Kitchen Confidential

Mr Bourdain comes across as something of a tortured soul totally at odds with most aspects of being a regular functioning human being, this in itself is why I love this book soo much. He has a gift for story telling and self effacing behavior that I find very appealing in a writer and for that matter a person. Very true to himself. The book fires along at great pace through his life starting from a brief look at his childhood and some of his formulative inspirations, interspersed with foodie bits, all the way through his early cooking years in Provincetown and what became a very chequered career filled with full on substance fuelled misadventures. Dealing with life on the fringes he stumbles from one mad job\situation to the next as he struggles with his inner demons and various addictions. Carving up a reputation as a force to be reckoned with he crashes his way through the new york culinary scene leaving a trail of destruction in his wake think Fear And Loathing and your on the right tracks. What I find most appealing about this book is how he comes across as having a lot of depth of personality and is able throughout to be reflective, understanding on a deeper level his potential, regularly defacing his own bad behaviour showing growth and understanding of his flaws despite being hopelessly bound by them as many of us are, (speaking personally). He is great at describing time and place making this reader feel and sense the energy of the life. He meets some fascinating, darkly charming characters with lots of funny, wicked moments and tales. Even though I have no doubht he made a lot of mistakes and upset a few people on route. I didnt have him down as a bad or malicious person at any stage, he did what was necessary to survive in a difficult business and survive he did with gusto! This versatility is perhaps one of his greatest strengths, his ability to adapt and keep rolling on. I found him also to show a deeper understanding of the human condition, what makes us all tick or motivations and drives, out of this awareness comes a kindness and sense of humility that I found appealing in his character. All in all a very entertaining book!

The first half of the book went down very quickly and flawlessly, but towards the middle/end, repetitions, incongruencies, and narrative stagnation took their toll. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice book, and cooks will definitely relate and find it much more enticing. I possibly was influenced by my high expectations due to my sympathy for Bourdain.

Brilliant book. Well packaged and a speedy service

Fun read if you are interested by cooking. I read it cover to cover in less than two weeks!

Anthony bourdain writes wonderfully with many funny anecdotes as he recalls his cooking journey. Got to say, he doesn’t sugarcoat hos experience! Well worth the read for an avid foodie.

Written by Anthony Bourdain in 2000, Kitchen Confidential was the catalyst that set Bourdain on his way to food journalism royalty. Set out in menu terms, we are taken on a journey from starter to desserts and coffee through the life of a child who discovers a love for food to a seasoned chef in the heart of New York City. There is nothing too indecent to be described by Bourdain, whether it’s why not to eat a Monday fish special in a restaurant, to the drug-addled life of a mercenary chef. This is a large part of the appeal. We are not seeing the dreamy make-believe world of TV cooking here, we are being shown a glimpse behind the curtain of what it really means to earn your stripes in a professional kitchen. The only real fault I could find is that there is a fair bit of jumping around on the ‘menu’. What starts as a fairly easy to follow chronological tale of becoming a chef suddenly and without warning starts to take detours. Now I’m not saying the detours are unwelcome but they certainly feel out of place. Things like a day in the life of a chef and the equipment that is worth buying for a home cook are spotted in the middle of otherwise fairly anecdotal parts of the book, but I can’t help but feel may have been more cleverly grouped together or served more as a palate cleanser between menu items. This is essential reading for those who love an episode of Kitchen Nightmares or who work in the profession, even just for those who love a good tale of debauchery told through neo-gonzo journalism. If you want a true, honest account of what it’s like to work in the world of professional cuisine, you really need look no further than Kitchen Confidential.

We all miss you Tony. Readers if you are able to, get the audio book read by the man himself to read along. It's absolutely worth it.

I absolutely loved this book. I first heard about AB when a friend of mine bought the book when it first came out. He is a real foodie and knew of the author from his days at Brasserie Les Halle in NYC. I started following his food / travel programmes and have become a real convert to all things food! The honesty of the man is the first thing that grabbed me, his self deprecating style is unique and appreciated by someone who can equally see his own flaws. The dark humour drips throughout the read. It is narrated as much as written and flows really well. As a person that spent his early life in the meat industry in London, the comparisons that are drawn are absolutely spot on and truly show that the food industry certainly attracts a particular personality. This is a book that anyone who has a modicum of interest in food can enjoy, and I would really like everyone to read what a wonderful bloke Anthony Bourdain was. I regret that he left this earth too early, but his life lives on in his writings. I have already purchased Medium Raw, so watch this space for my review!

Tony Bourdain is a smart, witty, funny, and deeply twisted individual, and is also a first-rate writer whose non-fiction is as entertaining and expressive as any novel I have ever read. I first became aware of Tony through his cable television show "No Reservations" (which is the only television show that I go out of my way to see each week.) I immediately bought this book after seeing the episode on Icelandic cuisine, as I thought he was intelligent yet not another insufferable food snob. He is a man who wants to try everything and has absolutely no fear or prejudices about food and excels at telling it like it is. This book recounts his life and career rising to the top of the pack in the culinary world. It is a deeply personal and unvarnished look at the world of big-league professional food, and is full of insights on both food and the restaurant business. When I was younger I worked as a line cook in a relatively nice restaurant. Although my experience was somewhat less frenetic and more sanitary than the scene in New York, I can certainly attest that the cast of characters (and their flaws) revealed in this book is right on the money. One thing I like about Bourdain and this book is that he tells the truth even when it's ugly. He explains why, for instance, not to order meat well done or why not to even think about ordering fish on Monday. (He's right on both accounts.) He doesn't dodge his own past when others would fail to mention diversionary activities such as a heroin addiction, and even though he comes across as cantankerous, he is a guy you can take at his word. Some of this book is pure gold, not just for cooks and would be chefs, but for everyone. His writing ("Rules to Live By," page 64, and "A Commencement Address," page 293 in particular) is excellent and applies to any profession. He also shares many inside secrets of Les Halles (and other restaurants he has worked at), of winning "mise-en-place" (or just "meez;" people who really want to cook professionally should take this to heart), and technical opinions (why and how to use an offset serrated knife.) This book is coarse and not for the faint of heart, but if you really want to know about cooking or cooks, it is the best (and funniest) single volume ever written. I highly recommend this book

A classic grimy account of the NY culinary scene from the late 80s to 90s.

I had to slow myself down in the last chapter as I realised the book is coming to an end. I finished and wanted more but resigned to the fact it won't be. As a former line cook, much of the book resonated well, had me laughing, gasping, wondering how the heck does this world operate so gritty, when the plates that come out look so pretty. Great read.

Good book

I wanted to keep this book for a later holiday read but that’s not going to happen ! I can’t put it down.