Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

A NEW YORK TIMES-BESTSELLING PHENOMENON

"Utterly riveting, swaggering with stylish machismo." -New York magazine

The bestselling breakout chef's tell-all from Anthony Bourdain, the globally beloved Emmy award-winning host of Parts Unknown and No Reservations.

In the now-classic memoir that launched Anthony Bourdain's long career, the globally beloved chef took us through the swinging kitchen doors and turned the culinary trade on its head. The result was a deliciously funny, shocking banquet of wild tales that drew from "twenty-five years of sex, drugs, bad behavior and haute cuisine.”

Sure to delight gourmands and philistines alike, Bourdain recounts everything from his first oyster in the Gironde to his lowly position as dishwasher in a honky-tonk fish restaurant in Provincetown (where he became hooked on chef work for life); from the stovetops of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center to drug dealers in the East Village, from Tokyo to Paris and back to New York again.

Bourdain's tales of the kitchen are as passionate as they are unpredictable, and Kitchen Confidential will make your mouth water and your belly ache with laughter and leave you wanting more.

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320 pages

Average rating: 7.89

200 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

boyleschris
Mar 16, 2025
Lesa's recommendation.
Anonymous
Jan 14, 2025
6/10 stars
While there are some interesting chapters the book dragged for me at points.
CStrauss
Jan 05, 2025
8/10 stars
Great book. Entertaining, funny, some great storytelling and kitchen tips. I listened to this instead of reading as Anthony Bourdain narrates it and im so glad I chose to do that. Would recommend. Especially if youre a fan of him.
Barbara ~
Dec 11, 2024
8/10 stars
You can hear the crusty, cynical, arrogant, honest voice of the late and great chef. It's a rock star moonlighting chef who tells it to you like it is. I come from a line of family who owned restaurants and can say, "yeah, he's right."
Anonymous
Oct 15, 2024
10/10 stars
Listening to this audiobook with Anthony as the narrator was a pleasure. A dark dude, he writes beautifully. Loved every minute.

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