A New York City chef who is also a novelist recounts his experiences in the restaurant business, and exposes abuses of power, sexual promiscuity, drug use, and other secrets of life behind kitchen doors. - (Baker & Taylor)

When Chef Anthony Bourdain wrote "Don't Eat Before You Read This" in The New Yorker, he spared no one's appetite, revealing what goes on behind the kitchen door. In Kitchen Confidential, he expanded the appetizer into a deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet that lays out his twenty-five years of sex, drugs, and haute cuisine.

From his first oyster in Gironda to the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, from the restaurants of Tokyo to the drug dealers of the East Village, from the mobsters to the rats, Bourdain's brilliantly written and wonderfully read, wild-but-true tales make the belly ache with laughter. - (Findaway World Llc)

When Chef Anthony Bourdain wrote "Don't Eat Before You Read This" in The New Yorker, he spared no one's appetite, revealing what goes on behind the kitchen door. In Kitchen Confidential, he expanded the appetizer into a deliciously funny, delectably shocking banquet that lays out his twenty-five years of sex, drugs, and haute cuisine.From his first oyster in Gironda to the kitchen of the Rainbow Room atop Rockefeller Center, from the restaurants of Tokyo to the drug dealers of the East Village, from the mobsters to the rats, Bourdain's brilliantly written and wonderfully read, wild-but-true tales make the belly ache with laughter. - (Random House Digital)

AudioFile Reviews

If you've ever wondered how that boeuf en croute got to your restaurant table, this tape tells all. At warp speed, reflecting his high-energy personality, Bourdain covers chef's training, personalities, food prep, cooks' lifestyles (boozy and erratic), his own history (druggy), and the art of running a successful restaurant. He doesn't stint on the gritty details or the four-letter words, so be prepared. His French pronunciation is surprisingly poor for someone who has lived in France, but his Spanish (highly recommended for communicating with the kitchen help) sounds ok. Presently the executive chef at Brassierie Les Halles in New York City, Bourdain delivers his description of one busy dinner hour at the frenetic pace required for survival there. Give this one a taste; you'll be amused, educated, maybe a little horrified, but never bored. J.B.G. ¬ AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

BookPage Reviews

Something's cooking in the kitchen

Anthony Bourdain is a chef who can really dish. He can also write with style and read his words with an actor's skill. His book, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly is a walk on the wild side of haute cuisine that could only be led by a veteran insider. It's also a fearlessly honest memoir and an unusual look at the making of a chef. Behind the swinging kitchen doors of even the most elegant, expensive restaurants is a world of sex, drugs, alcohol, petty principalities and hellish hard work. Bourdain has lived it all firsthand, and he bears witness with wit and accumulated wisdom. You don't have to be a foodie, full-blown or fringe, to find Bourdain's revelations riveting. And though you may never think about restaurant food in quite the same way, don't miss this audio. Copyright 2001 BookPage Reviews