In February I finished reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. It had been on my “to read” list for years. So, when I stumbled across a used copy at a local independent bookstore as I restocked reading materials for the hibernation of a Michigan winter, I added it to my pile.
It stuck with me over the last few months, for a variety of reasons. I thought of it as I planned a work trip to New York City, and wondered if we’d manage to stop at any of the hot spots he referenced. I considered referring to it for a reminder of when to not order fish at a restaurant. I’ve had a note on my phone since February, reminding me to look up reruns of his show No Reservations. As the newest season of Parts Unknown was premiering, each commercial would bring the book to mind. And since his death last week, I’ve been thinking about it quite a bit, and the main lessons I took away from my time reading.
Learn from others without casting judgment.
The cast of characters that Bourdain described throughout the pages of Kitchen Confidential are… interesting. On a surface level, it would be easy to dismiss many as rogues and rebels, and move on without further thought. Bourdain even described his own checkered past, struggling with addictions and a less-than-stellar work ethic as a young man, and wrote of how his life could have ended up very differently if others hadn’t looked past all that and given him a chance. And to be fair to the book, Bourdain did cast judgement. He judged everyone – celebrity chefs, especially. But he didn’t let that stop him from learning their stories. Rather than leave his characterizations of restaurant industry miscreants at face value, Bourdain went deeper and tried to tell the back stories and motivations behind these individuals’ behaviors, recognizing that all of us are complicated creatures. It’s this probing for deeper insights into the human condition that, I think, made his writing (and shows) so interesting, and so moving.Know your audience.
The first thing that struck me about Kitchen Confidential was the preface to the 2007 edition, added years after the original book was completed. In this section, Bourdain stated bluntly that he wrote his book first and foremost for people in the industry. He wanted them to recognize the truth in the pages. He strove to write in what he called “Kitchenese” – “the secret language of cooks.” He was fine with others reading it, but they weren’t his target audience and he wasn’t above making the “civilians” (as he called them) uncomfortable.“I just didn’t care. I even liked the idea of goosing the general public a little. I hadn’t really written the book for them anyway. This book was for cooks. Professional cooks.”Anyone who works in communications knows you need to know your audience and keep them in mind when creating content. It’s why many websites have navigation functions dedicated to groups. Alumni, Staff, Parents, and Students are common buttons on a higher education home page for a reason. But often, communications practitioners fall into the trap of trying to be all things to all people. In the digital world, especially, we know that anyone could stumble on your content, and we want to please and help them so that they come back to visit again. Bourdain’s blunt description of his approach to his audience reminded me: it’s okay to write for one specific group, knowing that others may see it. By letting the “others” know that they were not his priority audience, Bourdain let himself off the hook for trying to please them. If they enjoyed his writing, great! But if not, that was okay, because his goal was to write something that professional cooks would enjoy.