It's no secret that I loved Anthony Bourdain's breakthrough memoir of life in the seedy underbelly of the restaurant/food business, Kitchen Confidential. Part autobiography, part blunt lesson in the reality of the industry (there's something almost romantic about opening your own little bodega or cafe somewhere... but Bourdain is quick disabuse you of such notions. It can be done, if that's your dream, it's just going to take hard, hard work and probably eat your life) it was sprinkled with swear words and seemed refreshingly honest and self-aware.
It's follow-up, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine To The World of Food and The People Who Cook has much of the charm of it's predecessor: Bourdain is not shy to acknowledge his own faults but nor is he willing to pull any punches against targets than inspire his ire: the Food Network gets a particularly gleeful evisceration. But while Medium Raw may lack some of the rock star je ne sais quoi and overall charm that Kitchen Confidential brought to the literary world, it's actually, in many ways, a better book.
Don't get me wrong: I loved Kitchen Confidential... but that was Bourdain and his adventures in the industry. Medium Raw is him looking into the industry that he knows so well and much of what results is a thought provoking, entertaining (as always) and philosophical looks into the world of food, the people who inhabit it and what makes it all tick.
Three of the more interesting chapters in this book deal with first, Bourdain's distaste for lengthy tasting menus and then a chapter on a former contestant on Top Chef and another on the mind behind MomoFuku, David Chang. I'll take them one at a time:
The tasting menu thing came in a panel discussion that apparently kicked off some feud/bad blood between culinary all-star Marco Pierre White and molecular gastronomy genius Grant Achatz... White expressed his distaste at the 20-course tasting menu at Achatz's restaurant, Alinea. (Would totally LOVE to go there, but don't have a spare $500 bucks or so handy...) Bourdain finds himself agreeing with White, while bemoaning the pervasiveness of trends in the industry that get done to death, or worse, executed poorly. It's a fascinating look at how what one or two chefs make their names on can get turned into a trend that does more harm than good in the pursuit of excellent food.
But it's the contrast between the Top Chef contestant and David Chang that I thought was fascinating. Top Chef guy didn't have tons of money or fame, but had a good solid life and loved to cook food. That's all. He didn't want to be a super star or a television personality or be the face of some brand. He just loved to cook. Contrast this with Chang, who comes across as a genius- albeit a prickly, mercurial, one- but a genius nonetheless, who's learned and grown from failures and successes alike. It's a fascinating look at how much the role of 'Chef' has changed and how much variety you can have in the career you make for yourself. Either way, it can be hard, brutal, costly work but it's a rapidly changing, ever shifting industry.
Overall: Bourdain remains massively entertaining... his feuds, his pet peeves, his complaints and deep thoughts about the overall state of the industry he loves and the people that inhabit it. A fascinating read it kept me engaged and ready to turn the page again and again... **** out of ****
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