Book Review- Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential

Last spring, I read Patrick Radden Keefe’s Rogues, which has a chapter about Anthony Bourdain. Of course, I have heard of Bourdain, and I’ve watched bits of his various television shows. He was brash and charismatic, also a bit mysterious. I realized that I had never read his famous memoir, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.

In Kitchen Confidential, Bourdain shares his passion for food and his early experiences working as a chef in New York. Although Bourdain was well-known for his culinary travel shows, he had very little travel experience until later in life. Reading Kitchen Confidential, it is clear that working as a chef is an all-consuming experience with very little time to rest or travel. Travel came when he made a career shift from chef to a writer and television presenter.

I’ve never worked in the restaurant industry, although I had a glimpse via my ex-husband who worked as a server at a moderately fancy Italian restaurant. I was aware of the lingo and some of the general gripes, and that people in the industry are incredibly hard working. Be kind and tip generously! That said, Bourdain provides a fascinating look at the restaurant industry, dishing out his own thoughts on things to order and what to keep an eye out for when dining. He is very anti-brunch and provides a decent reason for why one should avoid it. I was crushed when he gave advice to steer clear of my favorite food, swordfish. I have not had swordfish since reading Kitchen Confidential. I will spare you the details, but the reason is quite stomach churning.

Lewd encounters, rampant drug use, and shocking reveals aside, Kitchen Confidential is marvelous because of Bourdain’s keen writing abilities. I’ve never eaten Bourdain’s food and he may have been a fantastic chef, but I know for certain that he had a talent for writing. His flair for the dramatic and sensory storytelling plops readers into the middle of the scene. Bourdain’s direct and frank manner of writing, similar to his media persona, makes it feel like he is having a personal conversation with the reader and I suspect this aspect of his personality is what made him so magnetic. This is not a chef who is writing a memoir, but a writer sharing his life. I throughly enjoyed Kitchen Confidential, both for the insight into the chaotic restaurant industry and for a bit of time in Bourdain’s company.

Book Review- Patrick Radden Keefe's Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks

Thank you to LibroFM and Penguin Random House Audio for providing me with an audio copy of Patrick Radden Keefe’s Rogues: True Stories of Grifters, Killers, Rebels and Crooks.

Rogues is a collection of Keefe’s prize-winning essays from The New Yorker. As the subtitle indicates, the subjects in the collection vary, but are tied together with the commonality of existing on the fringes of society. All twelve essays are fascinating and worth reading, but personally, I was especially captivated by two of the essays.

The first standout was Keefe’s reporting on a criminal trial in Amsterdam, in which a sister testified against her mobster brother and is now living in hiding. Keefe traveled to Amsterdam and met with the sister, Astrid Holleeder, in a very tense and secretive situation, as although her brother is behind bars, she lives in fear of reprisal from his associates. She explained the fears of growing up with a psychopath brother and of the criminal element in Amsterdam, which is well hidden in the beautiful city that she loves. What struck me most about this article was the way in which Keefe wrote about Holleeder’s strength and defiance. She refuses to leave Amsterdam, even if she must live a secluded life. She stood up to her brother, even when the profits from his criminal enterprise helped fund the family, a situation in which many family members were happy to turn a blind-eye. Holleeder put everything in her life at risk to do the right thing.

The other story involved Anthony Bourdain. I had not previously heard of Holleeder or the situation in Amsterdam, but I was very familiar with Bourdain. The familiarity is what attracted me to Keefe’s thoughts on the deceased chef, writer and travel star. Bourdain’s eclectic career and brash attitude put him in squarely in the rebel category and make his life intriguing to outsiders. Keefe’s article gave me a taste and I wanted more, so I picked up Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential to read following Rogues.

If you love non-fiction that explores dynamic personalities and true crime, you must pick up a copy of Rogues. Keefe is a keen storyteller with a flair for the dramatic. His writing will take you to unexpected places.