Reconsidering Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, 20 years on
Kitchen Confidential, the explosive, tell-all book which launched Anthony Bourdain to international stardom has long been touted as perhaps the most honest insight into the culinary industry. However, in the twenty years since its publication and even in the two since Bourdain’s untimely death, the world has changed markedly. As the clanging of recently toppled statues steadily fades, we would do well to remember that the contemporary generation forever reserves the right to judge those who went before them, the work they produced and the ethos they lived by.
Both lauded and condemned for its unflinching analysis, brusque manner and often far from politically correct language, Kitchen Confidential soared to popularity after its initial publishment, acquiring both New York Time Bestseller status and a prophetic-like significance in the culinary industry. This was as Bourdain himself professed, a book for kitchen staff written by kitchen staff and the frantic pace of the prose, alongside generous slavering’s of pidgin, drawn from the English, Spanish, French and military languages, gives the reader an instant impression of inhabiting the high pace lifestyle one associates with the industry. Wherein "weeded" means behind, "The Queez" is a food processor, and a disaster causes one to proclaim "Porca miseria". These are the few examples suitable for reproduction as the vast majority of Bourdain’s favoured pidgin relies heavily upon sexualised innuendos and insults.
It seems that Bourdain chose this aggressive, tiring language to fashion the book into a warning of sorts. One which aims to reiterate his first and most frequently repeated lesson, that to work in the hospitality sector is to work extremely long, unsociable hours in a highly pressured and stressful environment. This being more universal fact than industry secret does little to dissuade "the retired dentist who was always told he threw a great dinner party" and other such individuals who whilst knowing little or less about the industry, are adamant that their romantic notions of running a restaurant will survive intact. The results catalogued within Kitchen Confidential are predictably and reliably catastrophic, as ego overpowers common-sense, bringing ruin to a once cherished dream. This all too familiar cycle exasperates Bourdain with his dismissive remarks belying a deep distaste for those who disrespect the industry, his profession and by extension his own person. Thus, the offensive, unrelenting prose utilised can be interpreted as Bourdain’s attempt to weed out this "Mal Carne'' before it blemishes his idealist dream of a swashbuckling culinary utopia. Whilst his intentions may have been slightly self-interested, it is nevertheless a fact that many readers owe Bourdain gratitude for successfully dispelling their illusions of grandeur whilst still in the comfort of their home as opposed to the unbearable heat of a failing kitchen.
Whilst littering Kitchen Confidential with ominous forebodings, Bourdain himself clearly experiences a machismo fuelled pride from the daily grind that defines life as hospitality workers, espousing the old adage of "toughen up or leave" in many of its various forms throughout the book. By championing this way of life, Bourdain has added an immeasurable amount of fuel to the long burning shame complex which surrounds mental health issues within the hospitality sector. His compliance with this stigma-inducing environment has an especially stark implication for the contemporary reader as we - with the benefit of hindsight - know that lifelong mental illness, caused in part by the stresses, demands and stigmas of the culinary world, would ultimately cause Bourdain to take his own life 17 days before his 62nd birthday. Thus, Bourdain’s approach to mental health within Kitchen Confidential should not be accepted as the flippant nonchalance that he intended, instead it should be interpreted as a warning that no one, regardless of status, apparent indifference or machismo is impervious to the devastating effects of mental illness.
The oppressive, male dominated nature of the system which Bourdain found himself complicit in, not only contributed significantly to an all-encompassing work culture but also more significantly, to the industries growing representation in sexual harassment scandals. A major issue which only came to prominence during the #MeToo movement, years after the original publication of Kitchen Confidential. By Bourdain’s own admission his book celebrates the "meathead culture", which belittled sexual harassment claims just as they did mental health issues. In the years following the publication of the book Bourdain expressed regret about the undeniable condonement of groping, and other harassment types within Kitchen Confidential. These comments were in keeping with his more recent position as an outspoken ally for victims of sexual abuse, which he attained by using his celebrity status to highlight the prevalence of sexual harassment both within and outside the culinary world. Whether his outspoken nature in the years before his death is seen as a genuine endeavour to better himself and the industry or alternatively, as an attempt to protect his personal capital during a time where many culinary superstars were being exposed, is a decision each individual must make for themselves.
The astoundingly imperceptive approach to the plethora of mental health and sexual harassment issues Bourdain took within Kitchen Confidential, is at odds to the remarkable astuteness he demonstrates when discerning the nature of his customers. Quick to scathe the hordes of demanding tourists just as he is hurriedly humbled in the presence of his weekly regulars, Bourdain provides us access to a common, yet no less confounding dilemma; that of tourist driven gentrification. This is a quandary which we have a uniquely intense experience of here in Britain, one just needs to walk through Shoreditch on a sunny Saturday afternoon to experience it’s community altering effects. Although the location of which the gentrification occurs changes, – especially due to the globalised nature of tourism - the debated question always remains the same. At what socio-cultural cost is it acceptable for economic stability and indeed, prosperity to come at?
Bourdain himself believes in prioritising the regular and defending the authentic, but as is so often the case he appears here as a paradox, balancing this romanticism with a professional resumé that clearly values wages over credibility. The prevalence of contradictions, of a dissonance so varied and utterly complete, renders arbitrary judgments of both the man and the book insufficient. Consequently, their value cannot be found in the direct messages – whether dated or not – that are reiterated time and again. They are instead revealed to those who on a conscious or subconscious level, discern Bourdain’s innate gift, one he subtly and masterfully infused into Kitchen Confidential. The approach to food as a sensuous experience, which Bourdain wields so faultlessly, is his gift, one which harkens to a Hemingwayesque life. Whilst delivering no practical message, this allows Bourdain to impart on the reader a deeper understanding of what food is, and how our approach to it should be shaped.
This, I would wager, is the main reason for the book's continued success; you simply cannot fake or mistake this degree of passion. Whilst it is vital that this devotion continues to live on, with the same white hot, unapologetic vigour as it did in Bourdain, it is equally important that those who tend this flame do so in their own contemporary fashion. A fashion defined by the times we find ourselves in. Where transparency, equality and inclusivity must be prioritised to ensure that all talented individuals are granted an opportunity to modernise both cuisine and the workplace in ways Bourdain could never fathom, understand, or necessarily encourage.
-Jacob Smith
Jacob is a writer whose focus centres on the ever-evolving relationship between peoples. He has a long-held affinity for food and cooking, a fact chiefly attributable to his mother, Liz. Outside of writing, Jacob is the Social media and Communications Officer for Incomindios UK, the British branch of a Swiss-based indigenous rights organisation and is currently concluding his MA Conflict, Security & Development at the University of Exeter.
Find him on Twitter: @JacobSm10470232
