Darn good book. His humor is great and his writing style really flows. The only chapter that felt forced was the one offering advice to the home cook. It seems like it was put in there because they were hoping it might cause those looking for "how-tos" or recipes to buy the book. I wish I had known that there was an updated version of the book out. I might have to pick that up to see what's been changed.

Something to read if you like cooking, restaurants, chefs or any of the foodie stuff. There is actually some useful information for the home cook, but that's not really the point of this book. In many ways it's about him even more than it's about the restaurant. And he's interesting enough to pull it off.

I love Bourdain's voice, but I'm sad to admit I'm having a hard time with the crass factor. ( )

Gritty and brutally honest. Anyone who has worked in the food industry knows how true his stories really are.

Makes one a bit uneasy every time they order food. You never know what might be going on behind those doors. ( )

Tony Dishes The Inside Scoop -- The irrepressible celebrity chef Tony Bourdain serves up a delightful bad boy biographical-stew, not for the squeamish but definitely nonstop fun. Heavy on the spice and streetwise flavor, it's a beat-poetic sampler plate of outrageous anecdotes and ruminations about what really goes on in the commercial kitchen. ( )

Colorful, ribald stories of becoming a chef before celebrity made shows like Iron Chef big hits. Bourdain is self-deprecating, cocky (deliberately), and cool. His clear prose gives the narrative voice, and after reading the whole thing through, makes the lowly reader/eater want to come along for the ride. A quick read. ( )

The glamour of the restaurant business is turned upside down, then up again by Anthony Bourdain. A veteran chef, he shares not only the in's and outs of pushing out fine cuisine to the customer, but the wild life of working in the business. Humorous, and jaw-dropping at times, this read gives one a bit of the New York City culture and the behind the scenes frenzy in the restaurant world. Could offer some new revelations to those seeking careers in culinary arts.

Fun read. Bourdain writes in a very frank and informal style. I liked that the book wasn't quite an autobiography - it talked about his coming up in the cooking world, but he spent very little time on his wife or his personal life. Kitchen Confidential is often quoted for some of the advice Bourdain dispenses (including the infamous "never order fish on Monday"), but this is actually a very small part of the book (compromising a small part of a single chapter). The rest of the book has a chef-turned-author alternating between waxing poetic about the food he loves, and deriding his extremely dysfunctional "family" (the cooks and chefs in his life). The prose about his family is honest and full of both genuine love and hate, and while the talk about food is over the top, it can be forgiven as ramblings from a man in the middle of a lifelong on-again off-again love affair with food. ( )

Bourdain has an incredible writing style - I found his book really hard to put down, reading hundreds of pages in one sitting without even thinking about the time. He's also funny, self-depreciating, and very opinionated, which I love. ( )

I love Anthony Bourdain. He's cynical & intelligent & loves food & cooking & being alive. He's a pleasure seeker of the first order. He's honest & knows when he's been bad, self-destructive, or boorish. He knows how to laugh at himself. He likes The Sex Pistols & Television & The Cramps. He rocks!

This book is well-written and often hilarious. I found myself laughing out loud while reading & then having to say, "Honey, hold up, you gotta hear this." My sweetie, having spent many years on the line in everything from Mexican to Italian to 5-star French kept laughing, then shuddering, then saying things like, "I've had that day." This was followed by shudders & general cringing and the tale of the drunken Belgian pastry check who burnt his puff pastries & threw an industrial-sized tray hot from the oven at the dishwasher's head. The dishwasher escaped decapitation and 3rd degree burns because he knew how to duck.

Bourdain is honest & brutally funny & combines his personal experience in & of kitchens with historical tidbits and other analysis. Anyone who is dreaming of opening a restaurant should his chapter, "A Day in the Life." It'll make whatever desk job you're currently doing look pretty damned good. ( )

I have always been a fan of Anthony Bourdain's patented brand of snark on his various Television adventures. I was very pleased to find that this translates well to the page. I must admit, not being a foodie myself, that some of the language/foods/french references went a bit over my head, but that aside, it was still an excellent read. You can almost picture yourself sitting across from Tony at a bar, as he sips on a cocktail and takes a drag from his cigarette, telling you the tales of his culinary exploits. ( )

I dated a fellow who worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years, and if I hadn’t I would never have been able to accept the truth of the overheated subculture revealed in Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. The lives behind the kitchen doors are like the social hierarchy of another universe. The true nature of the sweaty, profane, oversexed, marginalized, slash and burn staff that puts a meal on someone’s table would be a revelation to most diners. If you have ever bussed a table, poured a drink at a bar, been stiffed on a tip, had a perfectly fine meal sent back, been ripped off by your supplier or dated the hostess, Bourdain will bring back memories. ( )

I am a big fan of Anthony Bourdain's writing, but this is by far my favorite of all of his books. I have read it several times, and I learn something new from it each time. Bourdain's style is crass yet conversational. He is blunt and candid throughout the entire book, as he is on his television show No Reservations. This book doesn't gloss over the unpleasantries of being a chef, if anything, some of the things he says are a turn off. I like this book though because he tells it like it is, and he's not apologizing for it. I hope i can channel a bit of Anthony Bourdain in my future career.

