{"id":79,"date":"2010-02-21T10:51:11","date_gmt":"2010-02-21T17:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79"},"modified":"2026-03-02T02:51:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:51:21","slug":"kitchen-confidential-circa-1933","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79","title":{"rendered":"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"_bourdain1.gif\"\"_orwell.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Orwell’s squalorous masterpiece “Down and Out in Paris and London”\u00a0 was a precursor to Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential”. \u00a0 Both deal in the frisson that comes from learning the dirty origins of\u00a0 high-class restaurant food.\u00a0 Orwell has been revered as THE objective dry-eyed chronicler of modern life by writers like Andrew Sullivan, so it surprised me to read melodramatic passages such as this:<\/p>\n

“The cook had a crise de nerfs<\/em> at six and another at nine; they came on so regularly that one could have told the time by them.\u00a0 She would flop down on the dustbin, begin weeping hysterically, and cry out that never, no never had she thought to come to such a life as this; her nerves would not stand it; she had studied music at Vienna; she had a bedridden husban to support, etc. etc.”<\/h4>\n

It reads like a storyboard for a cartoon, I can picture a little cloud of dust rising up when the cook flops down on the dustbin. \u00a0 Reminds me a little of Catcher in the Rye where Holden Caulfield talks about shaking hands with a guy who “tries to break all forty of your fingers”.\u00a0 No one much talks about Orwell the entertainer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Orwell’s squalorous masterpiece “Down and Out in Paris and London”\u00a0 was a precursor to Anthony Bourdain’s “Kitchen Confidential”. \u00a0 Both deal in the frisson that comes from learning the dirty origins of\u00a0 high-class restaurant food.\u00a0 Orwell has been revered as …<\/p>\n

Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,74,73,30,69],"tags":[70,72,71,134,139],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-30s","category-cartoons","category-food","category-memoirs","category-orwell","tag-bourdain","tag-cartoonsm","tag-kitchen-confidential","tag-memoirs","tag-orwell"],"yoast_head":"\nKitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Orwell's squalorous masterpiece "Down and Out in Paris and London"\u00a0 was a precursor to Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential". \u00a0 Both deal in the\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-02-21T17:51:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-02T06:51:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Orwell's squalorous masterpiece "Down and Out in Paris and London"\u00a0 was a precursor to Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential". \u00a0 Both deal in the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Roy Zornow\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Roy Zornow\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\"},\"headline\":\"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-21T17:51:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-02T06:51:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79\"},\"wordCount\":205,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/_bourdain1.gif\",\"keywords\":[\"Bourdain\",\"cartoonsm\",\"Kitchen Confidential\",\"memoirs\",\"Orwell\"],\"articleSection\":[\"30's\",\"cartoons\",\"food\",\"memoirs\",\"Orwell\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79\",\"name\":\"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/_bourdain1.gif\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-02-21T17:51:11+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-02T06:51:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/_bourdain1.gif\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/02\\\/_bourdain1.gif\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?p=79#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"eKrap - Roy Zornow\",\"description\":\"Krapping out diamonds since 2007\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e\",\"name\":\"Roy Zornow\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\",\"width\":629,\"height\":556,\"caption\":\"Roy Zornow\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/royzsmiledec10.jpg\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/www.usergoals.com\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/royzornow\\\/\",\"admin\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ekrap.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow","og_description":"Orwell's squalorous masterpiece \"Down and Out in Paris and London\"\u00a0 was a precursor to Anthony Bourdain's \"Kitchen Confidential\". \u00a0 Both deal in the","og_url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79","og_site_name":"eKrap - Roy Zornow","article_published_time":"2010-02-21T17:51:11+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-03-02T06:51:21+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Roy Zornow","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow","twitter_description":"Orwell's squalorous masterpiece \"Down and Out in Paris and London\"\u00a0 was a precursor to Anthony Bourdain's \"Kitchen Confidential\". \u00a0 Both deal in the","twitter_image":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Roy Zornow","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79"},"author":{"name":"Roy Zornow","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e"},"headline":"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933","datePublished":"2010-02-21T17:51:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-02T06:51:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79"},"wordCount":205,"commentCount":1,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif","keywords":["Bourdain","cartoonsm","Kitchen Confidential","memoirs","Orwell"],"articleSection":["30's","cartoons","food","memoirs","Orwell"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79","url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79","name":"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933 - eKrap - Roy Zornow","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif","datePublished":"2010-02-21T17:51:11+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-02T06:51:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif","contentUrl":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/02\/_bourdain1.gif"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?p=79#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Kitchen Confidential, circa 1933"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/","name":"eKrap - Roy Zornow","description":"Krapping out diamonds since 2007","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/#\/schema\/person\/c026b4f19b8d2a3a4a9e37269af97c4e","name":"Roy Zornow","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg","url":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg","width":629,"height":556,"caption":"Roy Zornow"},"logo":{"@id":"http:\/\/ekrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/royzsmiledec10.jpg"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/www.usergoals.com","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/royzornow\/","admin"],"url":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":754,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions\/754"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=79"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ekrap.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}