To say Anthony Bourdain has a special place in my heart is putting it mildly. I can vividly remember the first episode of No Reservations that I watched — it was unlike anything I had seen before. He was the epitome of cool. He was both someone I wanted to be and be around. There was something about him that instantly endeared me to him, and I religiously watched everything and anything that had him in it.

When news of his death began to circulate, it genuinely felt like a sucker punch to the gut. This person who made such a huge impact on my life and the world around him was suddenly gone. And, yeah, I know that some people will say, “You didn’t even know him! Why do you care?” But the people who get it, get it.

And I’m saying all this to give a bit of context for my next thought: reading this book felt like I was hearing him speak again. The book is 100% in his voice and it was calming — even if some of the things were wild to read.

But for the sake of this review, I’m going to attempt to step away from this fan girl appreciation and review this like I would any other book. (Obviously take that with a grain of salt, but I promise to try.) So, without further ado, let’s talk about Kitchen Confidential.

Who is Anthony Bourdain?

You probably know the answer to this, but a little bit of a recap never hurt anyone.

Anthony was an American chef based in New York City, who turned into an author and travel documentarian. While his shows (e.g., No Reservations and Parts Unknown) focused on cuisines from around the world, he also showed a side of humanity we don’t always get to see on travel shows.

How was the book?

Kitchen Confidential firmly fits into the memoir category, but doesn’t just tell the story of his life. This book explores the world of the food industry, showing the unfiltered, intense and often times unpleasant side of it.

The book is broken into pretty short chapters that told specific stories from Anthony’s life, starting all the way back to his college days. Because of this format, it was really easy to pick up/put down as I needed and it didn’t feel like I was trying to backtrack to remember what exactly I read.

Something I loved about this book is that it sounds genuine, though the machismo is off the charts at times… But it feels like you’re hearing it from an actual person, which feels super approachable. It kept me entertained throughout the book (and really solidified the fact that I could never cut it in that industry).

Something to note is that this book was written before the glitz and glamor of the food world really took off. Sure, we had the Food Network, but the prestige of chefs really wasn’t at the point it is today. The version of Kitchen Confidential that I read had an afterword from Anthony that explains this as well, but maintains that even though his experiences in the 80s and 90s aren’t necessarily what someone today would experience, much is still the same — primarily that it’s a tough business that requires thick skin.

Whether you were a fan of Anthony before reading this book, I think you’ll definitely be one after it’s done. It’s an entertaining and easy book to read, so definitely give it a try.