Last night, with a hot bath and a nice glass of wine, I finished reading Anthony Bourdain's industry-rocking memoir Kitchen Confidential. I have pretty much the best husband ever, because he gave me this book along with these gems for my birthday last week. Since I love food and snarky television hosts, I pretty much heart every aspect of Anthony Bourdain's show No Reservations. So I was pleasantly surprised when I began reading the book and realized that the same irreverent and self-depreciating tone that propels his show are captured perfectly in the book. As I began reading, I felt as if a tiny Anthony Bourdain were nestled deep within my brain telling me stories from his past indiscretions. I'm giving you fair warning now: if you have a weak stomach, if you're easily offended by strong language, if mention of heavy drug use and abuse is going to be off-putting, this is so NOT the book for you. But, if you're a true and passionate lover of food--all food--and you have a deep and abiding respect for the real people who bring that food to you, who prepare it, and love it, and dedicate their entire lives to fixing it just right for you, then this book is a must read.
Essentially, Bourdain just tells his story. He is upfront about the fact that he is far from a model student, chef, or human being. He tells you how he first fell in love with food, and how he fell into the restaurant business. But, while he tells all the nitty gritty, sometimes terrifying tidbits about the most mysterious room of a restaurant (for diners anyway)--the kitchen--the reader quickly realizes that this is a man motivated by a deep, pure love of food. A man who is passionate about what he does, why he does it, and the people he does it with. He is, as they say in his business, a chef's chef. That said, his communication is so upfront and honest, it's easy for those of us who are not in the industry to willingly follow him in this journey through 30 years of cuisine.
I think my favorite part though was his final chapter. This book was written in 1999, before his TV show, before the cult of personality that has grown to dominate American foodom. In his final chapter I got to experience Tokyo with him for the first time. Any regular viewer of his TV show sees him as a well-traveled, highly experienced globe trotter, but the last chapter tells a different story. It shows a confident, secure chef being pushed into going to Tokyo to help fashion the Japanese branch of the New York restaurant Les Halles. It shows his confidence quickly shattered by the thought of traveling half-way around the globe and stepping into a French man's kitchen to teach him French cuisine. But my favorite thing is that it shows him fall in love with Japanese and Asian culture for the first time. It was like reading your grandparent's love letters from when they began dating or watching a home video of Slash being given his first guitar--entertaining, enthralling, and so enviable.
It is the kind of book that must be read with an open mind, a hot bath, and a great glass of wine.
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