In Medium Raw, Anthony Bourdain offers a blistering indictment of the modern culinary world and its practitioners. He blasts celebrity chefs for their lack of integrity and originality. And he’s equally harsh on corporate restaurateurs who sacrifice quality in order to serve prefabricated food that tastes the same in Milwaukee as it does in Minneapolis. Bourdain also turns his attention to home cooks, taking them to task for their lousy techniques, inferior ingredients, and outdated recipes. In his opinion, these clueless amateurs are responsible for perpetuating bad cooking habits that have been passed down through generations. Fortunately for readers (and eaters), Bourdain provides plenty of delicious alternatives. For instance: forget about dry-aged steaks; try grass-fed beef instead . . . discard canned cranberry sauce; experiment with homemade chutneys and jams instead . . . trade your oven mitts for a cast iron pan–and get ready to cook some real food!
For who is this book for ?
This book is for anyone who loves food, cooking, or just hates being told what to do. Bourdain offers up a no-nonsense guide to good eating that will appeal to both experienced chefs and kitchen newbies. With insights on everything from the best cuts of meat to the proper way to season a pan, Medium Raw is an essential addition to any cook’s library.
Pros :
- The author is brutally honest in his assessments of modern cooking and restaurateurs.
- He offers realistic alternatives for improving your cooking skills and cuisine.
- This book will make you hungry!
Cons :
- The author is often critical and negative of others in the culinary world without providing much constructive criticism himself.
- He can be extremely opinionated about food and cooking, which may not resonate with all readers.
- The book lacks direction or a clear focus; it feels like a series of essays on various topics rather than a cohesive argument or exploration
Learn more about the author
Anthony Bourdain is the author of Kitchen Confidential, Medium Raw, and A Cook’s Tour. He is a frequent commentator on food and travel for CNN, HBO, The New York Times Magazine, Bon Appetit magazine, among others. In Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook (2010), Anthony Bourdain blasts celebrity chefs for their lack of integrity and originality; corporate restaurateurs sacrificing quality in order to serve prefabricated food that tastes same in Milwaukee as it does Minneapolis; turns his attention towards home cooks taking them to task for lousy techniques ingredients outdated recipes perpetuating bad cooking habits passed down generations provides delicious alternatives eg grass-fed beef instead dry-aged steaks canned cranberry sauce experiment with homemade chutneys jams cast iron pan get ready cook real food!
Reader Reviews
“I love to cook, and I love to eat. But I don’t like bad food. Unfortunately, as Anthony Bourdain points out in Medium Raw, much of the food available today is unappetizingly mediocre at best – and dangerously unhealthy at worst.”
“This book will make you a better cook or, at the very least, give you a few new ideas about how to prepare old favorites.”
“This is a witty, informative and scathing indictment of the modern food world. If you’re at all interested in cooking or eating, read it.”
“If you’re at all interested in food, cooking, or the television show “
