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

I’ll be right here. Until they drag me off the line, I’m not going anywhere. I hope.

Hell yeah, this book was freaking fantastic. Narrated by Anthony Bourdain himself, it's an utterly engrossing (and gross) recount of his restaurant and kitchen experiences, complete with more blood, sex, drugs, and alcohol than you could ever imagine. A truly fascinating glimpse into a world I've never been interested in — food is… let's say, not my thing — and isn't that truly Bourdain's gift? One reviewer said reading this memoir was like meeting a ghost, and I wholeheartedly agree. I'll be recommending this (now decades old) book to anyone who will listen.

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taracloudclark's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

I noticed a friend of mine posting about Bourdain often. I knew almost nothing about him, so I decided to take in a book by him. First, Bourdain is sexy as hell. How did I never know this?! He also gives great voice to his own words. Makes me want to be in the NY restaurant culture. Second, this is such a fun read. A bit vulgar for milder tastes, but such a great insight into the biz.

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cibani's review against another edition

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adventurous informative medium-paced

3.5

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litliz's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

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youngluteplayer's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective medium-paced

4.75

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kimveach's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

2.5

My son, a bartender, wanted me to read this. I was not an Anthony Bourdain fan, having never read any of his books, nor watched his shows. This book didn't make me a fan, either.

I think I would have liked it if I'd read it in the early 2000s when it was first published. As a forty-something person, I would have enjoyed this book's rough, vulgar, stream-of-consciousness. But reading it in 2023 was a different experience. I found the repeated descriptions of substance abuse, criminal activity, and swearing tiring and boring.

The book's best parts were the detailed descriptions of what it takes to manage and run a restaurant and the incredible skill and timing of the people working on the line.

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myclutteredbookshelf's review

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4.0

I should preface this review with the admission that until about a year ago, I knew basically nothing about Anthony Bourdain. I had heard his name before and knew that he was big in the culinary world. But as I have never had much interest in reality TV, that was the extent of my knowledge. It was only after viewing this incredible video essay by Lola Sebastian (which you should definitely watch if you have the time) that I found myself wanting to learn more about the man. And his most well-known memoir seemed the best place to start.

Kitchen Confidential is a difficult book to review, since Bourdain himself would go on to regret most of what he wrote here. This is particularly obvious in this edition, which includes handwritten annotations Bourdain wrote 12 years after the original publication date. It creates a stark contrast between the more inexperienced—I'm hesitant to say 'immature,' considering Bourdain was in his 40s when the book was released—narrator of the main text and the Bourdain that the world would come to know. As he states in the book's introduction, "I never knew shit about shit."

Read the full review at My Cluttered Bookshelf.

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