‘Medium Raw’ Not Exactly Well Done
A review of Anthony Bourdain’s new book ‘Medium Raw’
I dare anyone to read one of his books and not be inspired to cook something. It’s simply not possible.
No one sets out for a career in the kitchens unless they’re masochists, seriously in love with food, or simply naive. My own path started with my first job in a Jewish-Chinese restaurant called, believe it or not, Reuben and Wong’s. Along the way I’ve managed a London cafe that was located in an actual crypt, to learning German from a menu in a restaurant in Vienna to where I find myself now, a blissful little gem called simply ‘The Co-op.’ It’s definitely had its moments of strangeness.
I have always loved Anthony Bourdain. Anyone who either loves to cook, loves watching food shows, or has slaved away in a commercial kitchen has somewhere along the way come across Anthony Bourdain. Close to ten years ago he came out with a book called ‘Kitchen Confidential’ where he blew the lid off of life in New York kitchens and he hasn’t looked back since. Either you love him or you hate him but he always has this refreshing voice, a tell it like it is way about him. His first language isn’t English but ‘Kitchenlish’ a cross between English, a dozen ethnic languages and a ton of profanity, all of which is exactly what you’d find in any urban kitchen. And now after so many years on the road, a half dozen books about food, having left kitchen duties behind, become a father, and, in general, having done quite well for someone who started out as a junkie dishwasher, he’s come out with another bio entitled ‘Medium Raw,’ a Part 2 to Kitchen Confidential in which this bad boy of cuisine has grown up (a little).
Michael Steh, a Toronto chef, recently asked him:
Q: What’s the meaning behind the title of your book, Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook?
A: It’s a non-sequitur. You can’t be both. [Medium raw] doesn’t exist. It’s a book about mixed emotions. It’s a book about arguing with myself. It’s a book coming to terms with the fact that I’m not a line cook anymore. People keep reading Kitchen Confidential and I’m not writing about the world anymore from the point-of-view of a guy standing in a kitchen. I thought it was a good and catchy title but descriptive in its own way. Read more from this interview here:
Medium Raw is exactly that, a book with mixed emotions about a guy who notices the contradictions his life has been filled with, marvels at it, rails against many things still and, in the end, still celebrates life and food. He reminisces, examines, tells some of his hilarious anecdotes and, of course, creates a few waves.
“…like me, they were summoned by a trusted friend to this late-night meeting at this celebrated New York restaurant for ambiguous reasons under conditions of utmost secrecy. They have been told, as I was, not to tell anyone of this gathering. It goes without saying that none of us will blab about this later.
Well … I guess that’s not exactly true.” I won’t tell you why all these famous chefs were summoned for.
It takes us a while to get around the older Bourdain. We’re so used to the chain smoking, cognac drinking, uncensored chef from Kitchen Confidential that this guy, who writes about working for the Food Network, his (new-found) daughter, giving up smoking, etc., seems a little like a stranger. But I’m certain five minutes of conversation with him would still be worth five hundred with someone else.
If you want something light to read, you got it. If you want something a little scandalous, you got it. And most of all, if you want something to inspire you to do something new with food … you got it. His thoughts on local food vs. making a living are interesting. He just doesn’t shy away from anything but I will say this, anyone who wants the young Bourdain isn’t going to get it. On the other hand anyone who has a love of food and travel, or has worked in the catering industry should read one Bourdain book. You owe it to yourselves, even if it’s to let you know you’re not alone in that lousy kitchen life.
Some people could say his words are now stale, the bad boy gone and Bourdain probably wouldn’t even care very much. It’s not like he’s completely transformed, he evens states:
“I wasn’t the sort of person to look back in puzzlement and regret, wondering where I might have gone wrong. I never blamed bad choices …”
I dare anyone to read one of his books and not be inspired to cook something. It’s not possible.
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Anthony Bourdain’s new book Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook is now available at Otter’s Books.
Anthony Bourdain Interview on You Tube
Read more of the Michael Steh interview in the National Post.
Jul 21st
I read Kitchen Confidential and loved it and I’m excited to read about this book.
Bourdain has such a visceral way of writing that I new, from reading Kitchen Confidential, that I would never make it in a hardworking kitchen.
It’s been awhile since I read Kitchen Confidential but I seem to recall some great advice for what to order at what time of the week and what every cook should have in their kitchen. Does he have advice like that this time around?
Jul 24th
I’m a huge fan of both Anthony Bourdain and Ruben and Wongs. We’ve changed our MO in the kitchen to always implement the “mise en place”. It’s revolutionized cooking for me forever. I have tackled fois gras with success with the help of A.B. and Ruben and Wongs was a fav spot for late dinners while attending the University of Waterloo. Perhaps I’ve sampled some of your cuisine.