Most diners imagine their exquisite foie gras atop a delicate buckwheat blini, drizzled with huckleberry sauce, to be the creation of a refined culinary genius. The truth, as Anthony Bourdain reveals in *Kitchen Confidential*, is far grittier. That elegant dish likely owes its existence to a ragtag crew of “wacked-out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, drunks, sneak thieves, sl*ts, and psychopaths”—a chaotic team that thrives in the trenches of the culinary world. In this raw, unapologetic memoir, CIA-trained Bourdain, then executive chef at Les Halles, pulls back the curtain on the gritty realities of professional kitchens. From late-night debauchery to unappetizing industry secrets—like why you shouldn’t order fish on a Monday—Bourdain spares no detail. His storytelling is equal parts obscene, eloquent, and darkly hilarious, delivering a Kerouac-like journey through the lusty, larcenous lives of cooks. For those with a strong stomach, it’s a wildly entertaining ride. - “Kitchen Confidential” by Anthony Bourdain
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