Publisher Description

Anthony Bourdain, life-long line cook and bestselling author of KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, sets off to eat his way around the world. But being Anthony Bourdain, this was never going to be a conventional culinary tour. Bourdain heads out to Saigon where he eats the still-beating heart of a live cobra, and travels deep into landmined Khmer Rouge territory to find the rumoured Wild West of Cambodia (Pailin). Other stops include dining with gangsters in Russia, a medieval pig slaughter and feast in northern Portugal, the Basque All Male Gastronomique Society in Saint Sebastian, rural Mexico with his Mexican souschef, a pilgrimage to the French Laundry in the Napa Valley and a return to his roots in the tiny fishing village of La Teste, where he first ate an oyster as a child. Written with the inimitable machismo and humour that has made Tony Bourdain such a sensation, A COOK'S TOUR is an adventure story sure to give you indigestion.

Notes

Paperback edition of Kitchen Confidential author, Bourdain's culinary odussey around the world, which, as one might expect, is far from being a conventional culinary whistle-stop tour of traditional foodie hot spots. From Cambodia and Vietnam to Moscow and rural Mexico, via the French fishing village of his ancestors, Bourdain describes his journey in his trademark quick-fire, colourful style. A great combination of quality travel writing and culinary adventure, that should do really well this autumn. Forget Keith Floyd. Bourdain is the man. The accompanying TV series will be broadcast in Spring, 2003.

Author Biography

Anthony Bourdain is the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in New York City. He is also the author of two novels GONE BAMBOO and BONE IN THE THROAT and one work of non fiction, KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL.

Review

'It works extremely well. In large part because Bourdain is a very funny writer; sharp, honest and with a beguiling mix of belligerence and sensitivity' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'Brilliantly written up in a raw, stylish gonzo prose, with pitch-black humour and a devilish turn of phrase' EVENING STANDARD

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Shortlisted for the 2002 Thomas Cook Travel Book Award

Kirkus UK Review

In this book, the author of Kitchen Confidential sets out to travel the world in search of the great culinary experience. This does not simply mean the memorable meal he eats at the highly rated French Laundry in San Francisco. Bourdain wants to live out his Apocalypse Now and Joseph Conrad fantasies, so he journeys to dangerous and out-of-the-way places and explores the outer limits of eating and drinking. This is not a book for the faint-hearted. In Portugal, Bourdain helps with a pig slaughter, in Vietnam he eats the still-beating heart of a live cobra and in Scotland he samples deep-fried haggis in curry sauce. Extreme experiences aside, this is a multi-faceted work. It is a travelogue, bringing to life the scenery, sights, sounds and smells of, among other places, Vietnam, the Basque Country, Moscow and the Northern Sahara, where Bourdain dines on a whole roasted lamb with Tuaregs. It is a study of food in different cultures, from dinner with the Russian mafia to the diet of Sumo wrestlers in Japan. It is also a polemic about the fastidious attitude of the First World exemplified by well-to do vegans in Berkeley when inhabitants of the Third World have to use every part of an animal to survive. Bourdain is fearless in his attitudes - he smokes, drinks, swears, takes drugs and talks frankly about sex. Yet behind the macho blustering there are some vulnerable moments, such as the nostalgic trip to France he takes with his brother to recapture childhood experiences which makes him realize he is actually looking for his late father. This is a full-blooded, visceral book with a strong narrative drive, which throws the reader headlong into Bourdains culinary experiences, tolerable and intolerable. On this evidence he is the Hunter S Thompson of cookery writers. (Kirkus UK)

Prizes

Winner of Guild of Food Writers Awards: Food Book of the Year 2002
Short-listed for Guild of Food Writers Book of the Year Award (Food Book) 2002
Short-listed for Thomas Cook Travel Book Award 2002

Long Description

Inspired by Apocalypse Now , Bourdain heads out to Saigon where he eats the still-beating heart of a live cobra (washed down with its blood), and then into Cambodia, the Heart of Darkness, where he travels deep into landmined Khmer Rouge territory to find the rumoured Wild West of Cambodia (Pailin). Other stops include dining with gangsters in Russia, a medieval pig slaughter and feast in Portugal, the Basque All Male Gastronomique Society in St Sebastian, paladars in Cuba, rural Mexico with his Mexican sous-chef, a pilgrimage to the French Laundry in the Napa Valley and a return to his roots in the tiny fishing village of La Teste, where he ate his first oyster as a child. This is an adventure story sure to give you indigestion.

Review Quote

'It works extremely well. In large part because Bourdain is a very funny writer; sharp, honest and with a beguiling mix of belligerence and sensitivity'

Promotional "Headline"

Anthony Bourdain, lifelong line cook and bestselling author of Kitchen Confidential sets off to eat his way around the world. But being Anthony Bourdain, this was never going to be a conventional culinary tour...

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