I liked this book but didn't love it. I loved that he reads the audiobook, because hearing his inflection and emphasis made me know when he was being serious and when he was being sarcastic. Some parts of this book are eye-opening and interesting, you definitely won't look at a restaurant or its food the same way again. Yet other parts of the book get really tedious, going through endless names of people and different restaurants kind of made me glaze over. I am not familiar with any of these people or places, so those parts didn't connect with me. The book was disgusting in other ways too. Bourdain is against vegetarians and frankly I am glad he hated us. Bourdain's never ending descriptions of groping and namecalling in his kitchen got on my nerves very fast. He calls a sexual abuser - one who gropes everyone in the kitchen - his best friend because he was oh, so efficient! But it appears he was more bonkers than ignoring just what many other men like to do.

To the extent which my work in Kitchen Confidential celebrated or prolonged a culture that allowed the kind of grotesque behaviors we’re hearing about all too frequently is something I think about daily, with real remorse. The writing style is also somewhat over-done. It reminds me of when I was in high school and a group of us learned how to write humorous essays, that mostly consisted of wild exaggeration coupled with sarcasm. It's tiring.In a professional kitchen, we sauté in a mixture of butter and oil for that nice brown, caramelised colour, and we finish nearly every sauce with it (we call this monter au beurre); that's why my sauce tastes creamier and mellower than yours. Margarine? That's not food. I Can't Believe It's Not Butter? I can. Restaurants garnish their food. Why shouldn't you? Dip the sprigs in cold water, shake off excess, allow to dry for a few minutes, and slice the stuff, as thinly as you can, with that sexy new chef's knife. What a true delight it was to read my first Anthony Bourdain book! It was humorous, crude, exhilarating, mouth-watering, and highly informative. Oh, and I should mention, Bourdain may be a master at wielding a knife, but his skills with a pen aren’t too shabby either. I spent the past several days in his kitchens and dreaming about food and travel. (Well, I’m pretty much always fantasizing about these things, but let’s just say it became a bit of an incurable obsession of late!) It tasted of seawater… of brine and flesh… and somehow… of the future… I had had an adventure, tasted forbidden fruit and everything that followed in my life – the food, the long and often stupid and self-destructive chase for the next thing, whether it was drugs or sex or some other new sensation – would all stem from this moment.”

Garlic is divine. Misuse of garlic is a crime. Old garlic, burnt garlic, garlic cut too long ago, garlic that has been smashed through one of those abominations, the garlic press, are all disgusting. Sliver it for pasta, like you saw in Goodfellas. Smash it with the flat of your knife blade. And try roasting garlic. It gets mellow and sweeter if you roast it whole, to be squeezed out later when it's soft and brown. Sure, reading Kitchen Confidential made me sad as I realized once again the magnitude of Bourdain's loss. But I'm also so happy he left such a rich legacy, in print, on television, and of course, in food. Reading this after Bourdain committed suicide is a bit rough, because while he certainly had a tendency for self-destructive behavior (he mentions excessive drinking and developing a heroin addiction), he also clearly loved to feel alive. How hard it must get for a man who loved life as much as he did to decide it wasn't worth living anymore is beyond what I can imagine, and it makes me incredibly sad to think he took his own life. Released in 2000, the book is both Bourdain's professional memoir and a behind-the-scenes look at restaurant kitchens.If you've ever worked in a kitchen, this is how it really is. Not how it "should" be, but most of the time how it actually is. This book is written by Anthony, but could have thousands of other names as the writer. But only he, it seems, could have put it in the words that he has. A great tribute from all of us that have gone through it. You need, for God's sake, a decent chef's knife. ONE good chef's knife, as large as is comfortable for your hand. Like a pro, you should use the tip of the knife for the small stuff, the area nearer the heel for the larger. How could I have never reviewed this book? I read this at a key turning point in my life, and was one of those books that changed everything for me. I was 22. I had gotten married and gone directly to graduate school right after graduating with a BA in music, with a full ride and graduate assistantship in the School of Folklore at Indiana University. It wasn't a good fit for me. By the time I enrolled in the fieldwork class, I knew I was probably on my way out, and got permission to do my fieldwork assignments in restaurant kitchens. The culinary-school trained cooks in the restaurant commanded me to read this book when I was still just observing and volunteering (I later worked there until I moved away), and it solidified my love for an industry that I was already excited by because of my experiences. Having just listened to Marco Pierre White's autobiography, I decided again to return to Bourdain's tales of life as a Chef, my fourth reading now, and still as good as first time around. It was so wonderful to hear his brilliant narration, too, a voice to remember. A voice filled with his love of life, his life and all it's imperfections, the people he'd worked with, be they good, bad or quirky. So full of humour and the enjoyment of discovery. How different from the coldness and self obsession of White. However, nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, neither his viral New Yorker article nor "Kitchen Confidential" were his first run-ins with editors and publishers. According to the New York Post, Bourdain's mother, Gladys Bourdain, was a copy editor at The New York Times and recognized his writing talent early. And a fellow chef, Scott Bryan, told the New York Post that "Tony saw himself as more of a writer than a chef."

Yup, food is sex. I can't trust people who don't enjoy food, who eat just to sustain their bodies and not for the amazing sensual pleasure that eating can be. Maybe its the French and Italian upbringing, but that's just not right to me. Love and fully experience your food! Giving someone delicious, lovingly prepared food is a profound act of love in my opinion. All these thoughts also apply to sex. Obviously. Tony’s Compass: How Anthony Bourdain Became the Food TV Star of a Generation Our Great Ambassador: In Memory of Anthony Bourdain Parts Known: Anthony Bourdain and the Passage of Time While Living on TV Eating, Talking, and Listening: The Final Season of ‘Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown’In particular, his chapter on his first visit to Japan has all the flavors of what would become his trademark later. His unabashed enthusiasm for trying new foods and experiencing new cultures, and his innate understanding that the two are inextricably linked. To read his words is to feel his emotions, and they are tinged with the bittersweet—wonder for new culinary adventures but also sadness for all that he wouldn't have the chance to experience.