Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook Review

I make no pretense at being a foodie. I love Bourdain because I respect anyone who takes responsibility for their own choices and doesn't try to shift the blame. That old saw about when you point a finger at someone else, you point three back at yourself, holds true here. Bourdain makes no excuses for who he is or where he ended up, and he's not going to make excuses for anyone else, either. When he says "Luck is not a business plan" he's telling the truth. This is a scattershot but great work on the state of food, foodies and Food (capital letter) today. A few hours with one of his books is like talking to an old friend about what he's been doing since you last caught up. Bourdain worries about tempting me with his 'food porn' descriptions of things I'll never eat, but they're things I'd never want to try! Medium Raw offers a great look into a culture I don't live in, with a funny, raw edge and the clear view of a man who refuses to lie to anyone, especially himself. Is it always fair? Probably not. Is it always entertaining? Absolutely. Even when my toes were curling in horror (see that first chapter!) I was entertained.

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook Feature

• ISBN13: 9780061718946
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook Overview

The long-awaited follow-up to the megabestseller Kitchen Confidential

In the ten years since his classic Kitchen Confidential first alerted us to the idiosyncrasies and lurking perils of eating out, from Monday fish to the breadbasket conspiracy, much has changed for the subculture of chefs and cooks, for the restaurant business—and for Anthony Bourdain.

Medium Raw explores these changes, moving back and forth from the author's bad old days to the present. Tracking his own strange and unexpected voyage from journeyman cook to globe-traveling professional eater and drinker, and even to fatherhood, Bourdain takes no prisoners as he dissects what he's seen, pausing along the way for a series of confessions, rants, investigations, and interrogations of some of the most controversial figures in food.

Beginning with a secret and highly illegal after-hours gathering of powerful chefs that he compares to a mafia summit, Bourdain pulls back the curtain—but never pulls his punches—on the modern gastronomical revolution, as only he can. Cutting right to the bone, Bourdain sets his sights on some of the biggest names in the foodie world, including David Chang, the young superstar chef who has radicalized the fine-dining landscape; the revered Alice Waters, whom he treats with unapologetic frankness; the Top Chef winners and losers; and many more.

And always he returns to the question "Why cook?" Or the more difficult "Why cook well?" Medium Raw is the deliciously funny and shockingly delectable journey to those answers, sure to delight philistines and gourmands alike.

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