The Folio Society Announces Kitchen Confidential Edition Featuring a New Paul Pope Portrait

The Folio Society has announced a new edition of Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, featuring photographs by Jake Chessum, a new preface by Joel Rose and an original portrait of Bourdain by comics artist Paul Pope. The edition’s announced release date is October 13, 2026, exclusively through the publisher’s website.

Bourdain’s memoir follows his life in professional kitchens, from an early dishwashing job on Cape Cod to New York’s fine-dining restaurants. First published more than 25 years ago, the book combines personal recollections with an account of the pressures, personalities and working culture behind restaurant service.

The new edition includes 12 rare photographs by Chessum, taken during a two-day New York shoot in 2008. Kishan Rajani designed the cover, slipcase and endpapers, incorporating Chessum’s photography on the cover and an adapted food list in Bourdain’s handwriting on the slipcase.

The book has gilded edges and blocked cloth binding, with a generous cookbook-style format that accommodates the photographs, most of which appear as double-page spreads.

Pope’s portrait was commissioned specifically for this edition. In the announcement, the artist describes drawing on Bourdain’s younger years, the Lower East Side of New York and the music he loved to create an expressionist, punk-influenced image.

The new preface is by Joel Rose, Bourdain’s longtime friend and Hungry Ghosts co-writer. Rose encourages readers to return to the memoir’s intimate voice, written before Bourdain became widely known through his television work.

The Folio Society lists the edition at £85 / US $130, available exclusively from foliosociety.com.