After years of rumors of big and small screen adaptations of the NY Times best seller Kitchen Confidential (the witty no-holds-barred autobiography of sardonic scribe and chef Tony Bourdain), tonight is the night. The made-for-tv version premiers tonight on Fox.
I love the book. It’s laugh out loud and I know it’s true. Not for every restaurant kitchen, but for some. It reads like you’re sitting at the bar with Tony and he’s telling tall tales between shots of tequila and drags on his cigarette. Good times.
It’s been widely reported Darren Starr, producer who brought Candice Bushnell’s books to epic and iconic pop culture status with Sex in The City, has worked his magic on the tome and Foxified the story. Bradley Cooper, this fall’s emerging TV hunk, plays Jack Bourdain.
In the Tony Bourdain versus Jack Bourdain smack-down, I wanted the original to win in a k.o. And then I saw the show.
Amidst the standing room only crowd at the Fox premier party last Saturday night at Les Halles downtown, I watched episode one, with my attention occasionally diverted from the screen to Bushnell herself chattering at my table (“I love him and the British guy is so cute!”) to the pearly white smiles and laughter of Cooper and Starr. When the lights went up, and Cooper asked, “What you think of the show?” I had to admit, “It was great.” Then Cooper turned to perhaps the only actual chef in the room and asked, “What’d you think?” and the chef replied, “I loved it.”
I asked, “How’d you learn all the kitchen stuff? Was there a consultant on the show? Like Spanglish á la Thomas Keller?” Contrary to many of the published reports, Cooper replied “No there wasn’t a consultant. But I’ve worked in restaurants before, and have always wanted to be a chef.” And Bourdain? “I’ve never met him. But I loved the book.” (Which explains all the photoshop pictures of them side-by-side in the press).
While there were many people clamoring to meet and greet Cooper that night, Bourdain wasn’t one of them. He was in Peru, perched high atop Machu Picchu.
The next day, I took a second look at the show (convieniently provided by Fox, along with some KC gear). The character’s name is Jack. Think of this as Tony’s waspy cousin who came up through the ranks behind him on a slightly brighter path. It is based on the book. To enjoy the show you have to be one step removed from the original.
So Tivo Monday night as the Bourdain-a-thon of the week. Catch the alter-ego on Fox at 8:30 PM and the real-deal in No Reservations on the Travel Channel at 10PM.
PS: How true to life is it? In one scene a group of very tipsy and flirtatious ladies send a pair of red panties into the kitchen for the chef. I’ve never actually heard of this happening, but am curious to know. To all you chefs out there, Snack survey number one: What’s the craziest thing a customer has ever sent you?
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