Comments (42)

Kitchen Confidential

Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
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Jan 14, 2024jaglowgla82 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Kitchen Confidential, by Bourdain is probably one of the best books I've read. While I wouldn't necessary call it a biography, I would say Bourdain does talk about his personal experience why he enter the world of fine cuisine. Bourdain…
Nov 09, 2023 CALS_Amanda rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
If you like Bourdain's smart-mouthed style and don't mind a lot of vulgarity--this is not a genteel book--then you'll enjoy his account of his experiences as the executive chef of one disastrous restaurant after another. The man himself…
Oct 26, 2023brownie1_1 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Thoroughly enjoyed this well-written, entertaining expose.
Sep 03, 2023512cadcock_0 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I listened to Bourdain himself read the audiobook version and what a treat! Warning: this is not a book for those easily offended by vulgar language and crass stories or someone who just wants to learn to cook. It is a book for those that…
Jan 26, 2023amary1978 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Interesting, but skipped around a few times.
Oct 27, 2020M4112379 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
An enjoyable read, it started losing me towards the end when he was going on about operating his restaurant but other than that lots of great stories of restaurant work! He has a way of speaking that to me finds the highest brow snob and…
Jul 26, 2020FloraWest rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Only about a month ago, he would have turned 64. This is the book that kicked off his career as just the best and most interesting guide to behind the scenes of the culinary world, and the world at large. Plus, he's not just relying on…
Nov 09, 2019lukasevansherman rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
"Fear and Loathing in Restaurants." RIP man.
Nov 07, 2019GRPL_casey rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
As a Bourdain fan by way of his TV work, this book was a very interesting introduction to his pre-TV persona. Whereas he comes off as culturally in-tune and sensitive on TV, while still masculine and a little gruff, the voice in this book…
Oct 18, 2019deborahmyers1 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
okay...sometimes entertaining, but he complained a lot.
Aug 28, 2019JCLMattC rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Yes this is crass and a little on the vulgar side - I personally didn't find it that offensive - but it's also passionate! I was swept away by the dedication that these rough-and-tumble characters have to their craft, the language of…
Apr 10, 2019akraconteur rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I do not work in the restaurant business, but this book from a civilian viewpoint was amazing and insightful into the world of professional culinary arts and business.
Mar 08, 2019lmlee7 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Read this when it first came out and I was working for an executive chef. Wildly entertaining. Fun, fast read and pretty much on point. Highly recommend.
Jan 15, 2019mammothhawk229e rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I nodded at all the politically incorrect shenanigans in cooking school & restaurants I used to work. Author nailed it.
Jan 11, 2019NaMe24 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I only knew of Anthony Bourdain through his show "Parts Unknown" which I could easily recommend to anyone who has any interest in food, culture or just good documentary television. However, there is no way to distinguish between his spoken…
Aug 31, 2018nelson1949 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
An excellent book about the steamy jungle of the kitchen in many restaurants. This book is not for the faint of heart. It is sometimes crude, coarse, but honest. I can hear Anthony Bourdain's voice coming through loud and clear in his…
Jul 27, 2018SCL_Justin rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
When Anthony Bourdain died this year, I hadn't read anything by him, but my partner got me to watch some of his CNN show, Parts Unknown and I could see why people really liked his work. Kitchen Confidential was the book that put…
Jun 28, 2018
I did not like this book. After it was announced that the author committed suicide in 2018 I decided to read it hoping to learn more about what goes on in the kitchen. I was a waitress in the fifties and sixties I never saw any kind of…
Jun 20, 2018steresem rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Anthony Bourdain was an amazing storyteller. Kitchen Confidential is an insiders look at the inside story of the restaurant industry. He is frank about his past substance abuse and how it affected his relationship with cooking, and we…
May 28, 2017K_ROK rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
For any of us who used to or still do work in the culinary industry I can say that they will appreciate this book. A sous chef at a restaurant I was working at at the time recommended this book and I loved it. Most diners will have no idea…
May 05, 2017ownedbydoxies rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
He's crude, he's crass, he's also very funny and completely without any sort of off-switch, apparently! I liked the book a lot, because his personality comes through loud and clear.
Nov 18, 2016
One of the best books about professional cooking, without question.
Jul 16, 2016SarahDormat rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
If you can get past Bourdain's machismo and (what MUST be) exaggerated tales of him always coming out as the bad a** in every situation, it was an entertaining read. But, sometimes the machismo and the hyperbolic storytelling could become…
Jan 10, 2016GlenAbbeyWarrior rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I've enjoyed watching Anthony Bourdain on his CNN show Parts Unknown, so my wife (who is a chef by trade) told me that I'd probably like reading Kitchen Confidential - the book that put him on the culinary map. Written in 2000, Bourdain…
Aug 06, 2015JCLKimG rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I listened to this, Anthony Bourdain narrates it himself. He has a dark, crass way of telling stories about his career and life as a chef that I find to be laugh out loud funny.