Kitchen Confidential... - cougarguard.com — unofficial BYU Cougars / LDS sports, football, basketball forum and message board

UteStar · 07-10-2006, 02:53 PM

I just finished reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Very entertaining book. This was made into a comedy by NBC and I actually enjoyed the show as well but he was cancelled after 6 episodes.

This is a book by the head chef of Les Halles in New York City. It is crude, crass and very entertaining. Bourdain describes his career of failures at restaurants and his grand successes. He discusses what is like to be a chef in small time restaurants as well as some of the bigger and more well known places in New York. Swear words flow freely and the dinner discussions and arguments he has with his staff are wildly inappropriate and interesting to read and be a part of it.

He discusses a typical day for a chef (8am to 1am every single day), he discusses when not to order fish at a restaurant (Monday, never order it unless you like 4-day old fish that may or may not have been continually refrigerated), his injuries (grabbing hot plates bare handed to cutting mishaps, etc.) and his drug use (continual for 20 years until he gave it up over the last few years).

Anyway, it is worth a read if you have ever been curious as to what happens behind the doors of a fast action restaurant in NY.

bigpiney · 07-11-2006, 03:52 PM

I enjoyed it as well. It reinforced my knowledge that I would not have made it as a chef. Not that I ever tried. I just can't imagine living that life.

His second book, A Cooks Tour, was entertaining as well. I like his straightforward writing style. It is like you are sitting around in a backyard and he is just telling stories. like the kind you would tell among friends.
In A Cooks Tour, he goes around the world trying to find the perfect meal. He eats some crazy stuff, like the beating heart of a cobra snake.

Jeff Lebowski · 07-11-2006, 04:34 PM

Looks interesting. Thanks for the tip.

07-10-2006, 02:53 PM	#1
UteStar Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 1,817	Kitchen Confidential... I just finished reading Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. Very entertaining book. This was made into a comedy by NBC and I actually enjoyed the show as well but he was cancelled after 6 episodes. This is a book by the head chef of Les Halles in New York City. It is crude, crass and very entertaining. Bourdain describes his career of failures at restaurants and his grand successes. He discusses what is like to be a chef in small time restaurants as well as some of the bigger and more well known places in New York. Swear words flow freely and the dinner discussions and arguments he has with his staff are wildly inappropriate and interesting to read and be a part of it. He discusses a typical day for a chef (8am to 1am every single day), he discusses when not to order fish at a restaurant (Monday, never order it unless you like 4-day old fish that may or may not have been continually refrigerated), his injuries (grabbing hot plates bare handed to cutting mishaps, etc.) and his drug use (continual for 20 years until he gave it up over the last few years). Anyway, it is worth a read if you have ever been curious as to what happens behind the doors of a fast action restaurant in NY.

07-11-2006, 03:52 PM	#2
bigpiney Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Big Pine , CA Posts: 842	I enjoyed it as well. It reinforced my knowledge that I would not have made it as a chef. Not that I ever tried. I just can't imagine living that life. His second book, A Cooks Tour, was entertaining as well. I like his straightforward writing style. It is like you are sitting around in a backyard and he is just telling stories. like the kind you would tell among friends. In A Cooks Tour, he goes around the world trying to find the perfect meal. He eats some crazy stuff, like the beating heart of a cobra snake. Last edited by bigpiney; 07-11-2006 at 06:24 PM.

07-11-2006, 04:34 PM	#3
Jeff Lebowski Charon Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: In the heart of darkness (Provo) Posts: 9,564	Looks interesting. Thanks for the tip. __________________ "... the arc of the universe is long but it bends toward justice." Martin Luther King, Jr.