About this title: "I've been a chef in New York for more than ten years, and, for the decade before that, a dishwasher, a prep drone, a line cook, and a sous-chef. I came into the business when cooks still smoked on the line and wore headbands." After twenty-five years of 'sex, drugs, bad behaviour and haute cuisine', chef and novelist Anthony Bourdain has decided to tell all. From his first oyster in the Gironde to his lowly position as a dishwasher in a honky tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown (where he first experiences the real delights of being a chef); from the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop the ...
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Description: Acceptable. Book shows wear to cover edges and spine. Spine has creases. Corners bent/rounded. Cover may have folds or creases. Otherwise in good reading condition. read more
Description: Acceptable. Book is in good reading condition. Cover has wear at edges and corners, and may have creases. Spine has wear at edges and creases. read more
Description: Good. } Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780060934910ISBN:0060934913
Description: Very Good. First Edition. First printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Slight cover wear with minor scuffing to edges. GoodwillnyBooks is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. You may return new items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. read more
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Ecco Press; HarperCollins, New York
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780060934910ISBN:0060934913
Description: Very Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. xvi, 302 pp.; 21 cm. Near fine. Tight, clean copy. Age toning. "When Chef Anthony Bourdain wrote "Don't Eat Before You Read This" in The New Yorker, he spared no one's appetite, revealing what goes on behind the kitchen door. In Kitchen Confidential, he expanded that appetizer into a deliciously funny, delectable shocking banquet that lays out his 25 years of sex, drugs, and haute cuisine. From his first oyster in the Gironde to the kitchen of the Rainbow Room ... read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Ecco
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780060934910ISBN:0060934913
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Very short light cover crease. No marks. Tight, square book. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 320 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Ecco Press, New York
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780060934910ISBN:0060934913
Description: Good. 302 clean pages. Clean pictorial cover. has been read and shows wear. There is a small brown, 1/4 to 1and 1/2 inch stain that goes through pages 121 to 124. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Date Published: 2001-05-01
ISBN-13:9780060934910ISBN:0060934913
Description: New. Book is Brand New, Gift condition. Free tracking # included! International buyers are welcome. We ship every business day. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed! read more
Description: Fine. 0060899220 Ships next business day. **Updated Edition** NEW/UNREAD! ! ! Text is Clean and Unmarked! --Be Sure to Compare Seller Feedback and Ratings before Purchasing--Has a small black line on bottom/exterior edge of pages. May have light shelf wear to cover from storage, if any. read more
Description: Like New. Ecco/Harper, TPB, 2000, 36th printing (2005), Appears never read, clean, tight binding, no markings or highlighting, minimal shelf wear. read more
"A fascinating tour through the world of professional cooking and "chefdom". Whether on TV or as a writer Anthony Bourdain is entertaining and also enlightens. I'll bet he's a great cook, too."
"I've been reading this to and from work. It's true what others have said, that it's a lot of him ranting about how tough it was as he was earning his spurs in the worst of the gritty, nasty, sweaty kitchens on the East Coast. He is a bit self-aggrandizing in that self-deprecating "I'm so hard-core I eat punk rock for lunch" way. But.... I still loved it. I also like the fact that he admits to eating McDonald's, and liking it. I actually believe him too.
OLD REVIEW:This review is tangential... I noticed that Anthony Bourdain had a brief quote on the back of another book I read recently, "The End of Overeating" by Dr. Kessler, saying that the book was thought-provoking. It's funny because A.B. airs a lot of dirty laundry in this book about sex and cocaine, bread and butter. He spends a lot of time talking about how food is powerful and he's unapologetic about the hedonistic value of good food, using his childhood experiences of vichyssoise and raw oysters as a launching point for this brutal memoir. He argues for an adventurous approach to eating (with the exception of fish on Mondays or eating brunch) at the same time he extols the virtues of his mother-in-law's pot roast and lumpy potatoes. At one point, he takes a dig at the chain restaurant fare, saying that there's no cooking - just assembly. So the point is, I left Dr. Kessler's book in total frustration, thinking that omg I have to stop enjoying food because if I enjoy food then I re-inforce this addictive behavior and it'll never stop!!! This book, even though the point is to paint a caricature of kitchen slaves who have withered hands and coke habits, has restored my sense of entitlement to enjoy food. It's like, Kessler slapped in one direction, this one slaps in the other direction. The message is: Pay attention to the food you put in your mouth! Pay attention to what it tastes like. If it is so lacking in character and essence that you have to slather it in fat, smother it in sugar and kill it with salt, you're robbing yourself of the real experience."
"I was disappointed in this book. I had heard great things about it, including how scandalous it was. I had envisioned a scathing expose of the restaurant industry and all the disgusting things you didn't want to know. Instead, it was just the story of Anthony Bourdain and how gross and miserable his life was at one point, and what a hard-core chef he was. He did do some scandalous things - he had some serious addiction problems, and runs his kitchens like some kind of version of machismo hell, but he concedes that other chefs who are even more successful don't do all those ridiculous things. He gives some tips about what not to order at restaurants, and how to make your home cooking more fancy, and tells some really disgusting stories about places he worked, but nothing he said would make me change any of my dining habits. Except make me even more guilty about using jarred garlic to cook with than I already am (Oh! The Shame!).
Also, the book was all over the ice - it didn't really have any real narrative flow, just read like a collection of columns (which maybe it was?) I don't know - it was an ok book. I enjoyed reading it, but it was just less than I had expected. It did make me hungry, and want to go to Les Halles (alas, no more! at least in DC), so it wasn't a complete loss, I guess.
"Gritty and raw--definitely not for the fainthearted or prissy. An insider's look at a unique subset of American culture--the kithchen staff. After reading this I will SOO appreciate the work that has gone into preparing my meals (especially in those restaurants that don't have standardized menus across the nation). I haven't caught Bourdain's show but I enjoyed his writing style although it got to have that "same ol', same ol'" feel after a while (hence, only a 4 star review). I have to confess, I didn't read the last 20 pages or so before whipping out this review but feel I still have a good feeling for the book. I highly recommend it for all you foodies out there or for anyone who is interested in becoming a chef or going into the restaurant business."
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