Rating: 
Summary: Restaurant rats will be the only ones to get IT!
Review: I was in the restaurant biz, as a waitress/bartender for several years. I also married a sous chef and lived with a line cook and was and still am friends with several folks in the biz. I soo relate to this book. I found myself laughing out loud to myself numerous times. It really made me miss my years in the business..as hard as they were. Everyone should have to put time in working at a restaurant. People think restaurnat workers are the scum of the earth. But as the author conveys, they are some of the hardest working, fun people I have ever known. The business is full of hard drinkers, druggies, etc., but they are some of the hardest working honest folk you could know. If you have never put in time working in a restaurant..don't bother reading this book...you just won't get it! KUDOS, CHEF!
Rating: 
Summary: repetitious, uninteresting, arrogant, unpleasant
Review: This book had gotten good press and I am interested in the subject, but I had seen the author on television and didn't like him much, so I waited for the paperback. I'm really glad I didn't buy the hardcover. What a disappointment! And for those reviewers who say anyone who doesn't like the book is ignorant of the restaurant business -- No, thank you very much for telling me what I know and think (and what would I like for breakfast today, hmm?) -- perhaps we JUST DON'T LIKE THE BOOK!The stories and language are self-consciously profane, and the writing is generally without merit. The author is by turns arrogant and whining. The author despises his customers, calling them (at best) rubes, while all of his employers are imbeciles and all of his employees and co-workers are criminals, drug addicts and degenerates. Mr. Bourdain is a talented writer. He can make characters come to life. But he is a remarkably unsympathetic narrator, and a disorganized thinker: the chapters jump from topic to topic sometimes without any reasoning at all; in the beginning the author tells us that no one should enter the restaurant business, but then he gives a lot of advice on how to enter the restaurant business; he says that everyone in the restaurant business is a loser of one kind or another, but then has a chapter about a couple of exceptionally good chefs. There is an interesting chapter at the end about a trip the author took to Japan, and a few good pages about tools and ingredients a serious amateur chef might want, but these should have been articles, not a book. There is little organization and no cohesion, and the book could have used a good editor. *That* is why I do not like this book. I wanted to like the book. I just didn't. After I read a good book, I keep it; after I read a mediocre book, I give it away. This book is going in the trash.
Rating: 
Summary: Not your typical kitchen manual.
Review: Here's a question you've probably never asked yourself: What would you get if you combined a hilarious autobiography of an amazingly self-destructive (or so it seems) New York chef, a tell-all confession of the seamier side of the restaurant biz, and the best short cooking instruction manual ever written? You'd get Kitchen Confidential, of course, an absolutely riveting read as well as an absolute must for anyone who likes to cook or eat in restaurants. Bourdain has written a book that is scattered, disorganized, jumps back and forth between biography and detached commentary One moment Bourdain is telling you about some terrible prank he and his sous-chef played on a waiter, and the next he's telling you how to make excellent stock reductions. Huge sections seem to be missing from the narrative, too; Bourdain sort of teases you with a lot of unanswered questions. And yet, he still manages to be informative, compelling and downright entertaining. It's that kind of book. Two sections of the book have gotten the most press: One, which first appeared as a short piece in the New York Times, is a sort of insider's tell-all of the secrets of restaurants, like why you should never order fish on Monday, or eggs benedict anytime. The other is a short chapter on how to cook like a professional chef. Both alone are worth the price of the book, and the section on how to outfit a kitchen will save the aspiring home chef hundreds, or thousands of dollars, while embarassing the over-the-top kicthen junkies with their $900 knife sets and racks of solid copper pans. If you're the sort of person for whom food is more than fuel- the sort who would consider skipping a rent payment to buy truffles, if the occasion arose- you not only want this book- you need this book.
Rating:
Summary: Been There Done That
Review: I have been in the business for 40 years plus as a dishwasher, chef, owner and all steps inbetween. Bourdian has it nailed to the wall, his style aint bad either! Great read even if a bit scary for the uninitiated. heheheheh
Rating: 
Summary: STAY OUT OF MY KITCHEN - PLEASE!
