Big D keeps with the food book theme for this week’s BOTWW.
NOVEMBER 25TH, 2020: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Bloomsbury
Let’s stick with food books written by writers whose absence resonates as a great loss for me personally, and for the world at large. This is Bourdain’s first book, the one that blew the lid off the previously secret world of restaurant work and introduced us to a fresh, irreverent, deeply thoughtful voice in the literary world. Though he later went on to greater fame through his television shows, which also showcased his singular approach to words, food, and life, this is where it all started. Like all of Bourdain’s work, this book is gritty, honest, slyly subversive, and a wonderful read—all the attributes that would make him, like Harrison, a guy you’d want to eat, travel, and party with. Though I didn’t know him in person, his work was so openly personal I feel as though I did. And I miss him.
