Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Updated Edition)

Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (Updated Edition) by Anthony Bourdain

46 reviews

sinisterbeard's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

megnut's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

4.25

I think I've found some of my favorite lines in this book... and definitely had a hard time not profusely swearing after listening to it for a while.

RIP, Chef. This was a delight.

Content Warnings

illtakethenightshiftx's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny reflective

I’ve been wanting to read this since I was a teenager and saw an episode of No Reservations. I’m so glad I decided to listen to the audiobook instead of picking up the print. Memoirs read by the author, especially by an author who has an amazing voice, are so much more powerful. You can tell how much food meant to Bourdain, even during his early years.

(Rating memoirs feels weird so I’m not doing it)

Content Warnings

kurtwombat's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark funny informative tense fast-paced

5.0

I’ve watched Anthony Bourdain’s food/travel show on and off for years, enjoying his long cool languid demeanor and hip, inquisitive voice. What provokes is the sense that there is a vigorously lived life idling beneath the surface. In KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL a younger than TV age Bourdain provides a florid splash of his adrenaline-fueled life as a chef. The pace is fast like his kitchens and is at turns shocking and hilarious--feeling like Jim Carroll’s BASKETBALL DIARIES meets Upton Sinclair’s THE JUNGLE delivered by Spalding Gray on speed. Because of his sad passing I had stayed clear of his shows and hesitated picking up this book. Enraptured, my concerns fell away as I realized every page celebrates his life and passion. The book will teach you about different foods and may encourage you to learn more but you don’t have to care about food at all to enjoy KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL. Able to pinpoint the childhood meal that ignited his interest in food, soup served cold, that love never wavers despite page after page working insane hours under grueling conditions in crazy environments for little pay. Does that sound like fun, probably not, but it certainly is.

Content Warnings

peytonhhill's review

Go to review page

dark informative reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

This book surprised me! While it wouldn't be my regular cup of tea, the audiobook is quite good, and I learned a whole lot about the culinary world. It sounds like Anthony Bourdain was a really interesting person, and it was certainly worth the listen to learn about his life, passions, and world. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook read by the author. People interested in food and cooking books, and anything nonfiction but fast-paced would enjoy this!

Content Warnings

anna_luvs_cheez's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced

3.75

Content Warnings

kutreen's review

Go to review page

funny informative reflective medium-paced

4.0

For someone with no experience working in the food service industry, this was quite eye-opening, though I understand many things might have changed since Bourdain's career as a chef from the 70s to the 00s and also in different kinds of restaurants than the ones he worked in, and outside of NYC. Bourdain's audience is mostly other cooks, so there was a lot about different dishes, tools, and techniques that I didn't understand, but I liked that nothing seemed sugar-coated or dumbed down for us civilians. Bourdain is a great writer, which honestly I did not expect for a career chef, and is fantastic at conveying the chaotic atmosphere of a kitchen and the mind of a cook; most of all this is what kept me hooked.

There is a lot of alarming behavior by cooks in and out of kitchens that Bourdain mostly meets with an "oh well" which isn't acceptable by today's standards, but I see why that was his response at the time based on the kitchen culture he had spent ~30 years in.

Content Warnings

mari_books's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring fast-paced

4.75

RIP! So amazing to hear Anthony’s story in his own words and some of his naive unjaded comments, especially knowing how he struggled. Missing points bc of some just really gross, excessive behavior and creepy language.

Content Warnings

blessedbamboo's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

5.0

Content Warnings

lavender_evie's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.25

Gossipy insider kitchen stories. Classic and for good reason. The intro from Ripert made me so sad it was written after anthony had died. All the intros and prefaces were the most interesting. More Authors should write notes on the later editions of their books

Content Warnings

More...