Anthony Bourdain. The name itself conjures surrealistic images of wild orgies tempered by ounces of Cocaine and Heroin delight. Cerebrums of coked out models, the ivory tower captains of industry and glorious food.
What can I say about the man that he hasn’t already said. I became a big fan of Anthony Bourdain when I found out that despite his prep school upbringing (similar to a fault of my own) he found that he didn’t belong in the hallowed halls of some ivory league dream. Instead he was, perhaps by some unclear default, driven to where all of us who don’t belong elsewhere end up, the hallowed and narrow halls of an inferno that rages not just in the kitchen but also in our souls.
Sure I had read Bourdain before. I had seen him on TV. But now, as I regal you with my tales from the kitchen and I am rereading his irreverent classic “Kitchen Confidential” I can see my own experience coming to life.
It is hard not to like a guy who decides that he is going to be a lifer in the kitchen. Perhaps at times a dreaming dilettante but time has shown that Bourdain is a survivor. A rare bread akin to those that Hunter S. Thompson speaks about when referring to his good fried and lawyer Lazlo. They broke the mould with Tony. A CIA (the other one that is… The Culinary Institute of America) trained, foul mouthed, chain smoking, unabashed drinker who made sense of his own life the same way that I am, with food. And not just any food.
Tony, like any good cook can quote from Larousse, stole from some of the best Chefs in the world and has the same problem with the European Chefs that most North American gourmands do. That is to say that just because we were not (or in my case currently are not) being trained in Europe that we are somehow less valuable or good than they are.
I strongly urge anyone who is truly interested in understanding the kitchen, its nuances and subtle truths, to pick up Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential” and treat it like it is a confessional because that is what it is.
The people he describes, the experiences, the food, are all things that I am currently going through. Rereading with fresh eyes and perspective this book has made me laugh out loud hysterically in a crowded subway car and streetcar. It has made me cringe when I think back to my own injuries, burns and events of getting chewed out by my Chefs. It is an accurate, if not detailed account which is eerily reminiscent for anyone that has aspired to greatness in a kitchen.
I will give you two quotes that I think best represent the kitchen as expressed by Bourdain;
“Are they young, ambitious culinary school grads, putting in their time on the line until they get their shot at the Big Job? Probably not. If the chef is anything like me, the cooks are dysfunctional, mercenary lot, fringe-dwellers motivated by money, the peculiar lifestyle of cooking and a grim pride… Line cooking done well is a beautiful thing to watch. It’s a high speed collaboration resembling at its best, ballet or modern dance… The job requires character – and endurance. A good line cook never shows up late, never calls in sick, and works through pain and injury.”
“The ability to ‘work well with others’ is a must… So who the hell, exactly, are these guys, the boys and girls in the trenches? You might get the impression from the specifics of my less than stellar career that all line cooks are whacked out moral degenerates, dope fiends, refugees, a thuggish assortment of drunks, sneak thieves, sluts and psychopaths. You wouldn’t be too far off base.”
I admire Bourdain. His strength. His conviction. His courage in the face of crippling addiction and his perseverance. Most of all I admire his consistency. His showing up for work. His getting the job done. His putting his truth on every plate that he puts out to the pass with a little bit of English. It is something that I aspire to and know will get to in the next seven years before opening my own building. Maybe sooner. But that’s another post.
One of my favorite quotes from Bourdain is this; “Context and memory play powerful roles in all the truly great meals in one's life.” I hope to be able to play upon and master the art of both for my patrons.
Dream big and inspired.
A la prochaine
SDM
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