Title: Kitchen Confidential

Author: Anthony Bourdain

Publisher: HarperCollins 2007

Genre: Memoir

Pages: 486

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Nerdy Nonfiction -- Food; ebook; Blogger Recommendations; 52 Books -- W14

How I Got It: iPad read

A New York City chef who is also a novelist recounts his experiences in the restaurant business, and exposes abuses of power, sexual promiscuity, drug use, and other secrets of life behind kitchen doors.

This is one of those "I've been meaning to read this forever" books. I enjoy watching No Reservations. I love Bourdain's style. I even saw a few of the episodes of the television series based on the book (starring Bradley Cooper pre-super stardom). And yet I never read the book. A long plane ride to Indiana was the perfect time to correct that oversight.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It's part memoir, part tell-all, part guidebook. We see the world of restaurants from the inside, but often with a very particular perspective. I loved meeting the crazy characters in each restaurant and kitchen. I loved hearing about his journey from royal screw-up to famous and respected chef. The book is loud and crude, just like Bourdain himself. But to clean up his writing would destroy the essence of the story. While I may not have known all the food words, I loved hearing about the creation of good food. I love good food, and am willing to try just about anything. I love Bourdain's philosophy of quality ingredients instead of fancy presentation. I have a feeling I would love eating at any restaurant he cheffed at. My only issue with the book: it made me hungry! Reading about all this amazing food, I was constantly craving something!