Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential is the account of one chefs experience in the culinary industry. Tinged with a romantic and fond tone of remembrance, this book recounts Bourdain’s very beginnings; from his first virginal and eye opening mouthful of oyster, to The Culinary Institute of America, all the way to his international exploits as a chef. Exciting, hilarious, and verging on indecent (did I say verging? what I mean was brimming with indecency) Bourdain was unafraid to paint the industry as its messy, beautiful, authentic self.
About Kitchen Confidential
For the most part, this book lacks information about Bourdain’s personal life. The most readers will get in this regard surround his families regular vacation spots, and a bit about his internal state during various stages of his culinary journey (even moments when he was apparently in the midst of drug use are brushed off with no more than a shrug and a few short sentences.) So if you’re seeking out those messy personal details, this is likely not the book you’re looking for.
However, if you are curious about his “Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly,” as a chef or as an innocent bystander, this book is sure to supply you with all of the connotations that accompany the term “underbelly.” Did I mention vulgarity? Yeah, because from the first page, this book is rife with profanities and it truly leaves nothing to the imagination regarding the inner workings of kitchens across the restaurant business during the 80s and 90s.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, is screwing one another (literally and figuratively), and everyone seems to be lacking in some area of general health due to a lack of sleep, some brand of insanity, drugs or a combination of these factors. Though these themes of deviancy are ever present, there is a very clear sense of devotion towards the culinary arts, and a severe sort of attitude that makes it apparent to readers how smitten Bourdain and others were by the art of cooking.
I haven’t read much literature on the culinary world, so I wouldn’t know if this would be my first recommendation for a peek into the industry. It is simply my only recommendation at this time. But Bourdain’s story telling, brutal honesty, and his almost heroic, adventurous tone made this a gripping and stellar read.
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