Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain — Book Review

L’Enfant Terrible of New York Kitchen

[French version below]

👉 Find this review in episode #9 of our KULT podcast (in French).

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Anthony Bourdain was a culinary enfant terrible of both American and New York cuisines. In this autobiography, he recounts the story of his career, a sort of apprenticeship through the different castes of the restaurant world. It’s a story that’s funny, touching and full of truths about the unforgivable world of haute-cuisine.

The restaurant is a violent world, the sous-chef is like a spouse and the kitchen is like the army: you need iron discipline and not just respect for authority, otherwise everything goes to hell.

In this autobiography, Bourdain shares his experiences with us:

• Line cooking consists of preparing food in a constant manner, with no moods or peaks of creativity, an eternal repetition. The same gestures, the same tasks, over and over again. Because the last thing a chef wants is for his cook to start innovating, which could compromise the chef’s recipes and presentations.
• Chefs are looking for loyal, almost fanatically loyal helpers who can offer…