#12: Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Anyone who has ever met me in real life knows that I am not an adventurous eater. I like food mostly fried and with a lot of ketchup. However, this book made me want to eat things like braised duck, fresh oysters, swordfish, etc. I’m not saying I’m going to do this right away or anything, but it put the idea in my head to maybe order something besides “the burger”. Bourdain also made it easy to imagine a restaurant kitchen with its own individual culture. Even though the cooks may have sketchy pasts, recreational drug problems, or a criminal histories, they really do care about the product they put out. Granted, I’m sure my local Chili’s doesn’t have the same standards as Bourdain’s sous-chef, but it’s nice to know that someone somewhere really does want to put out the best food they can. The book also made me want to cook more, explore more, and see what I can do with just simple ingredients. I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes…