Tiffany K. (tiffanyak) - , reviewed on 5/14/2015 + 215 more book reviews

In his book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, Anthony Bourdain explores both his adventures and experiences within the culinary world, as well as the interesting details that readers might like to know about life in the kitchen. In the course of a full three course dinner, as the book is cleverly apportioned into, Bourdain delves deep into the nitty-gritty of his life, culminating in the reflections of a now physically scarred celebrity chef, spending most of his time traveling far away from any kitchen that could be considered as his. This is a book not only about why you probably shouldnt order fish on a Monday, why those who favor well-done get the scrapings from the bottom of the barrel and why seafood frittata is not a wise brunch selection, but also about a life experienced via food. While people today tend to immediately recognize Anthony Bourdain as the host of various food-related television shows, exploring unique tastes and creations from around the world, he was once an ignorant and inexperienced newcomer to the world of professional cooking, and even before that, he was a normal dumb kid with no concept or understanding of food beyond the wonders of the hamburger with ketchup. Mixing his course attitude and language with a selection of anecdotes from throughout the highs and lows of his earlier career prior to the fame, Bourdain opens a door to the public that few would have ever thought to look for. This is more than just a book for those who love food. This is a book with something to offer for anyone who has ever eaten out in a restaurant, had a passing interest in cooking, or even so much as momentarily wondered what goes on behind the curtain in the cooking world.

There are many strengths to the book, the most notable of which is likely the passion with which Bourdain is able to speak of his one great love. He wants the readers to get a glimpse of the true joys of making really good food at a professional level, and he shows this well, as even in the most run-down kitchens at the lowest point of his career and addictions, this is a career and life that he has loved, and he wouldnt have missed it for the world. Every experience he had and many people he encountered, from Tyrone, who taught him a powerful lesson about pride and arrogance when he reached slowly under the broiler and picked up the glowing-hot sizzle-platterand set it down in front of me, through to Bigfoot, who taught him the essential skills of how to run a kitchen truly well, all shaped him into the chef he would one day become, and it is a fascinating journey. It is easy to love a job when one starts in a comfortable and successful position, but it takes true passion and dedication to do so when someone is required to start from the very bottom and fight every inch of the way up the ladder. While the seedy side of the profession, including the drugs, sex, and questionable professional behaviors by those responsible for making what we all consume when we sit down to eat at a restaurant, such as the recycled food placed on the buffet, might make ones stomach slightly weak at the knees, there is also a sense of appreciation to be had for not only how cooking is done, but the work that goes into running a high-quality kitchen. The chapter A Day in the Life is particularly enlightening for what it reveals about how a chef proceeds through his day, even as other chapters that reveal the language, relationships, and perceptions that categorize the profession serve to supplement this understanding. By the time one finishes reading the book, they have learned more than it would likely ever have occurred to them to even wonder.

Of course, this is not to say that the book is without its flaws. For one, if a reader tends to prefer a chronological narrative to the memoirs that they decide to read, disappointment will be a short time coming, as Bourdain quickly begins to jump around quite freely as the mood suits him, following his own sense of organization. While this can make the text difficult to follow the timeline on at times, Bourdain has a clear concept in mind in regards to what he wishes to convey. On the other hand, some of the content, such as when Bourdain needs to make his bones by countering the sexual advances of another chef as his drunken advances threatened to become actual penetration, the subsequent stabbing as well as the context of the scene as a whole can feel downright disturbing. Overall, as much as Bourdain might love nothing more than cooking in a restaurant kitchen, anyone who does not share that same level of passion to such an extent so as to be willing to endure such an environment might well be turned off from the entire idea. Of course, this is exactly what makes professional chefs what they are, and why the reader recognizes that only a select few will ever be able to survive the pressure so as to lay claim to that illustrious status. The rest of us are left to merely live vicariously through the small glimpses that those few choose to share with us, and wonder if, perhaps, in another life, we might have had what it takes as well.

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