The Voice of Bourdain

I was only about seven years behind in reading Anthony Bourdain's bestselling Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. So I didn't want to have the same lag when I saw his newest book, The Nasty Bits: Collected Varietal Cuts, Usable Trim, Scraps, and Bones. If you're a Bourdain fan, you'll love this book. The swagger, the venom, the sarcasm, it's all here. And what is undeniable about this book is the voice. Reading the book is just like listening to the man.

But how are we, as readers, affected by actually listening to the man, as television viewers?

Years after watching Pulp Fiction, I read the screenplay. And it was utterly impossible to read any lines for Jules without hearing Samuel L. Jackson's voice. I could imagine other actors reading the lines for the rest of the cast. But I couldn't get Jackson's voice out of my head.

So while I was applauding Bourdain's writing voice, am I overly influenced by his actual voice that I hear on television? It's an interesting question. But in the end, I suppose it's all academic because it doesn't diminish the pleasure of the book. Thoughts on how celebrity kills chefs, molecular gastronomy, why Woody Harrelson should not be a food role model, organized crime, and many other fascinating topics make this book a must-read for Bourdain fans.