My Delicious Summer Read
Summer reading is a guilty pleasure of mine. A deep, cool dive into a different experience. I'm definitely a word girl, Speech Pathologist by profession. I love the sounds of words, the resonance, the rhythm, the shape of sentences. Especially the voice. Aaah, the voice of the author.
Yes, you're reading a food blog! I just finished a book written by a chef with a strong, unique voice. A chef of great celebrity, who I once had the good fortune to meet. His words and well-crafted sentences tell his story, a memoir of the "backstory," of the (sometimes dark) underside of the restaurant business.
Have I piqued your interest? Any guesses who the author is? Well, sadly, it's Anthony Bourdain. And the book is Kitchen Confidential. Originally written in 2000, this book has been re-released by publishers and is hitting the non-fiction Best Sellers list. Those of us who are his loyal devotees are hungry to read or re-read his frank words.
From Preface through Appetizers (chapter 1, followed by the clever meal-referenced titles), 3 courses, dessert, coffee, and a cigarette, this book was "food porn" for me. I was seduced on page one, word one. This is the unvarnished tale of the restaurant business. A hard business (yup, and also a family business) and the chefs who cook for us.
We learn why you must never, ever order fish on Monday, eat seafood at a Sunday brunch, plan on ordering your meat well-done, or dream that the enticing bread basket on your table wasn't already on someone else's table. Ugh. His accounts of the world of chef-dom are as edgy and hardboiled as his own rise to star status. I devoured it with gusto (or dis-gusto) on King's Beach in Lake Tahoe and on the terrace of a lovely boutique hotel in Napa.
Today I am thinking about Anthony Bourdain, the swashbucklingly (a Joni-ism) handsome television star of shows like No Reservations, Parts Unknown, A Cook's Tour, The Taste, The Layover, and more. When we met him in Menlo Park for a dinner, he was touring to promote his book No Reservations. He was so bold, speaking with his own brand of brazen confidence about food, travel, the restaurant industry, and the chefs who shared the spotlight with him, He said, in Kitchen Confidential, "Of all the professions, after all, few people are less suited to be suddenly thrown into the public eye than chefs. We're used to doing what we do in private, behind closed doors."
This memoir is certainly a peek behind the kitchen doors into the less than glamorous world that has become our "theater" and entertainment and the stuff of TV reality shows and the movies. This read was my "amuse bouche" into the words of Anthony Bourdain. I will leave you with this quote: "Food may not be the answer to world peace, but it's a start." Peace out Food Sagers and rest in peace, Anthony Bourdain.
*If anyone out there in Food Sage Blog land would love a great, snarky summer food read, message me! I'm giving away 2 Anthony Bourdain classic books in an old school pull-your-name-out-of-a-hat drawing.
Yes, you're reading a food blog! I just finished a book written by a chef with a strong, unique voice. A chef of great celebrity, who I once had the good fortune to meet. His words and well-crafted sentences tell his story, a memoir of the "backstory," of the (sometimes dark) underside of the restaurant business.
Have I piqued your interest? Any guesses who the author is? Well, sadly, it's Anthony Bourdain. And the book is Kitchen Confidential. Originally written in 2000, this book has been re-released by publishers and is hitting the non-fiction Best Sellers list. Those of us who are his loyal devotees are hungry to read or re-read his frank words.
We learn why you must never, ever order fish on Monday, eat seafood at a Sunday brunch, plan on ordering your meat well-done, or dream that the enticing bread basket on your table wasn't already on someone else's table. Ugh. His accounts of the world of chef-dom are as edgy and hardboiled as his own rise to star status. I devoured it with gusto (or dis-gusto) on King's Beach in Lake Tahoe and on the terrace of a lovely boutique hotel in Napa.
Today I am thinking about Anthony Bourdain, the swashbucklingly (a Joni-ism) handsome television star of shows like No Reservations, Parts Unknown, A Cook's Tour, The Taste, The Layover, and more. When we met him in Menlo Park for a dinner, he was touring to promote his book No Reservations. He was so bold, speaking with his own brand of brazen confidence about food, travel, the restaurant industry, and the chefs who shared the spotlight with him, He said, in Kitchen Confidential, "Of all the professions, after all, few people are less suited to be suddenly thrown into the public eye than chefs. We're used to doing what we do in private, behind closed doors."
This memoir is certainly a peek behind the kitchen doors into the less than glamorous world that has become our "theater" and entertainment and the stuff of TV reality shows and the movies. This read was my "amuse bouche" into the words of Anthony Bourdain. I will leave you with this quote: "Food may not be the answer to world peace, but it's a start." Peace out Food Sagers and rest in peace, Anthony Bourdain.
*If anyone out there in Food Sage Blog land would love a great, snarky summer food read, message me! I'm giving away 2 Anthony Bourdain classic books in an old school pull-your-name-out-of-a-hat drawing.
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