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h
Heidi Apr 16, 1999 03:37 PM

"DON'T EAT BEFORE READING THIS.....

....A New York chef spills some trade secrets", an
essay by chef Anthony Bourdain in the April 19 issue
of The New Yorker. Starts out on a bit of a stomach-
turning note with some practices of restaurant
kitchens,(of whom I'm sure would prefer this not be
common knowledge), and develops into his explaining
the quirks and circumstances that make a kitchen
profession bizzarely appealing. He states that he is
presently chef de cuisine of an old-school French
Brasserie/Bistro. Does anyone know which that may be?
This is an amusing read; I'm sure anyone who has
worked behind the scenes can relate.

  1. c
    Chris011 Sep 21, 2010 11:47 PM

    Hi..I am great fan of Mr. Anthony and desperately looking for the full article "Don't Eat Before Reading This". Can someone plz let me know if I can access it on the web? thanks so much!!!!

    13 Replies
    1. re: Chris011
      BobB Sep 22, 2010 09:05 AM

      It's a copyrighted article, available only by paying a fee: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1999...

      1. re: BobB
        greygarious Sep 22, 2010 09:34 AM

        As a long-time New Yorker subscriber, I remember the buzz when the article came out. It led to the writing of "Kitchen Confidential". There is nothing in the article that wasn't also covered in the book.

        1. re: greygarious
          mnosyne Sep 22, 2010 02:48 PM

          Boy, we were young and innocent when this post first appeared!

          1. re: mnosyne
            mamachef Sep 22, 2010 10:30 PM

            My thoughts exactly: at the time, it was, "who is Anthony Bourdain and why has he exploded all over the media lately? My, how times have changed; Bourdain be DA MAN.

            1. re: mamachef
              linguafood Sep 23, 2010 08:25 AM

              I was just tickled that AB posted on this site so long ago.

              1. re: linguafood
                Sandwich_Sister Sep 24, 2010 07:59 AM

                yep me too. I started reading this and was confused at first, not noticing the dates. I was like, hmmm is he coming out with a sequel? LMAO I didn't realize it until I saw AB's post.

                Makes me wonder if he doesn't sometimes peruse the boards now and again.

                1. re: Sandwich_Sister
                  greygarious Sep 24, 2010 01:49 PM

                  If he does, I'm sure he will get a kick out of the screen name of the brand new Chowhound Anchovy Bourdain.

                  1. re: greygarious
                    BobB Sep 24, 2010 01:52 PM

                    Not to mention the fact that Anchovy's a female.

                    1. re: BobB
                      Sandwich_Sister Sep 24, 2010 03:16 PM

                      hah! Love it. That Anchovy Bourdain is Awesome!

                    2. re: greygarious
                      s
                      smartie Sep 24, 2010 04:15 PM

                      Anthony Boursain would also be fun!

                      1. re: smartie
                        hill food Sep 24, 2010 06:40 PM

                        I wouldn't be surprised if he or his production staff does lurk around here but uses a pseud like most of us.

                        KC is a damn fun read. and do we really know Anchovy is female? not that it matters I generally appreciate the posts I've read and never read gender into it.

                        1. re: hill food
                          Sandwich_Sister Sep 24, 2010 07:05 PM

                          Yes, there has to be some one from his staff that uses this site for research, there is plenty of fodder, useful nuggets of info and real gems.

                          1. re: hill food
                            BobB Sep 27, 2010 09:24 AM

                            Yup: http://www.chow.com/profile/1198194

        2. j
          Johnny Jan 24, 2006 03:24 AM

          My boy was hired at a Las Vegas Strip Hotel.
          (Bouchon at the Ventian.) last summer after concurrently graduating Vocational School/High School.

          He was givin a copy of Mr. Bourdains "Kitchen Confidential" for Christmas 2005 from his Sous`Chef.

          He`s been in love with cooking ever since he saw Jacques Pépin do a show about "cookihg basics." Involving omelets on PBS.
          Waking me from my nap, begging me let him use the stove to practice his lesson.(He was 10-12)

          After digesting Mr. Bourdains persective and advice.
          I now understand(better) My sons passion and his incredible fucking luck.

          I know he will do the trade proud.

          J. Kellogg.
          Las Vegas, NV.

          1 Reply
          1. re: Johnny
            n
            Niki Rothman Jan 24, 2006 05:10 AM

            Wow, talk about people having radically different reactions to the same thing. As opposed to not eating "before" reading "Kitchen Confidential", I had a distinct lack of appetite after reading it...

            "Kitchen Confidential" left a really bad taste in my mouth. As a long-time restaurant worker, I resented Mr. Bourdain's cashing in on what I felt was sensationaling and wildly exagerating, if not very possibly inventing, downright criminal abuses such as fish restaurants tarting up spoiled fish. He made it sound as if that kind of atrocity was common practice. Enough said.

            But, I can't close without noting your getting away with using that fine old English expletive without being deleted. Well...just don't get too cocky and start throwing around REAL dirty words, like "diabetes". Heh heh...

