Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.)
by Anthony Bourdain
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Book Summary Information
Author: Anthony BourdainEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2007-01-09
ISBN: 0060899220
Number of pages: 312
Publisher: Ecco
Book Reviews of Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.)
Book Review: Quintessential culinary memoir.
Summary: 4 Stars
In Medium Raw, Bourdain's follow-up to Kitchen Confidential, the illustrious (Did I say "illustrious"? Perhaps "infamous" would be more poignant.), he makes known his surprise of watching his first memoir climb to the top of the New York Times Bestseller List. He describes the book as "something I'd written with no larger audience than New York-area line cooks, waiters, and bartenders in mind."
The book certainly reads this way, and it manages to create a glimpse of an arduous "rags-to-riches" (however minor those riches might be) story. The language is very specific to the culinary field; however, it is not difficult to figure out what certain terms mean based on their context. That being said, Bourdain tries his best to fill in uninformed readers, but fails to find appropriate times to do so, describing things like "mise-en-place" (the organizing and arrangement of meal ingredients) long after they've been referenced several times.
Perhaps this is the only annoyance in the book, but it is one that extends beyond just terminology. The hectically busy, drug-soaked lives of the short order and high-end restaurants Bourdain came-to-age in are described in a frenetic manner, immersing the reader with just how unbelievably fast-paced the industry is. Since the same descriptions pervade the "Day in the Life" chapter, which describes a typical day of Bourdain's as executive chef at Les Halles (where Bourdain worked at time of writing), this section bored the hell out of me. Perhaps if this chapter were one of the opening ones, it would have been more effective.
Also, anyone who has worked in the restaurant business will probably find themselves nodding off a few times, though not because the writing is lackluster--Bourdain's obnoxious attitude toward everything is comical, witty and wildly entertaining. The heart of the matter is that other people in the restaurant industry, from the busboy to the head chef, will most likely be fully aware of the idiosyncrasies of the industry. I've only spent one summer of my life preparing short-order meals and even I found myself wanting Bourdain to get on with his stories several times.
Gripes aside, the book is fantastic, and the writing style and general observations on everything food related (and some things related to pop-culture and junky life) make this work what it is. Bourdain's reflections on what food means to him and why it is important to everyone's lives produce sparks of brilliance. Even the "fringe" dishes that many people would not seek out on a daily basis (or monthly or yearly or ever), take on an almost holy appearance in Bourdain's words.
While about 75% memoir, the other 25% of Kitchen Confidential is dedicated to such subjects as how to create professional-looking dishes in your own kitchen and how to properly seek out restaurant food. Bourdain doesn't burden the reader with any recipes, but offers up easy ways to dress and garnish almost any type of food. After reading the chapter, I tried one of the ideas and it worked perfectly. For those who couldn't cook their way out of a paper bag, or those who believe boxed dinners to be a form of cooking, these methods won't provide them with any suggestions. That being said, if you can't cook at all, you're probably not even going to bother opening this book.
The chapter describing how to seek out and properly order the right type of dish at the right type of restaurant is one of the best things this book has to offer. If you're looking for something to "shock" you, you're probably not going to receive gratification (unless maybe you only order well-done steaks), but you'll certainly benefit from Bourdain's spiel. The simple wisdom in this chapter includes several brilliantly observations that most people simply neglect to think about:
* Never eat at restaurants with dirty bathrooms. The restroom is the easiest room to clean in a restaurant, so if it's dirty, imagine what the kitchen looks like.
* Stay away from Sunday brunches, as it's mostly recycled food that's about to go bad.
* Never order fish on a Monday, as you're most likely eating food that's been sitting around for quite a while.
These are just a few things. Bourdain certainly doesn't try to lure his readers away from eating restaurant food, but encourages them to be more proactive in shopping for their needs. Knowing the best days of the week to eat out is certainly advantageous to most people.
I'd recommend this book to everyone except for people who do no cooking whatsoever outside of microwavable meals. Ironically, it is perhaps these folks who need the book's inspiration the most, but I don't forsee them receiving it by reading descriptions of culinary greatness. The orgasmic way Bourdain describes his first encounters with eating really good food is something that can only be attained by actually ingesting brilliant dishes for oneself. Everyone else though--stay-at-home cooks, professional chefs, short-order cooks, fast food employees, memoir lovers, travel channel watchers--should definitely pick this one up.
More Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.) reviews:
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Summary of Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.)
A deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade from Chef Anthony Bourdain, laying out his more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine?now with all-new, never-before-published material.
Most diners 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 in Kitchen Confidential, 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. CIA-trained 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 favor 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
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