553 ratings (4.05 avg)
431 reviews

Armando

Add friend

Armando’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (865)

currently-reading‎ (5)

read‎ (556)

college-years‎ (13)

Stats | More…

Armando is Currently Reading

Armando is currently reading

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

by Anthony Bourdain

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

read in February 2024

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Armando said: " Bourdain has an exceptional narrative voice, a tone and cadence that is uniquely his and one that will keep your ears perked the entire time you're listening to it (I listened to the audiobook). It is his style of narration, choice of words, and just Bourdain has an exceptional narrative voice, a tone and cadence that is uniquely his and one that will keep your ears perked the entire time you're listening to it (I listened to the audiobook). It is his style of narration, choice of words, and just vocal style that has made me a big fan of his in the past. And I was more than delighted to jump into his first work of culinary literature.

This is definitely his best work that I have read (having read Medium Raw and Nasty Bits). Kitchen Confidential is a masterwork in autobiographical work as Anthony Bourdain dissects his life through the professional kitchen. It is often uncensored, raw, and quite beautiful at times, as Bourdain not only captures the work of a chef, but the work of the blue collar, often overlooked essential workers in our workforce. Much of the troubles and struggles that he captures here are still present, if not more so, today than it was back then. That makes this work timeless, and really shows how well Bourdain could represent his generation of workers.

The book can be very uncomfortable at times, especially when he uncovers the more nasty aspects of being a chef. The debauchery, often twisted sense of wicked humor and just straight up sexual harassment that chefs have had to experience in their unforgiving work environment is shocking. And while Bourdain does keep a sense of humor, and also shoots down any straight immoral acts (such as criminal behavior), it can be difficult to digest the environment that he is representing. No more poignant is when he often refers to his employer's as 'my master', that is obviously indictive of a slave environment.. He definitely captures that while this workforce is grueling to anyone, he does highlight that it is a particularly difficult place for women to work at. He does a great job of providing examples of women in this workforce, and even shows how they can survive it, but it can come off as somewhat disturbing of the sense of 'there is no changing this environment. Its just the way it is' sort of attitude. Now Bourdain has, in retrospect, highlighted how his poor behavior in this book should never be emulated, certain topics he explores in this book can be difficult to digest.

However, Bourdain is still just a fantastic author. I love the way he writes his narration, how he can break down the technicalities of an industry with such personality, and how he weaves a story through a simple dinner service. This is definitely one of the best audiobooks I've read all year. ...more "

progress:

(20%)
— 12 hours, 27 min ago

12 hours, 27 min ago · see review