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A review by kimveach
Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Self harm, Violence, Drug use, Sexism, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Cursing, Excrement, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Sexual harassment, Suicide, and Vomit