Kitchen Confidential
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Kitchen Confidential is the title of a book written by American chef Anthony Bourdain as well as a short-lived situation comedy based on the book and broadcast by Fox.
Contents |
[edit] The book
The book, released in 2000, is both Bourdain's professional memoir and a behind-the-scenes look at restaurant kitchens. He describes in graphic details the ins-and-outs of the restaurant trade. The book is remarkable for its insistence in deglamorizing the professional culinary industry. The commercial kitchen is described as an intense, unpleasant and sometimes hazardous place of work staffed by what he describes as "misfits". Bourdain is absolutely insistent that this is no place for hobbyists. Anyone entering this industry will run away screaming, he insists, if they lack almost masochistic (perhaps irrational) dedication to cooking. In public statements Bourdain has shown his disdain for celebrity chefs, including Jamie Oliver, Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay and Emeril Lagasse. He appears to be irritated by both the overt commercialism of the celebrity cooking industry and its lack of culinary authenticity.
The book alternates between a confessional narrative and an industry commentary providing insightful and humorous anecdotes on the cooking trade. Bourdain goes into detail some of his personal misdeeds and weaknesses, including drug use and excessive life style. He explains how restaurants function (economically speaking) and the various restaurateur's tricks that consumers should be aware of. For example, he advises customers to avoid ordering fish on a Monday as the Monday fish would be, in all likelihood, a left over from the weekend. He also suggests avoiding beef well done; the beef is more likely to be from less-than-best grade as the substandard flavor would be masked in overcooking.
The book was well received critically and created a large public following. Ironically, Anthony Bourdain became a celebrity chef of his own.
[edit] The television series
The television series debuted on September 19, 2005. Bradley Cooper played the Anthony Bourdain-like lead character. The show's first two episodes did not earn strong ratings, and its run was then interrupted by Fox's coverage of the Major League Baseball playoffs. On November 11, Fox announced only thirteen episodes would be produced[1]. Four days after the fourth episode aired to dismal ratings on December 5, 2005, Fox cancelled the series outright. However, in June 2006 it came to Paramount Comedy 1 in the UK, which aired all thirteen episodes, and has since aired them again in repeats. It has also been aired on Seven Network in Australia around March 2006, but the thirteen episodes were aired out of order due to various Easter specials in April. In December 2006, TV3 started to air the show to mixed reviews but good ratings. Recently, beginning in February, The Comedy Channel has started screening the series.
[edit] Episodes
[edit] Season 1: 2005
| Episode # | Title | Date Aired in USA |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Exile on Main Street | September 19, 2005 |
| 2 | Aftermath | September 26, 2005 |
| 3 | Dinner Date with Death | October 3, 2005 |
| 4 | French Fight | December 5, 2005 |
| 5 | You Lose, I Win | Unaired |
| 6 | Rabbit Test | Unaired |
| 7 | The Robbery | Unaired |
| 8 | Teddy Takes Off | Unaired |
| 9 | Let's Do Brunch | Unaired |
| 10 | Praise Be Praise | Unaired |
| 11 | An Affair to Remember | Unaired |
| 12 | Power Play | Unaired |
| 13 | And the Award Goes to... | Unaired |
[edit] DVD Release
| DVD Name | Image | Release Date | Ep # | Additional Information |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Complete Series |  |
May 22, 2007 | 13 | This two disc boxset will include all 13 episodes of the series, including 9 that were never aired. Bonus features include interviews from the cast and crew and a trailer. |
[edit] Trivia
The fourth episode "French Fight" guest starred the French actor Michael Vartan as a chef with whom "Jack" Bourdain and his colleagues start a feud. Vartan and Cooper had previously worked together on Alias, and paid homage to this in a character in joke whereby Bourdain says: "It's like we worked together before or something."
John Cho was originally suppose to be a regular cast member rather than a recurring character.
[edit] Quotation
| “ | What most people don't get about professional-level cooking is that it is not at all about the best recipe, the most innovative presentation, the most creative marriage of ingredients, flavors and textures; that, presumably, was all arranged long before you sat down to dinner. Line cooking — the real business of preparing the food you eat — is more about consistency, about mindless, unvarying repetition, the same series of tasks performed over and over and over again in exactly the same way. The last thing a chef wants in a line cook is an innovator... Chefs require blind, near-fanatical loyalty, a strong back and an automaton-like consistency of execution under battlefield conditions. | ” |