Review: So, you thought being a chef was all about fine cuisine? Well, wait until you find out what really goes on behind those closed kitchen doors. Every profession has its share of amusing stories, but if I were a true, qualified Cordon Blue chef, I would be insulted by the image this author gives of the restaurant business. Bourdain seems to have a severe case of "narcissistic personality syndrome" (a sign of extreme insecurity, I might add) and the majority of the book is based around a world behind the kitchen doors, of drugs, alcohol, easy-women and off-colour language! Before attempting to book a reservation for an evening of leisurely, fine dining at your favourite restaurant, the reader might want to make sure Bourdain is not in the kitchen! The only savoury delight being whipped up in this book is an enoumous plate of self-love, with an order of good times on the side. In addition, the book is poorly written and the editing, or lack of it, is quite obvious. Not wanting to give the book an entirely negative aspect, I have been searching desperately for something positive to say....I'm still thinking.
Rating:
Summary: An intoxicating read
Review: As a "foodie" and amatuer chef I was excited when I read the reviews of "Kitchen Confidential," and promised myself to buy the paperback when it became available. I did, and was not disappointed. As food writing goes, Bourdain doesn't go into great detail about the food so much as the people who prepare it, providing an entertaining behind-the-scenes look at the restaurant business. Bourdain's style of writing is easy to read and can often cause one to laugh out loud at his experiences in the kitchen. I used to want to be a chef, but Bourdains' book goes a long way to convincing me to stay on this side of the commercial kitchen door.
Rating:
Summary: Chef as rock star
Review: Who knew being a chef was like being a Rock star? Anthony Bourdain has written a fun, fast and entertaining memoir of life behind the kitchen door. He tells tales of booze, drugs and women, but always comes back to the food. After reading this, you may look at the bread on your table differently and you will never order swordfish again. You can tell the author truly loves his work and he skillfully makes you feel like you are a part of his world. Anyone who has ever eaten in a restauraunt will enjoy this intense adventure into a world most of us never see. A tasty treat, perfect for the Summer.
Rating: 
Summary: Over the top
Review: This is a funny and revealing look at the restaurant business from a first-hand perspective. Readers who have spent a summer as a dishwasher or prep cook will surely recognize the world Bourdain describes. But while the anecdotes in the book are fun and it reads quickly, the author comes off as quite arrogant and a bit of a jerk at times, which takes some of the enjoyment out of things. If you order your steak well-done, enjoy chicken from time to time, or are a vegetarian, prepare to be insulted. And while the tough-as-nails image Bourdain paints of himself may be accurate, it's also kind of overbearing after a while. The coarse tone is a bit over the top, which, though probably his intent, gets stale toward the end. All in all, an entertaining behind-the-scenes tale, though it certainly doesn't make me long for my days as a prep cook.
Rating:
Summary: A Little Disappointing
Review: I was somewhat disappointed in Kitchen Confidential, perhaps this was due more to the excessive hype than to Bourdain's writing style which did seem very snappy, very smooth and "right on." I was expecting something more on the order of Peter Mayle however, dense and rich. Kitchen Confidential, while very interesting, seemed a bit "thin." Instead of giving us details, Bourdain simply glosses over. Don't get me wrong, this is very interesting and entertaining glossing over and Kitchen Confidential is a lot of fun to read. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for light, escapist fare. Although I found Kitchen Confidential to be less than I expected, I did enjoy Bourdain's writing style so much that I bought his novel, Bone in the Throat. I'll read it when I feel like laughing and not thinking very deeply. As for Kitchen Confidential, I would recommend it only for those looking for something light and only for those who truly love food.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Excellent Look at the Restaurant Industry
Review: This was a great book and a real inside look at what goes on in restaurant kitchens. If you ever go out to eat you should read this book. Believe me, I promise it will give you a new perspective on the food you are eating. Not a bad perspective, but a more rounded one, with a better understanding of how that food got to you and who prepared it.
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