Cover of Kitchen Confidential

Kitchen Confidential

by Anthony Bourdain

★★★★★

Finished
January 1, 2026
Published
2000
non-fiction

I was camping in the backyard with my kids when I woke to the news of Bourdain’s death. It was only a few months since my dad died, and I remember this heartache… This man who had what I might brand “the perfect job” : traveling the world, experiencing every place and moment he could find, and waxing poetic… I would say that is being paid to find wonder and awe…

His authoring Kitchen Confidential was what made his name. It’s a beautiful, dirty, beatnic take on the underbelly of the food service world. I loved it. His sarcasm and poetry ride in every story.