Kitchen Confidential

TELEVISION While many shows are now on a break for the summer, Kitchen Confidential is an appetizing treat to fill your TV hunger pangs. Based on the best-selling memoir by chef Anthony Bourdain, the sitcom centers on the recovering carouser Jack Bourdain delectably played by a bright blue-eyed Bradley Cooper. His character is renamed Jack, most likely because his antics are more frantic than the witty sarcasm of the author – and his looks are more savory, too. Attempting to leave his partying lifestyle behind, Jack is given a second chance to succeed as a head chef at Nolita, a New York restaurant owned by the palatable voice-of-reason, Frank Langella. The vibrant supporting cast, as the kitchen crew and wait staff, easily create a mélange of obstacles for Jack in a fast-paced service space, plus add enough laughs to decorate the scenery like the delicious pastries at dessert time. Jack’s proficiency as a chef is almost in direct correlation to the amount of sex he has, meaning it’s flavorsome and abundant. One of my favorite highlights on the disc’s menu is episode four, titled “French Fight,” featuring Cooper’s former Alias co-star Michael Vartan, serving up a comical performance as a rival French chef who battles Jack in a game of one-upmanship after stealing an original recipe and offering it at his café. Only four of the 13 ordered-episodes aired before Fox 86d it. Since each episode runs approximately 22 minutes, watching the full-season on DVD is like ordering tapas – a variety of small bites to tickle the taste buds.