Kitchen Confidential (book)

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly is a New York Times bestselling non-fiction book written by American chef Anthony Bourdain, first published in 2000. In 2018, it topped the New York Times non-fiction paperback and non-fiction combined e-book & print lists.[1]

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

First edition
Author	Anthony Bourdain
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Memoir
Publisher	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date	August, 2000
Media type	Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages	320
ISBN	0-7475-5072-7
Followed by	A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal

In 1999, Bourdain's essay "Don't Eat Before Reading This" was published in the New Yorker.[2] This served as the foundation for Kitchen Confidential.[3]

Released in 2000, the book is both Bourdain's professional memoir and a behind-the-scenes look at restaurant kitchens. The book is known for its treatment of the professional culinary industry, which he describes as an intense, unpleasant, and sometimes hazardous workplace staffed by who he describes as misfits. Bourdain believes that the workplace is not for hobbyists and that anyone entering the industry without a masochistic, irrational dedication to cooking will be deterred.[4]

The book alternates between a confessional narrative and an industry commentary, providing insightful and humorous anecdotes on the cooking trade. Bourdain has cited George Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), with its behind-the-scenes examination of the restaurant business in 1920s Paris, as an important influence on the book's themes and tone.[5] Bourdain details some of his personal misdeeds and weaknesses, including drug use. He explains how restaurants function economically and warns consumers of the various tricks of restaurateurs. For example, he famously advises customers to avoid ordering fish on a Monday as it is likely left over from the weekend or earlier (years later, however, he retracted this advice[6]). He also suggests avoiding well-done beef, since the meat is more likely to be from a less-than-best grade, as the substandard flavor would be masked in overcooking.

In 2005, the book was adapted into a television show of the same name, starring Bradley Cooper as a fictionalized Bourdain. The series was cancelled partway into its first season, and only 13 episodes were produced.[7]

The book received positive reviews and created a large public following for Bourdain.

A follow-up book, Medium Raw, was published in 2010.

In 2017, in light of the Me Too movement, Bourdain expressed remorse that Kitchen Confidential "celebrated or prolonged a culture that allowed the kind of grotesque behaviors we're hearing about all too frequently".[8]