Bourdain, Anthony - Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

[oyceter]

Given the new foreward to the paperback, Bourdain wasn't at all expecting the popularity of this book. After I read the foreward, I was expecting a whole lot of blustering, possibly even an expose.

While Bourdain is a bit of a character, and while he does expose some of the nastier sides of the restaurant business, he enjoys what he does and he loves food. The things that he gives advice on (don't order fish over the weekend, get better food on weekdays) aren't things that he seems to want to change. He's been in the business for a while, he knows the ropes, and he's just letting us in on some of what he knows.

I keep almost not liking Bourdain, given his rather stupid decisions at times, but he likes food so much! And not just fancy restaurant food, but oily fish and brains and all sorts of innards. It also makes me realize that the things I eat are probably things that he doesn't quite consider good food, like fancy salads. He's not big on plating or presentation, while I have to admit, I sort of like seeing things drizzled around.

But it reminds me of waitressing back in college, hanging around the kitchens, the industrial-sized fridge, the gas ranges and cooktops. I loved reading about the cooks' meez (mise-en-place) and their secrets (squeeze bottles and metal rings to stack things). I love seeing the behind-the-scenes of the places I eat (well, more like the places my dad eats).

Bourdain seems very conservative; he doesn't much like what he thinks of as "froo-froo." He remarks on the lack of women in the culinary world, the machismo atmosphere. He mentions that some of the best help in the kitchen are Ecuadorians and Guatemalans, but he never really talks about how the top echelon of chefs are still white males.

Still, I like reading about kitchens and restaurants and how they're run, and Bourdain has a very good narrative voice.

Comments

[sienamystic.livejournal.com]

Bourdain is rather fascinating, isn't he! I walk along that same love-him-hate-him line, because he's really quite horrible, but he's having such a good time and, as you say, he clearly loves food with all his heart. I've watched a few of his shows on the Food Network, and the same thing applies. I also have, floating around somewhere, a long and really interesting New Yorker article about Mario Batali, who seems to have had a very similar history to Bourdain with the whole "snorting coke off the prep counter" thing.

I only saw one episode of the sitcom, and enjoyed it a bunch - and then it disappeared before I even had the chance to figure out what night it was on.

[oyceter]

He's very interesting! I'm looking forward to reading Cook's Tour when I get my hand on it, just to see what he thinks going around Vietnam and etc. I didn't even realize that he had programs on the Food Network; I may check them out.

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

He loved Vietnam, so much that it wouldn't surprise me if he ended up living there part-time. But I think my favorite chapter is the one set in France, which is different from the rest; you'll see how when you read it.

[oyceter]

Oh, is that the incidence with the pig's face thing?

[rachelmanija.livejournal.com]

There is that, but I was thinking more about the stuff about his father.