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From Amazon
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
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Chef at New York's Les Halles and author of Bone in the Throat, Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business. His fast-lane personality and glee in recounting sophomoric kitchen pranks might be unbearable were it not for two things: Bourdain is as unsparingly acerbic with himself as he is with others, and he exhibits a sincere and profound love of good food. The latter was born on a family trip to France when young Bourdain tasted his first oyster, and his love has only grown since. He has attended culinary school, fallen prey to a drug habit and even established a restaurant in Tokyo, discovering along the way that the crazy, dirty, sometimes frightening world of the restaurant kitchen sustains him. Bourdain is no presentable TV version of a chef; he talks tough and dirty. His advice to aspiring chefs: "Show up at work on time six months in a row and we'll talk about red curry paste and lemon grass. Until then, I have four words for you: 'Shut the fuck up.' " He disdains vegetarians, warns against ordering food well done and cautions that restaurant brunches are a crapshoot. Gossipy chapters discuss the many restaurants where Bourdain has worked, while a single chapter on how to cook like a professional at home exhorts readers to buy a few simple gadgets, such as a metal ring for tall food. Most of the book, however, deals with Bourdain's own maturation as a chef, and the culmination, a litany describing the many scars and oddities that he has developed on his hands, is surprisingly beautiful. He'd probably hate to hear it, but Bourdain has a tender side, and when it peeks through his rough exterior and the wall of four-letter words he constructs, it elevates this book to something more than blustery memoir. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great for aspiring chefs or former ones.,
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This review is from: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Paperback)
The book is just what it is, an insider's look at kitchen's and the people behind the food.I was reading chapter after chapter saying to myself, "Yes, that really happens, it happened in a place I worked at!" Anyone who wants to know the "real deal" in kitchens should read before venturing forth. Cooking is rewarding and brutal at the best of times. I watch his shows as well and glad he has kicked through the glass door. Its great for a few laughs for sure.
5.0 out of 5 stars
IN THE BELLY OF THE BEAST...,
By
This review is from: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Paperback)
I totally loved this book! If one is a foodie, a gourmand, or lover of memoirs, one will thoroughly enjoy this rollicking, insider's account of the restaurant industry and how the author ended up as a highly respected chef who is a passionate about food.This is a well-written, thoroughly enjoyable and informative book, replete with self-deprecating humor and any number of quirky and crude characters that can be found in the belly of the beast known as the restaurant industry. It is an eye-opening and engrossing book that will keep the reader riveted until the very last page is turned.
5.0 out of 5 stars
mise en place!,
By david (the city by the lake) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Paperback)
This is how it really can be in the restaurant business. Perhaps the best book I have read in a long time. Though being a chef I have not had much time to read other than the quick reference of a few cookbooks. Hats off to Boudain who can not only cook but can write text interesting, funny and captivating. Anyone who has worked in restaurants can identify with this book. You Know who you are!
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