Life Backstage in Restaurant Kitchens in Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bou Essay

Waiter, there's an iguana in my soupA Cook's TourAnthony BourdainBloomsbury 16.99, pp274Here, the New York chef Anthony Bourdain travels the world in search of the perfect meal, meets lots of interesting people and gets grotesquely drunk with them.As with any account of drunkenness in which you were not involved it can be tedious. Around page 100, when he arrives in Morocco, there is hope of relief. In an Islamic country (however moderately Islamic), the opportunities for hitting the bottle must be limited. No problem. Bourdain sends out a lackey to score hashish for him and then gets monstrously stoned.It's all a terrible disappointment. Bourdain's previous book, Kitchen Confidential, was an assured and funky description of life backstage in restaurant kitchens. His vivid, testosterone-sodden style suited his subject matter. He was able to take on the role of spokesman for a subculture not known for its articulacy. That book only stuttered and stumbled when, running out of material about the gonzo furies of kitchen living, he began writing about his life outside it.This book is almost entirely about his life outside it. It might have worked were Bourdain himself not so terribly unconvinced about the project. In the introduction, he announces simply 'I needed something to do. I needed another idea for a book - preferably while I was still in good odour from the last one.' Well yes, that is indeed how publishing works, but at least have the grace to finesse it a bit. Try to pretend that you want us to be interested, not that you are merely trying to fulfil a contractual obligation.He then compounds the insult by announcing, two pages later, that he agreed to have his entire travelogue filmed by the US television's Food Network in a deal which both publishers and TV people agreed would be good for sales.Or, as he puts it 'I sold my ass. When I signed on the dotted line, any pretence of...

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