          2. m
            Martin Rosenschek Dec 25, 1999 09:35 PM

            I haven't read Bourdain's article, but the NYC reaction
            is similiar to another piece run by the New Yorker Magazine about a chef called "Otto" ( around 1981 ).
            In the article, this chef( named " Otto " for reasons of confidentiality,) stated that many French restaurants,
            including that citadel, Lutece ,served meat with frozen water crystals. After working in a few ' good french restaurants' I tend to agree that they'll stoop pretty low for a buck.

            1. a
              Anthony Bourdain Aug 5, 1999 10:54 AM

              I'm the 25 year lifer-chef who wrote the New Yorker
              piece mentioned here. Just stumbled across this site
              and am pleased at the number of serious foodies/ CHEF
              fans..and industry types who seem to be posting with
              regularity. The article is NOT on-line, as far as I
              know. And it was toned down considerably by the
              editors, I can assure you. The full length deranged
              rant will be published as a non-fiction Bloomsbury
              book titled KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL: Adventures In The
              Culinary Underbelly in year 2000. So more to come..In
              the meantime, I'll be writing for FOOD ARTS
              regularly..the current issue has a piece on my recent
              adventures in Tokyo-Food Heaven, by the way--and if no
              angry vegetarians or well-done eaters shoot me on my
              way to work some morning--there will probably be more
              pieces in the New Yorker. The poster who pointed out
              that the butter thing..and the Monday fish biz is old
              news is absolutely right. Don't worry ..the worst--and
              best..is hopefully yet to come. Sodomy in The Dry-
              Goods Area! Chilean Sea Bass: The REAL Story!
              Restaurant Owner Syndrome-How to Identify the
              Symptoms!! Emeril Lagasse-The REAL Piltdown Man? And
              MORE! Where Chef's Eat! Eric Ripert's Penis: Is it As
              Big As That Blender He's Holding In The Naked Chef Ads?
              Inquiring Chef's Want To Know!! Veritas-New Best
              Restaurant In NYC? Fulton Street Horrors..and MORE
              MORE MORE...

              3 Replies
              1. re: Anthony Bourdain
                j
                Jim Leff Aug 5, 1999 01:09 PM

                Hey Anthony, glad you found us, good to have you
                posting!
                One reason we have such a great crowd of serious food
                people is that our message postings tend to be
                unusually informative and entertaining; this is because
                we discourage promotional kinds of messages. You've
                told us all about your upcoming projects (which sound
                interesting!); now we all look forward to any
                contributions you can find time to make to our chow
                discussion.

                ciao

                1. re: Jim Leff
                  a
                  Anthony Bourdain Aug 6, 1999 06:02 PM

                  Fair enough on the shameless self-promotion front..
                  As the chef of the relentlessly old school brasserie
                  Les Halles in NYC, I might be able to help out on
                  inquiries concerning French workingman's fare/bistro
                  classics...etc.

                2. re: Anthony Bourdain
                  k
                  Keith Wright Jun 1, 2004 10:34 AM

                  I grabbed an old issue of FA before hitting the crapper and I'm sorry to say, I missed the original article there about Don't Eat... I am now leaving the house to go to Barnes and Noble to pick up a copy of the book.

                  That was the most enjoyable crap I've ever taken in my life. I'm going to put it [the book] in the employee bathroom at the café so everyone else can enjoy it as well.

                  Thanks.
                  Keith Wright
                  Executive Chef
                  Café Soleil
                  Asheville NC

                3. f
                  Frank Language Apr 16, 1999 08:58 PM

                  Question: is this available on the Web?

                  5 Replies
                  1. re: Frank Language
                    h
                    Heidi Apr 16, 1999 09:09 PM

                    I don't know. I have the mag.

                    1. re: Heidi
                      r
                      Rosa Rasiel Apr 17, 1999 12:38 PM

                      The article is not on-line.

                      1. re: Rosa Rasiel
                        g
                        gordon Apr 17, 1999 10:45 PM

                        The article wasn't too revealing. Fish being fresher
                        on Tuesdays and table butter being reused for
                        hollandaise are hardly scandalous.

                        1. re: gordon
                          l
                          Lisa Dec 17, 2002 02:48 PM

                          Wow, I am so excited to see that THE Anthony Bourdain actually posted on this site!
                          I just read Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour and loved them both. I laughed out loud and was sick to my stomach! Now I am in the middle of reading Typhoid Mary. I am also a fan of his show on the Food Network. I just wish they'd run it more often. It is only on once a week at one time. Maybe if they didn't run Emeril 300 times a day they could run other shows.
                          Anyway, I am a librarian and I am starting a "Foodie" book discussion group after the holidays. We will be reading books by and about chefs. Anthony's books are all on the list.
                          Maybe someone has some other good recommendations.

                          1. re: Lisa
                            c
                            christina z Dec 17, 2002 04:05 PM

                            Tony Bourdain is just a person like the rest of us. Yeah, he's a cool guy but he's not a god. Read all of MK Fisher's books and check out some of the really old Escoffier cookbooks because there's quite a bit of explanation and narration in them besides the recipes. I have an antique copy of "A Guide to Modern Cookery" and I read it every now and then just for the commentary.

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