Search - Kitchen Confidential - The Complete Series on DVD

Mandy S. (mandys08) from MARIETTA, GA
Reviewed on 4/5/2012...

This is a fantastic show. Very funny, I think it would have lasted a bit longer if it had come out about 5 years later with all the competition reality cooking shows that are on. Bradley Cooper is hilarious in this role and the supporting cast is great.

Good humor about the behind the scenes of expensive places, shows some of the struggles of being a chef.

Sexy And Fun, "Kitchen Confidential" Was Cooked Way Too Soon

K. Harris | Las Vegas, NV | 04/06/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's just so difficult for me to find a television comedy that really stimulates my interest, my intellect and my funny bone. Face it, we live in a world where "Arrested Development" can't find an audience but "King of Queens" stays on for nearly a decade. But such is life. It just seems that, more often than not, when a new comedy hits the air--if it doesn't perform immediately, it's gone. I credit FOX for sticking with "Arrested" as long as it did and NBC for nurturing "The Office" into a hit--but those are rare examples! I mention "Arrested Development" specifically for a reason. While FOX was trying to save that show, it introduced another high profile (and highly advertised) comedy based on the escapades of celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain called "Kitchen Confidential." However, when ratings expectations were not met in its initial airings--"Kitchen" was dumped with only 13 episodes made (many to never see the light of day, until now).

It's really a shame, too. While I won't contend that "Kitchen Confidential" was brilliant, it was a show I felt had real potential to evolve into greatness. Breezy and sexy, particularly for network TV, "Kitchen" succeeded as a bawdy workplace romp. Turning Anthony Bourdain into a fictional character named Jack Bourdain, the show gave us a glimpse into a world where chefs have become rock stars. With rivalries, groupies, and big egos--this comedy explored territory that seemed fresh. Relying on real humor and not encumbered with a laugh track, "Kitchen" wasn't perfect--but it was different. Maybe that was its curse, its ultimate downfall.

Heading up everything as Jack was Bradley Cooper. So unnecessary in "Alias," Cooper proved himself a real star here! Charismatic and commanding, he played Jack as a likable dog. Surrounded by an able supporting cast including Nicholas Brendon ("Buffy"), John Francis Daley ("Freaks & Geeks"--dead before its time), Bonnie Somerville ("Grosse Point"--also killed too soon), Jamie King, and Frank Langella--this was an appealing lineup. The characters became more defined as the show progressed, but everyone contributed to the spirit of the proceedings--it was well balanced and witty. But we'll never know what was to become of them. In a bit of irony, one of the episodes was nominated by the Writer's Guild for Best Writing In An Episodic Comedy. So check it out for something a bit different. It's a show I think might have found an audience in a different time and/or a different place. You could do a lot worse--just flip on your TV now. KGHarris, 04/07."

Stop them before they kill again! Fox once again cancels a g

Traveler | New England | 08/02/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Kitchen Confidential" had the misfortune of being aired in the fall of 2005 just before the end of the baseball season. The pennant and series came along and interrupted whatever audience it had built and it never had a chance to build a committed audience.

This is getting to be routine for the Fox network. Take a great program, market it badly, give it a lousy time slot (why start a new show right before you know you're going to show the World Series?!), show episodes out of order, and then cancel it after just a few shows are aired. One would think that there should be some heads rolling at Fox. (I doubt it.) I digress - it's just infuriating to discover another great program only to discover that some morons canceled it while utter crap remains on the air.

"Kitchen Confidential" shares some of the same basic traits (beyond being canceled) with "Wonderfalls." It's tightly edited, funny, cutting edge, and pushes the envelope for network television. A few tweaks on language and nudity and it could easily be a quality show you'd find on Showtime or HBO. With that in mind, KC is a comedy for adults. If you like the humor on "Boston Legal" you'll probably enjoy this show.

"

Another extraordinary show cancelled by Fox's quick trigger

K. Hinton | Atlanta, GA | 06/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In Kitchen Confidential, Bradley Cooper stars as Jack Bourdain, a NYC chef who is working at picking up the pieces of his lackluster career after years of drinking and drugging. In the first episode, Jack is working as a chef at a Chuck E. Cheese-esque kid's Italian restaurant and living with his girlfriend--also the restaurant's manager. When he's offered the position of head chef at hip bistro Nolita, Jack sees his chance to rebuild his name as a great chef, and get out of the rut he's in.

He assembles his kitchen staff from his old coworkers including: Steven, a British thug who's been known to cause plenty of mischief and will serve as Jack's sous-chef; Seth, a pastry chef with a crush on the hostess and a penchant for wearing bandannas as neckties; Teddy, an Asian seafood genius who has a volatile relationship with Jack; and Jim, the nerdy newbie who Jack inherits from the old chef. Together, the team creates an inspiring menu and helps put Nolita on the map as one of the new hip NYC restaurants.

Kitchen Confidential takes all of the best parts of Anthony Bourdain's memoir and twists it just enough to make it entertaining fiction rather than verbatim retelling. Bradley Cooper plays the part of Jack Bourdain with just enough wit and candor to remind viewers of Anthony, but with enough of his individual style to make the role his own. The supporting cast are nothing if not hilarious, and the stories of life inside a kitchen will provide fans of shows like Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen with a little fictional fuel for the culinary interest fire. As always, Fox cancelled the show after only 4 episodes aired, but hopefully with the success of the DVD sales (a la Family Guy) viewers might be in store for more Kitchen Confidential in the future."