We Took a Bushwick Line Cook to See ‘Tony.’ He Had Notes.

Anthony Bourdain has been mythologized plenty of times since his death in 2018. But Tony takes us to the kitchens where the myth began. Starring Dominic Sessa as an aimless 19-year-old Bourdain, the coming-of-age film follows the then-unknown cook through a formative summer in 1970s Provincetown, Massachusetts, loosely drawing from the stories Bourdain shared in his bestseller, Kitchen Confidential.

Bourdain would go on to make the world behind restaurant doors famous with that same book. His stories of long hours, drugs, egos, burns, sex, and camaraderie shaped how many, who had never worked in a kitchen, imagined life inside one. So rather than ask a film critic whether Tony gets that world right, we brought along an equally bright-eyed young upstart.

Giovanni Luciano (who’s been dubbed “New York’s hottest line cook”) joined CULTURED for a screening of Tony and emerged with a verdict: The film was well-done (pun intended). He did, however, have a few notes.

1. Being a Line Cook Does Get You Laid

“I guess being a line cook does get you laid. If you know how to shuck an oyster, it’s pretty impressive. People dig it. I would say from experience, it’s true. But I think it’s impressive when anyone can cook, as well.”

2. Antonio Banderas Makes a Great Chef

“He’s one of those chefs that you kind of want to be, or you want to learn under. Sometimes you can get really bad chefs that yell at you and don’t teach you anything. He really represented sternness, but also direction, in the movie, which was really nice.”

3. There Were No Quart Containers. But There Was Heroin.

“There were no quart containers. However, there was heroin. I mean… they stuck to the book. I guess it was the ’70s, so maybe they didn’t have quart containers then. I would have liked to see them. Just a [few]. Just some representation.”

As for whether the film’s drug use rings true to kitchens today?

“In terms of heroin, not anymore, that I know of! Maybe people don’t tell you. But there still is a lot of coke in kitchens, that’s for sure… Not that I do that.”

4. There Should Have Been More Gay People

“There was a little bit of gay representation for about two seconds, because, you know, they’re in P-town. How else are you going to represent P-town without some gay people kissing? I would have liked to have seen a little bit more. I think it was popping in the ’70s. I wanted to see Tony kiss some gay guy, but it didn’t happen. Spoiler!”

5. Always Grab a Pan With a Rag

“Never pick up a pan without a towel. Make sure it’s not wet, you’ll still get burned. It shows that you’re really green in the kitchen if you don’t have a towel every time you pick up a pan. ‘Green’ is someone that is brand new to a kitchen. I don’t know the origin of the word but I’ve just been called it once in my life. Maybe a couple of times. Not anymore, though.”

So, Did Tony Get Kitchen Life Right?

“It was certainly a coming-of-age story, and it was in a kitchen. People are yelling, people are messed up sometimes, they have anger issues. You’ll get burned. Your head is turning all the time. Cooks swear and call their coworkers slurs and drink on the job, and people will do a bunch of drugs. That’s how it is. It’s just really chaotic. You don’t get paid a lot, and you’re living there basically.”

As for the idea that Bourdain himself would have hated the film?

“In a lot of his books, he really didn’t like selling out, and some people think using his name to get people into theaters might be a sellout. I’m not sure. I did talk about it with the cooks and chefs that I work with, and they’re all a little like, I don’t know, I’m going to go see it, but… There are already so many documentaries and so many videos of him.”

Bonus Take: Dominic Sessa Has an Enormous Adam’s Apple

“I think Dominic Sessa has probably one of the biggest Adam’s apples I’ve ever seen. It was huge.”

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