"kag" > wrote in message >...
> jmcquown > wrote in message
> .. .
> > I find his writing to be trifling and overstated. Having worked in
> > restaurants over the years, granted, not 4 star establishments, I think
> his
> > assessment of all the chefs being coked up or heroin addicted is a bit
> over
> > the top. Maybe he was, but I wouldn't say that would be true of everyone.
> >
> > Some of the best chefs I've worked with were dedicated family people. And
> > the kitchen workers weren't out boinking the bride behind the kitchen at
> her
> > reception.
> >
> > "A Cooks Tour" was a much better book and seemed to be more grounded in
> > reality. With "Kitchen Confidential", Bourdain tends to want to shock,
> > rather than tell the truth, or perhaps tell a "truth" that existed in his
> > mind. I suppose this is why he's now an author.
> >
> > Jill
>
> ya that stuff in the book bugged me, it was like "are ALL restaurant workers
> depraved low-lifes?" i was thinking of getting a pt job in a restaurant but
> after reading this i am thinking i am WAY too much of a feminist or
> chickenshit to put up with all that insanity and harassment. thanks for
> saying there ARE decent folk out there because all i read is that KC
> description of the industry is spot-on correct.
>
> k.

He made it pretty clear that it wasn't a case of, "Every kitchen is
like this," but "every kitchen I've ever worked in and many I haven't
is like this." Considering the picture he paints of himself, I'm sure
he and prospective employers were in agreement about his not being fit
to work in a restaurant that wasn't like the ones he wrote about.

Also, He is very east coast. I'm sure that skews the perspective.

I still wouldn't take the job on a dare.

Greg Zywicki