Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly Summary and Reviews

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

List Price: ~~$29.95~~
Our Price: $13.50
You Save: $16.45 (55%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $8.89 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Reader: Anthony Bourdain
Edition: Audio Cassette
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Audiobook, Unabridged
Published: 2001-05-15
ISBN: 0553528521
Publisher: Random House Audio

Book Reviews of Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

Book Review: A great read!
Summary: 5 Stars

It's amazing where writing talent is found. I originally discovered Bourdain via his "Les Halles Cookbook" -- one of the funniest cookbooks I have ever read. And then slowly, I began to remember -- hadn't this same guy written an earlier book, much more scandalous?

Well, this is that earlier book. You may not care for the tales it tells, or think very highly of the author, but the man writes like a god! Most of his best jokes are on himself, and all of the wimped-out sissy mistakes he made on the way to becoming a member of The Brotherhood, and its storyteller.

One of his bottom lines: "This stuff is EASY. My cooks are all recent immigrants from Latin America who had never tasted anything better than a taco in their lives. If they can learn, so can you."

It is also, for me, quite amazing to really sit back and think about a gang of five or six guys who actually manage to serve dinner to 600 people! Not once, but day in and day out! For this, you don't want no inspiration, you are not in the market for genius, man, you are a member of the freeping army/ballet corps, and everything depends on precise execution of tasks you have done a kazillion times before. (Oops, I slipped into quasi-Bourdain mode there.)

This book is really a lot better than Orwell's pretentious "Down and Out in Paris in London," especially when you learn that Orwell was basically a middle-class guy who volunteered to go slumming, and left when he got tired of it. This is not the case with Bourdain. This is HIS LIFE, and I for one really appreciate his gusto, his zest, and his willingness to work hard for what he wants.

Enjoy, enjoy (and don't order fish from a restaurant on Monday!)

Write your own review

More Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Newest Review

Biographies & Memoirs Books

Books on Cassette

Book Subjects

Most talked about in To deepen the grooves of your mind

The Biggest Tongue in Tunisia and Other Drawings
by B. Kliban
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1986-06-03; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: ~~$5.95~~

Luminous Animals and Other Drawings Image

Luminous Animals and Other Drawings
by B. Kliban
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 1983-08-25; Paperback; Book
Best price: $214.58

Two Guys Fooling Around with the Moon
by B. Kliban
Workman Publishing Company; Published: 1982-01-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.29
Price in other shops: ~~$5.95~~

Tiny Footprints
by B. Kliban
Workman Publishing Company; Published: 1978-01-05; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: ~~$5.95~~

Whack Your Porcupine, and Other Drawings Image

Whack Your Porcupine, and Other Drawings
by B. Kliban
Workman Pub Co; Published: 1977-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.91

Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head & Other Drawings
by B. Kliban
Workman Publishing Company; Published: 1976-01-03; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: ~~$5.95~~

Parallel Universes
by Roz Chast
Harpercollins; Published: 1984-09; Paperback; Book
Price in other shops: ~~$8.95~~

Departures
by Harry Turtledove
Del Rey; Published: 1993-04-24; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $2.96
Price in other shops: ~~$7.99~~

Roads Not Taken
by Gardner Dozois, Stanley Schmidt
Del Rey; Published: 1998-05-27; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.44
Price in other shops: ~~$6.99~~

Starship Troopers
by Robert A. Heinlein
Putnam Publishing Group; Published: 1960-06; Hardcover; Book
Price in other shops: ~~$9.95~~

Similar books summaries and other product reviews

The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
by Michael Ruhlman
Penguin (Non-Classics); Published: 2001-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.00
Price in other shops: ~~$16.00~~

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip--Confessions of a Cynical Waiter
by Waiter
Ecco; Published: 2008-08-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $14.97
Price in other shops: ~~$24.95~~

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany (Vintage)
by Bill Buford
Vintage; Published: 2007-06-26; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute
by Michael Ruhlman
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 1999-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.44
Price in other shops: ~~$17.00~~

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
Image Entertainment; Release date: 2007-03-20; DVD
Best price: $14.58
Price in other shops: ~~$24.99~~

No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach
by Anthony Bourdain
Bloomsbury USA; Published: 2007-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.28
Price in other shops: ~~$34.95~~

Bone in the Throat
by Anthony Bourdain
Bloomsbury USA; Published: 2000-09-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.24
Price in other shops: ~~$14.95~~

Anthony Bourdain's Les Halles Cookbook: Strategies, Recipes, and Techniques of Classic Bistro Cooking
by Anthony Bourdain
Bloomsbury USA; Published: 2004-10-15; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $19.33
Price in other shops: ~~$37.50~~

A Cook's Tour
by Anthony Bourdain
Amazon Remainders Account; Published: 2001-12-07; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $8.35
Price in other shops: ~~$25.95~~

The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones
by Anthony Bourdain
Bloomsbury USA; Published: 2006-05-16; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $6.98
Price in other shops: ~~$24.95~~