Work Your Appetite The Bourdain Way
'Cooks Rule' wrote the endearing Anthony Bourdain as he signed my husband's copy of 'Kitchen Confidential.'
That's something my husband would totally agree, he's ever willing to cook up a storm in a kitchen (much to my dismay) and when 'Kitchen Confidential' was out he felt he'd met a soul-mate. After all the goings on in a real kitchen couldn't compete with even half the mess I had to clear up in our modest kitchen.
Now, if you ever thought great looking and tasting food, steps right out of a super clean kitchen you are bound to get a whole new perspective to food.
That's because veteran chef, columnist and food lover Anthony Bourdain who has been there and seen it all, has more than a few surprises in this hard-hitting but immensely readable Kitchen Confidential. But before you get going on it, let me warn you that it certainly isn't for the faint-hearted.
Bourdain, the writer, just like his television persona doesn't for a moment believe in going easy on gritty details. He is an excellent story-teller, unapologetically opioninated and obscenely eloquent.
Not that you have been warned, here's what the chef de cuisine of the celebrated Brasserie Les Halles in New York can offer you - a frank confessional of cooks and restaurateurs. His caveat is clear: "There will be horror stories....But I'm simply not going to deceive anybody about the life as I've seen it."
And with that the book unravels at tremendous speed and soon falls into the category of unputdownable. You can read all about the whole Bourdain take on chef's training, personalities, food preparation, cooks' lifestyles, his own history and the art of running a successful restaurant.
It is a story straight from the gut, one that makes absolutely no effort to make it to the bestsellers list.
At the start, you might well have second thoughts about wanting to dine out again, but then he begins to tell all about the other side of the story by describing the kitchen of chef Scott Bryan at Veritas, an upscale restaurant down the street from Les Halles. It is here that the 'tell all' book turns into a more sombre and serious exercise.
While most of us might be left with insights like never to settle for fish while dining out on a Monday, the rest of us might just want to choose our restaurants more carefully.
Not that its all fun and no work, here's a serious bit of advice: "Working clean, constantly wiping and cleaning, is a desirable state of affairs for the conscientious cook. That chef was right: messy station equals messy mind. This explains why side-towels are hoarded like gold by good line cooks."
And here's the Bourdain take on why it pays to look at your waiter's face: "He knows. It's another reason to be polite to your waiter: he could save your life with a raised eyebrow or a sigh. If he likes you, maybe he'll stop you from ordering a piece of fish he knows is going to hurt you. On the other hand, maybe the chef has ordered him, under the pain of death, to move that codfish before it begins to really reek. Observe the body language and take note."
Take it all in the right spirit and this could turn out to be more than just another fun read.
Deepika Shetty is a Producer with Prime Time Morning and takes care of the book segment 'Off The Shelf' as well. | 
