (this is my first Kindle purchase).
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting
If you want to retain the image of a top chef being a patient, polite, perfect person who works in a zen-like environment dispensing small plates of culinary goodness, this book is... Read more
Published 20 days ago by I. Darren
5.0 out of 5 stars
The definitive book about life in the restaurant business in modern...
What can I say about this book that hasn't been said already a million times over? Not much, really. Read more
Published 24 days ago by Johnny
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointed with delivered version compared with original hardback...
Did not realise it would be small-print paper back. Had hoped for original published version. Antony
bourdain would be disappointed too.
bourdain would be disappointed too.
Published 1 month ago by Kate Patten
4.0 out of 5 stars
brilliant book
I borrowed this book from a friend, but liked it so much bought my own copy. Arrived promptly and the book is in good condition. Bargain!
Published 1 month ago by LeaB
5.0 out of 5 stars
fab read
this book arrived in good time , much earlier then expected.
As for the book, what an excellent read, laugh out loud in places;
Bourdain knows how to keep the pace short... Read more
As for the book, what an excellent read, laugh out loud in places;
Bourdain knows how to keep the pace short... Read more
Published 1 month ago by B
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant account
I had been watching his TV programs. At the beginning, I did not like him but after a while I started to understand and love him. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Kimoki Istanbul
5.0 out of 5 stars
very interesting.
Good books, quite interesting about what life can be like for a chef. These are the seven more words I require.
Published 2 months ago by B. Waymark
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great bookseller
Lost this book on the train, desperately needed to finish it, was extremely happy with the service and price to replace it!
Published 2 months ago by B. Metelerkamp
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kitchen Confidential
I bought this for my son after I read it from the library. It inspired him to buy me a great chef's knife for my birthday which was an ace present. Brill.
Published 2 months ago by Angela Trotter
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent
A delightful book, very gastronomic informative, utterly funny!
I had loads of cafes and fun while reading this book.
If you like food and tales. Go for it!
I had loads of cafes and fun while reading this book.
If you like food and tales. Go for it!
Published 2 months ago by MAURICIO
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