March 10, 2006

Kitchen Confidential

Now that Mr. B has been dumped into the "Reject for all Eternity Bin", we're ready to move on.

Now, the one man that has captured my imagination recently is celebrity chef Mr. Anthony Bourdain. I've just finished his book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly.

In this autobiography of sorts, he writes about how he came to become a chef. We read of his stints in dodgy bistros, restaurants, his dabblings with drugs, and all the shady characters he worked with. Through his eyes, we are given an insight into the inner workings of a testosterone-filled working environment.

But of course, he's quick to point out that not all restaurants are as boisterous as the ones he's worked in. Still, it's a fascinating portrait he paints of the kitchens and the people inside it.

Foodies and industry professionals will love this book with its honesty, dark humour and wit. His very conversational style of writing is thoroughly engaging and it's as if the guy's really talking to you, the reader, in the flesh. Bourdain's love for the cooking trade and all his good friends in the industry transpires through and it was a very delectable read indeed.

A highly recommended dish for the brain. Something light and easy on the brain's palate for the weekend. The book is available in the National Library.

Posted by DSD at March 10, 2006 9:08 AM
Comments

I have Kitchen Confidental on audiobook. Each time I'm in the car, I've got Tony on the iPod going on about Bigfoot, mob rackets and why you only need one knife in your kitchen.

Funny stuff and I could see everything Tony talked about in all the restaurants I walked by in Manhattan...

Posted by: Rodney at March 10, 2006 12:54 PM

yes! i read that book too! picked it up at some second hand book sale in one of those messy "3 for 10 bucks" bins. i wonder how a gem like that got in there! i like the bits where he talks about how specials of the week tend to be leftover cuts of meat or stale fish that the kitchen's trying to get rid off.

oh. btw i came across your blog while looking for a recipe for a traditional chinese fish soup that my boyfriend's mum used to make. she passed on some years back and recently he briefly mentioned how much he missed it. i thought it'd be a nice surprise if i tried to replicate it, except it's such an old dish that no one seems to know how to make it. heard of it by any chance? the fish used is a very soft jelly like fish that resembles smelt, but which my boyfriend calls "lau pee her" and my granny calls "dua bak gang her" (big eyed ikan billis)

sorry i'm rambling. i like your blog though. it makes me hungry.

Posted by: dirtydancer at March 13, 2006 4:16 PM