This year I set myself a task to broaden my horizons, and that meant reading a wider variety of books. So, upon a friend’s recommendation, I ditched the romantic beach reads and picked up a non-fiction look into the hospitality industry, written by someone whom not only I, but many, many people, admire.
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is a cult classic, and 100% a book everyone should read once in their lives. It’ll give you an insight into his turbulent early days and reliance on a cocktail of drugs. As well as this, you’ll learn a bit about the inside and what really happens in the kitchen, and the family-like loyalty that line cooks and kitchen staff have.
Bourdain treats the book as a bit of a love letter to the industry, and you can see just how unglamourous and treacherous it can be and gain an even deeper appreciation for the people behind the scenes.
What better book to read than one written by world-class chef and travel documentarian Bourdain? He delves into his life and career combined, touching on travel and specifically when not to order the fish. I highly recommend that everyone read this book in their lifetime.
The book’s synopsis reads: “Fans will love to return to this deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet of wild-but-true tales of life in the culinary trade, laying out Bourdain’s more than a quarter-century of drugs, sex, and haute cuisine. Including a handwritten introduction and annotations done by Bourdain about a decade after the book was originally published, this edition also features previously unpublished photos to accompany the now-classic text.”
The book was spawned more than two decades ago, after the New Yorker published a now infamous article, “Don’t Eat Before Reading This,” which was written by then little-known chef Bourdain. He spared no detail as he revealed what happens behind the kitchen door, and the article was a sensation. It led to the book’s creation, Kitchen Confidential, which became an even bigger sensation, megabestseller and all round iconic book. It is frank, confessional, and Bourdain pulls no punches in this memoir of his years in the restaurant business.
A film, Tony, by A24, has been adapted from part of Kitchen Confidential, focusing on the chef’s early years and building his passion for the industry. The film is set for release later this summer, so there is no better time than now to give this book a read.
Tony is set for a cinema release in August.
