6
AUGUST 4�11, 2021
FROM THE SHELF
CHECKING OUT THE
WORLD OF BOOKS
Explore the world of food in ‘Kitchen
Confi dential: Adventures in the
Culinary Underbelly’
By John Vollinger
Go! Magazine
T
hree long years have come and
gone since Anthony Bourdain’s
untimely passing — an event too sudden
that left many saddened and bewildered.
Though sometimes sardonic, Bourdain
brought a very particular joie de vivre
to our television screens on his vari-
ous travel-based food shows between
2002 and 2018. His programs often
seemed cavalier in approach, but were
underscored with a deep passion to
experience more — both in cultural and
culinary forms.
Perhaps as a means to better under-
stand the mind that brought us around
the world on shows like “No Reserva-
tions” and “Parts Unknown,” a new fi lm
has been released in theaters titled
“Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony
Bourdain.” With this new release, I chose
to reacquaint myself with the book that
initially launched Bourdain’s career:
“Kitchen Confi dential: Adventures in the
KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL
“ ‘Kitchen Confi dential’ was a fi rst
glimpse, for many, to see behind
the curtain of those who prepare
our food at restaurants around
the world, from the mundane to
the magnifi cent.”
Culinary Underbelly.”
“Kitchen Confi dential” was a fi rst
glimpse, for many, to see behind the
curtain of those who prepare our food at
restaurants around the world, from the
mundane to the magnifi cent.
Bourdain details the very fi rst hand-
ful of childhood meals that sparked
his passion for food, often marked by
experiences that challenged his precon-
ceived notions of what food should, or
could, be. He traces his career through
the industry, battling the addictions and
predilections that were so common in
the lives of line cooks of the 1970s and
1980s.
The autobiographical account of
working through the New York restau-
rant scene would be worth the price of
admission alone, with colorful anec-
dotes from within numerous kitchens.
Some make you laugh, and some will
make you nervous to ever eat out again.
But “Confi dential” off ers so much more
than that. Peppered throughout the
pages are glimpses into what it actually
takes to run a successful kitchen, tips
on what not to order when dining out,
useful hints for your own cooking habits,
and meditations on why some would
choose to walk down such a grueling
path.
All of this is wrapped in voice — one
that is distinctly Bourdain’s, and is more
refi ned than countless modern authors.
His writing remains inescapably capti-
vating as it seamlessly threads a brash
poeticism through frank descriptions
of what is. Those who have heard his
voiceovers from his shows will clearly
hear the cadence of his speech through
the words on the page, but all are privy
to the style and grace that he brings to
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the descriptions of his life as a chef and,
of course, the food.
“Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony
Bourdain” will be available on HBO Max,
following its stint in theaters, but “Kitch-
en Confi dential” will surely tide over all
who are interested until then.
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