memoir
In his book, Anthony Bourdain shared how food became
important in his life, behind-the-curtain information about the food industry
and its major players during his time as a chef, his aspirations and
philosophies, and his career steps, hurdles, and accomplishments.
After watching a documentary about him that was made after his death, I
decided I should read his book, Kitchen Confidential, because it had been a
successful book and I thought it would be interesting to understand how he catapulted
his career into the public eye.
Bourdain had the gift of gab. He was charming, funny,
no-nonsense, and good at writing with a phenomenal use of adjectives. He
described many of the people he worked with and for, deriding those people who
caused grief but also praising those who deserved it. He alluded to his personal life but never
discussed it in great detail. He casually mentioned a girlfriend here, a wife
there (and even used her first name a handful of times), but there were no
stories specifically about his romantic relationships. Rather, this book was
about his working relationships. He was honest with his drug usage struggles.
And he was also open about his own poor choices made along the way.
He had such a fun sense of humor that sometimes I would
laugh out loud. Other times, he described something so incredibly gross that I
was cringing and hoping to get through it quickly. He provided frank advice to
home cooks about how to affordably furnish their kitchen and which foods to
avoid. He also admitted many truths about the restaurant industry that were
valuable to know. I found him incredibly likable and witty. It’s no wonder he
had a successful celebrity career. Near
the end of this book is a chapter about his week in Japan where he served as a consultant at a sister restaurant, and it is easy to see that he
developed his love of traveling and experiencing new things at that time.
However, about halfway through the novel, I had trouble
believing I’d be able to get through another 3-1/2 hours of listening to these
food- and restaurant-related stories. I mean, I’m just not that into
cooking and I felt that I’d gotten the point. I wasn’t sure I really cared
enough to hear more of the same about the people with whom he worked. But,
after persevering until the end, I can say that I did enjoy his sections
exuberantly describing his dining experiences in Japan as well as his
“graduation speech” for would-be chefs. I have gained a huge appreciation for
restaurant workers. The way Bourdain made it sound, I can’t believe so
many people have chosen to work in restaurant kitchens around the world. It’s a ton of work
with long, difficult, stressful hours (if you’re working in a good restaurant).
I’m just grateful there are people who love cooking since I am a person who
loves eating but does not love cooking.
Anthony Bourdain himself narrated the audiobook and he was
fantastic. I normally love authors
narrating their own books but Bourdain’s flair was evident. He’s a
wonderful story teller. He obviously gets an A+!
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