Why it's essential
Complemented by his one of a kind vocal performance, Anthony Bourdain's musings on the intense and decidedly strange world of high cuisine are as relevant today as they have ever been.
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What is Kitchen Confidential about?
Beginning with his humble roots shucking oysters in the French Riviera, Anthony Bourdain lays out his rise to the top of New York City's hyper competitive restaurant scene. Known for his acerbic wit, Bourdain spares no details about his career and personal life, from working the line at a Cape Cod tourist trap to running some of the finest dining establishments in the world.
Editor's review
Seth Hartman is an Audible editor and a certified podcasting fanatic. He lives for historical fiction, music and film analysis podcasts, and well-placed Oxford commas.
Drawing from his experience and pedigree as a seasoned chef in New York City, brings an honest, impassioned, and aggressively pretense-free perspective to this seemingly glamorous life. As a lifelong eater and obsessive patron of all types of cooking shows, left a special impact on me.
Rather than providing a "view from the mountaintop," Bourdain meets the listener at eye level, narrating a brutally honest and relentlessly detailed account of life in the kitchen in his own voice. While I am sure he would hate to be described as such, Anthony Bourdain arguably created the punk rock, alternative bad boy aesthetic that has become a popular trope among celebrity chefs. Through this book, he spares no details recounting the long hours, strained relationships, drug abuse, and insomnia that colored his experiences working at some of the finest dining institutions in New York and beyond. While stories like this are more commonly told in today’s media landscape, Bourdain really kicked the doors open for public discourse about restaurant life.
While I love to be in the kitchen and think of myself as a decent cook, I still consider what goes on behind closed doors in a restaurant to be magical. After falling in love with Bourdain as a television personality, I thought I would try to deepen my connection with my burgeoning passion in the kitchen by listening to his memoir. I always loved Anthony Bourdain for his ability to "take off the gloves" when speaking about some of the industry’s best kept secrets. I honestly don’t think I would have the courage to push myself in the kitchen if it wasn’t for his sarcastic yet encouraging voice pushing me along. With his signature dry sense of humor and absolute refusal to muzzle himself, is full of Bourdain’s almost dogmatic "dos and don’ts." For example, he absolutely refuses to eat fish on Mondays in New York City based on of what he knows about fish suppliers and when restaurants tend to buy stock. One of my favorite parts about this book is that it makes you not only a better home chef but a better restaurant-goer as well.
