Kitchen Confidential (TV series)

Kitchen Confidential is an American television sitcom that debuted on September 19, 2005, on the Fox network, based on Anthony Bourdain's New York Times bestselling book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. Bradley Cooper played the lead character, Jack Bourdain, inspired by Anthony Bourdain.

Kitchen Confidential
GenreSitcom
Created byDavid Hemingson
Based onKitchen Confidential by
Anthony Bourdain
StarringBradley Cooper
Nicholas Brendon
John Francis Daley
Jaime King
Bonnie Somerville
Owain Yeoman
Theme music composerMark Walk
ComposersDaniel Licht
Mark Killian
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes13
Production
Executive producersDavid Hemingson
Jim Rosenthal
Darren Star
Camera setupSingle-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesHemingson Entertainment
Darren Star Productions
New Line Television
20th Century Fox Television
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseSeptember 19 (2005-09-19) –
December 5, 2005 (2005-12-05)

After the show's first three episodes aired on Fox, the show was put on hiatus due to Fox's coverage of the Major League Baseball playoffs. In November 2005, Fox announced the show would not air during sweeps and that only 13 episodes would be produced because it was only averaging 4 million viewers.[1] The show returned on December 5, 2005, with its fourth episode, but only received 3.38 million viewers. Four days later, Fox announced the cancellation of the series.[2]

Cast

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The cast of Kitchen Confidential

Main

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Recurring

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Episodes

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No.TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code
1"Exile on Main Street"Darren StarDavid HemingsonSeptember 19, 2005 (2005-09-19)1AKT79
Jack Bourdain (Bradley Cooper), a talented chef attempting a career comeback, calls on his old colleagues – pastry chef Seth Richman (Nicholas Brendon), poissonnier Teddy Wong (John Cho) and sous chef Steven Daedalus (Owain Yeoman) – when he's given just 48 hours to staff and open an upscale restaurant called Nolita.
2"Aftermath"Darren StarDavid HemingsonSeptember 26, 2005 (2005-09-26)1AKT01
Jack hopes to rekindle an old flame (Lindsay Price), but he's too busy placating Pino (Frank Langella) and clashing with Steven over some shady dealings in the kitchen. Mimi (Bonnie Somerville), the head waitress, tries to start a competition in the dining hall among the waiters and waitresses, "The more you sell the more you earn", believing it will improve the service.
3"Dinner Date with Death"Michael SpillerJoshua Sternin & Jeffrey VentimiliaOctober 3, 2005 (2005-10-03)1AKT02
Jack's former mentor Chef Gerard (John Larroquette), pays a visit to Nolita and asks for Jack to be killed with unhealthy food because he's already suffering from heart disease that will kill him. This leads to a bet among the staff of what type of food will eventually kill him. Rookie chef Jim (John Francis Daley) tries to figure out his position in the kitchen hierarchy, which brings to a collision with the dishwasher Ramon (Frank Alvarez).
4"French Fight"Henry ChanDan SterlingDecember 5, 2005 (2005-12-05)1AKT09
When a rival French chef, Michel Valentine (Michael Vartan), steals a recipe from Jack's menu, Jack declares war and the two restaurants begin to sabotage each other, while Mimi finds herself sleeping with the enemy.
5"You Lose, I Win"Victoria HochbergStacy TraubUnaired1AKT06
Jack hires Becky Sharp (Erinn Hayes), a former culinary school classmate, so he can spend more time outside the kitchen with guests. In the meantime, Teddy and Seth compete to see whose specialty is more popular.
6"Rabbit Test"Dennie GordonJoshua Sternin & Jeffrey VentimiliaUnaired1AKT07
The kitchen routine is disrupted by a shipment of live rabbits and an outrageous bet. Jack woos an attractive vegan, Julia (Lauren Stamile), determined to make a meat-eater out of her.
7"The Robbery"Fred SavageLesley Wake WebsterUnaired1AKT05
Business plummets in the wake of an armed robbery, driving Jack to desperate measures. Seth racks up a small fortune at the track. Jim wants Teddy to teach him how to make Fugu, a Japanese blow fish dish, in return for saving Teddy's life during the robbery.
8"Teddy Takes Off"Michael SpillerDan SterlingUnaired1AKT04
After Nolita is featured in Food & Wine magazine with Jack getting full credit for a seafood dish that Teddy created, this causes a rift between the two, ending with Teddy quitting to work somewhere else. Jack then hires a new poissonnier named Chet (Matt Winston), which leads Steven and Seth to try and oust his replacement and bring back their master seafood chef.
9"Let's Do Brunch"Victor Nelli, Jr.Richard AppelUnaired1AKT08
As her tryst with Jack continues, Becky convinces him to start offering brunch at Nolita – to the staff's utter dismay. Becky's wish to do brunch at Nolita turns out to be for a different reason than what Jack thought from the beginning.
10"Praise Be Praise"Peter LauerRichard AppelUnaired1AKT03
Jack is distraught when his bedroom performance is given a lackluster online review by a woman he slept with (Jordana Spiro). Seth is equally distraught when none of the staff wants to sleep with him.
11"An Affair to Remember"Lev L. SpiroLesley Wake WebsterUnaired1AKT10
While the guys in the kitchen conspire to help Jim lose his virginity, Jack is caught in a sticky situation when he unknowingly sleeps with Pino's mistress, Gia (Morena Baccarin).
12"Power Play"Matt ShakmanStacy TraubUnaired1AKT11
As Nolita's new owner, Mimi quickly sets up a series of new rules that is not welcomed by the kitchen staff and Jack quickly tries to become her partner with the goal of running the restaurant his own way. Jim worries that his attraction to Tanya will hurt Seth's feelings, so he asks Jack for advice.
13"And the Award Goes to..."Lev L. SpiroKarine Rosenthal & Dean LopataUnaired1AKT12
Nolita is nominated for a prestigious award, which puts heavy pressure on both the kitchen and service staff as both are being judged. Jack is distracted by Becky's sudden reappearance, as the new restaurant she's working at is also nominated. She tries to sabotage Jack to win the award. Meanwhile, Jim's relationship with Tanya intensifies to Seth's great dismay.

DVD release

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On May 22, 2007, 20th Century Fox released Kitchen Confidential: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 2-disc set contains all 13 episodes of the series as well as audio commentaries on the series premiere by Darren Star, David Hemingson and Bradley Cooper, on the series finale by Karine Rosenthal, David Hemingson, Bradley Cooper and Dean Lopata and two featurettes – "A Tour of the Nolita Restaurant" and "A Recipe for Comedy".[3]

References

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  1. ^ Brian Ford Sullivan (November 10, 2005). "FOX to Close 'Arrested,' 'Kitchen' After 13 Episodes This Season". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  2. ^ Brian Ford Sullivan (December 9, 2005). "FOX Closes 'Kitchen Confidential,' Doubles Up 'Arrested'". The Futon Critic. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  3. ^ "Kitchen Confidential - The Complete Series". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2010.
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