Anthony Bourdain (1956–2018)

Tony Bourdain's voice in this book is brilliant - having only watched a bit of Parts Unknown I could practically hear his voice in my head as I was reading. The reader simultaneously sympathizes with his struggles and with his pursuit of the culinary world, while also recognizing that - at times - he (and many others) is a right bastard. He doesn't shy away from the lows of his life and of the culinary world, from the excesses and the hedonism and the constant debauchery of the life of a cook.

And he doesn't shy away from the fact that nothing he says is true of every chef, but only true of his experience, though many others have shared similar experiences to him. "You wrote my life, man," is commonly said to him, as he notes in the afterword.

Perhaps most importantly is - shocker! - the food. Bourdain's knowledge and sheer love of food leaks out of the book at the slightest glance, like a ribeye oozing onto the plate, like béarnaise trickling down the side of a T-bone, like peanut oil dripping from a basket of fries fresh out of the fryer. The reader can't help but be sucked into the enjoyment with him, even acknowledging his love for things that the reader hates.

For any chef, or sous, or garde-manger, or anybody else who's done their time as a culinary jailbird, this will be a five-star read. For me, as someone who has no experience in that world, I will enthusiastically recommend this book to the people I know who have lived that life. Four stars.

Rest in peace, Mr. Bourdain.… (plus d'informations)

I'm sad I waited until after his death to read this wonderful culinary memoir. I was hooked from page one, this was an amazing and impossible to put down book. Bourdain pulls back the curtain on what is really happening in kitchens and it's fascinating, scary, and very exciting. It's not all fun and games, it takes dedication, thick skin (physically and emotionally), endurance, and skill. Filled not only with his journey into the culinary belly of the world, this memoir also dishes on what days to order meats and seafoods, how to tell if a restaurant deserves your business and many other useful tidbits that I would never have known in a million years. He is also very real about his vices, addictions, and drugs found in virtually all restaurants of the world. Superbly written, witty, and engaging this memoir is not just for foodies, it's for everyone. Sad we lost such a great personality, but his voice will live on through his books and on his shows.… (plus d'informations)

I haven't read Kitchen Confidential, which I'm thinking I should pick up now. Someone quoted something from this book (which I can't even remember now), which made me want to read it. This is scathing to say the least, he really names names and tells us how he really feels. The descriptions of food are next level, to the point of making me a little ill as a second gen vegetarian who still cooks meat for the family. Tiny bird bones breaking and gushing steaming fat explosions are not on my list of must try food experiences. I will never get the allure of working in this industry, my anxiety could never. At one point he says he never said taking drugs was a good idea so he wasn't sure why so many of his fans did it to emulate him, but he also doesn't make the industry seem that appealing to begin with, was the fast-paced, grueling service industry supposed to seem like the good idea? That's obviously my own bias, but I'm thinking cocaine is the only way I'd get through a day on that job any way.… (plus d'informations)

I've never seen an Anthony Bourdain TV show, and when he died by suicide in 2018 I had only the vaguest notion that he was a chef of some sort. I bought this book because my son is a cook, apprenticing to become a chef, and I thought it would be interesting to read about life in a restaurant kitchen, a traditionally male-dominated workplace where the insults, sexism, racism, and homophobia never stop, but neither do the employees. Getting sick is a no-no. Working overtime - way overtime is a necessity, even if it means sleeping in the restaurant overnight. All this I knew, and Bourdain filled me in more, about the prevalance of drugs in the kitchen in the 1970s, about the absolutely loyalty to one's chef that is required, about the manic workaholism that is needed to rise to the top of the profession. I learned about the controlled chaos that is a kitchen, about the enormous food orders made and the necessity of getting your suppliers to like you, about why you should never order fish on a Monday, and about exhaustion, addiction, and a deep love of food.

Yes, the book was instructive, but I didn't like it very much. The main problem is that I didn't like Anthony Bourdain, which makes liking a book by and about him very difficult. I found him a blowhard, proud of his scuzzy past, not above any con scheme, and a braggart to boot. I've never seen anyone so proud of quitting restaurant after restaurant, about his drug-addled life, about never seeing his wife because he was too busy with work, and so self-important. I was disgusted with the man.

The book was decent and I learned a few things, but overall I wouldn't recommend it.… (plus d'informations)