Kitchen Confidential book review

Anthony Bourdain, the late chef and television personality, first published his ground-breaking exposé two decades ago. However, despite being a fan for many years, I have only recently read Kitchen Confidential. Read our Kitchen Confidential book review and book banter for more insights about this brilliant artist, chef, and writer.

Unlike many reviewers of books, I will not do a book report that reveals plot twists or important facts that should only be revealed while you read. Those types of book-report reviews spoil the plot.

Instead, I’ll reveal some of the traits the author revealed about himself, some of which I liked, and others that I really disliked. I’ll leave the other fun stuff for you to enjoy as you read the book!

Above all, my Kitchen Confidential book review will show how the author’s life and character evolved as he aged, just as we all change and mature as we age. As I was reading his book, I began to understand what a complicated soul Bourdain was. The author was a brilliant, but complex human being.

In his book, Bourdain revealed his philosophies about food preparation, the restaurant industry, and the people who work behind the scenes. From the beginning, the author confessed that he felt an almost perverse kinship with cooking crews he worked with and later employed.

More than his descriptions of the food that he relished, I most enjoyed his insights about the people with whom he worked. Many were rejects from a conventional career and lifestyle. Like Tony, they sacrificed their personal lives in an obsessive quest to make people happy as they dined.

One of the traits I most admired about Anthony Bourdain was his honesty. Whether he was revealing his crew mates’ vices, dissecting restaurant owners’ foolish mistakes, or his own missteps in life, Bourdain told it all without excuses and without reservations (No Reservations was the author’s second television series, and the one that made me a big fan).

To be honest, there is a part of me that didn’t like Bourdain at first, especially as he told the reader about his exploits when he was younger. Compared to me, who was one of the poorest kids in my elementary school, Bourdain had a privileged upbringing.

I guess it was his overall sense of privilege, along with his destructive drug use when he was young that made me think he was arrogant. Unlike me, Bourdain had all the money he needed, attended a private school, and confessed that he thought the world owed him a living.

Or maybe it was his wry style of observation. At first, his unflinching honesty made him appear arrogant to me.

However, my harsh view of the author evolved as he continued to tell his story. At one point, he compared his privileged upbringing with another chef whose cooking he admired.

He and Bourdain were the same age, but this other chef was poor, and had to work even when he was very young.

As Bourdain wrote about this accomplished chef, and how they were raised so differently, he became more down-to-earth in my eyes. Surprisingly, his newly revealed sense of empathy caught me by surprise.

Ironically, as I read more, I saw not an arrogant person, but a self-deprecating and deeply sensitive artist. Bourdain had a big heart, and he cared—I mean he really cared about other people.

Like all brilliant artists, and like all of us other human beings, Bourdain had a complicated soul. By the end of Kitchen Confidential, I was amazed at his profound sense of honesty, along with his heartfelt empathy for other human beings (and animals, too).

He wrote a lot about other chefs, dishwashers, and behind-the-scene workers he really admired. He even had kind, warm-hearted observations about some of the celebrity chefs he occasionally disparaged. I really liked that part.

By complimenting his competition, he was also revealing a lot about his own kind heart.

In addition to being a brilliant chef, Anthony Bourdain was also a talented author. His observations were astute, and the way he used words to convey his thoughts was brilliant.

Unfortunately, as I was writing this review, I had to remember to use the past tense. Bourdain passed away in 2018 from an apparent suicide.

Shortly after reading this book, I remember watching one of his programs when he was in Vietnam. He was relaxing by the water with a bottle of beer, and seemed almost content. That show really got to me. It seemed that Vietnam was a special place for him, but that was only my impression.

Fortunately, Bourdain’s words and heartfelt bits of wisdom will live on in Kitchen Confidential, as well as his other books and his television shows.

TAKEAWAYS

I loved reading Kitchen Confidential

Anthony Bourdain is one of the best writers I have ever read. The way he used words to set the scene and convey his observations about the people he worked with really moved me emotionally.

I especially loved the last few chapters. He updated observations about the people in his life as they had aged, and how they, too, had evolved. Ironically, the way Bourdain described his acquaintances actually revealed more about himself and his often-hidden benevolence.

Even if you’re like me and not an aspiring chef, or even not very good in the kitchen, you should still read Kitchen Confidential. I think you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. Thanks for reading our Kitchen Confidential book review. Please share your thoughts about Kitchen Confidential and the author below!

Content and photos by Doug Martin and Our Book Banter