It’s no secret that I’m addicted to Anthony Bourdain.

I’ve blogged about him three times, writing about his trip to Provence, his Christmas trip to Austria, and his visit to El Bulli before it closed. Each episode of No Reservations is a treasure to be savored and watched over and over again.

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So it’s not surprising that I finished Medium Raw: A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook before I started on the Mount Library TBR stack.

It’s classic Bourdain, but in my opinion, a more humble and slightly gentler Tony than in his previous book, Kitchen Confidential. Bourdain’s writing is clear and beautifully imaged — he’s really showing us a secret side of the food business rather than just telling us. I pretty much couldn’t put Medium Raw down and I encourage you to read the book if you are a Tony fan.

Despite being older and wiser (and it shows in the book) he’s still got a few people that he savages, including Sandra Lee and her Kwanzaa cake episode. I had to see for myself whether he was just being snarky or whether it was really that bad and insensitive. I will leave you to make your own decisions.