A fun poke into the seedy culinary underbelly, from drugs to gluttony. An interesting insight into the non-glamorous life of a chef, and a great story. if you're interested in why you shouldn't order the shrimp cocktail at your favourite restaurant, this is the book for you. ( )

Engaging, kept my interest, taught me some things I did not know. An autobiographical work by an author who himself admits to a certain amount of youthful conceit; fortunately that did not get in the way of enjoying the stories he tells about his life as a chef. I have trouble reading books by people who are too full of themselves -- as if the rest of us are worthless as human beings because we do not share whatever passion they do -- but this author was quick to share his shortcomings and therefore seemed more accessible to me as a reader. ( )

I remember a couple years ago watching Anthony Bourdain's show, No Reservations, and being repulsed by the guy. I found him cocky, irritating and at times the show seemed to go nowhere. So when I would see him on, I'd turn the channel. I don't know when it happened or how it happened, but I started liking the guy. I started liking his show. Maybe it's like the first time you see a new model of car, and you think it's ugly. Sometime later you find yourself dreaming about buying one. At any rate I decided to read his book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures In The Culinary Underbelly. I'm glad I did. This book chroniclesBourdain's relationship with food from the time he was a kid to becoming chef at Les Halles. It's well written, interesting, funny and as the subtitle states, one gets a look at the "culinary underbelly" from Bourdain's perspective. Bourdain started out in a privileged family but struck out on his own, landed a job as a dishwasher to pay bills, and his culinary career was born. From there you get to see both his humiliations and triumphs as he works his way up. He doesn't seem to pull any punches, he lays it all out, the drugs, the hard times and the fun he had. I think just about anyone would find this a good read, but if you're interested in what it's like working in a professional kitchens, I think you'll like it a lot. ( )

As with many people, I was introduced to Anthony Bourdain via the Food Network. After reading this book, I can no longer watch him on television, because it only makes me long for the Bourdain of his youth, not the master he has become. This is perhaps one of the best books about cooking that I've ever read. And as a vegetarian, it gives me an insight into meat that I would never have otherwise. ( )

You must read this if ever you consider working in the food industry. ( )

This was a fun memoir from a chef in the New York restaurant scene. Great for people who love food and for those who work or have worked in the restaurant industry... ( )

We have both the audio book read by Anthony Bourdain as well as the glue-and-paper version, but we listened to the audio book during some long drives. It was fantastic and captivating. He's witty, snarky, irreverent, opinionated, full of foul language, and just great fun to listen to. The story is mostly autobiographical, although it focuses mainly on his working life and very little on his personal life unless it directly relates to being in the kitchen. He's unabashed in admitting his failures, which become great learning experiences given the long view and where he's ended up, but it's a rough life he's gone through. The listener-reader gets to travel the path with him, alternating between envy for some of the exciting adventures, and pure gladness not to have lived that harsh life at all. It provides a great jumping off point for those interested in the culinary arts about what to expect, and by providing commonsense business and management information in the form of anecdotes educates those who just like to eat out about what is going on where they can't see. By the end of the book, you know why you shouldn't eat Hollandaise sauce, and why you should never order fish on a Monday. ( )

Strong, humorous, conversational voice detailing the practices, secrets, and glories of restaurant life. Strong profanity, drug use, and explicit sexual themes.

A quick read, good narration, funny and bittersweet and generally kickass. It gives me a lot more respect for chefs. ( )

As someone who loves restaurants, from greasy spoons to places that give you more forks than you need, I always wondered how a kitchen worked. How does everything come together at the same time, how does a chef maintain quality, how do you know how much of a certain fish will sell on a Friday, and what kind of people do this work? Kitchen Confidential answers all of those questions, but felt more like a narrative than an expose. Bourdain's no nonsense, truth-at-all-costs persona is the reason this book is at the top tier of food writing. When Bourdain describes his first oyster, you realize why he chose this path in life.

If you like to eat, and eat out, you have to read this book. ( )

A few months ago, I sat down to write what I truly meant when I gave a book three or four or five stars. The standard for five? No criticisms, and a book that will stick with me and influence me for a long time. Kitchen Confidential met that standard for me. There are few things I love more than writing, traveling and food and this book spoke directly to all three of those passions. Anthony Bourdain writes with a unique voice, every word both richly descriptive and precisely chosen for the task at hand. He reveals a hidden world of professional cooking, a culture that felt as rich and unique as the furthest flung jungle tribes. Writing a book of this caliber, with such a strong voice, is a formidable task, but what truly sets this book apart is the passion that imbues every page. I felt that I got an honest look into the heart of a flawed genius, and when I reached the last page, I was truly sorry the journey was over. ( )

Highly entertaining and intensely readable, Kitchen Confidential made me think nostalgically back to old acquaintances from my days employed during summers and holiday breaks from college in the restaurant business (didn't we all have them?). It's fascinating to read more about how this segment of the population lives, especially once they start playing in the big leagues. Bourdain's voice is even stronger in print than it is on the Travel Channel's No Reservations. ( )