I should say right from the start of this review that I can’t be considered an Anthony Bourdain fan. I haven’t read his books and only saw a few episodes of his show.

I did, however, read that first New Yorker essay that put him on the map, followed by the book that made him famous, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. He seemed like an interesting guy, especially when passages such as this one from his book A Cook’s Tour began to make the rounds on social media:

Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. Witness what Henry did in Cambodia — the fruits of his genius for statesmanship — and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milošević.