Rating: 
Summary: A rock and roll style memior
Review: A highly personal history and reflections on a life in the food industry. Reads like an autobiography of a rock and roll hero. Some hype but overall an entertaining read.I no longer order fish on Mondays as a result of reading this.
Rating: 
Summary: Excerpts not a fair picture of the book
Review: Are you interested in this book because you read an excerpt about sanitary practices in the kitchen (the "no fish on Monday" rule)? Don't bother reading the rest of the book, then--only one chapter deals with that area.For all of Bourdain's waxing lyrical about how he got turned on to fine food during a family trip to France, we hear remarkably little about what he himself cooks now, or what he likes eating. I much much much preferred Michael Ruhlman's insider view of the culinary world; "The Making of a Chef" and "The Soul of a Chef" did far more to impress me with all of the hard work that goes on in a professional kitchen, and with how people work their way up to chefdom. Ruhlman made me want to try the food of just about every chef he described; Bourdain's writing did nothing for my taste buds.
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Summary: Military training can help you become a chef, and have fun.
Review: Despite much of the time sounding like a 45 year old adolescent let loose in the candy store, this book has much to recommend it. The chapters A Day in the Life, Level of Discourse and Life of Bryan are thoughtful, well written, enlightening essays on life in the trenches of a busy restaurant, the patois of the workers, and the work methods and ambience of an alternative and much admired fellow chef. A general reader can learn much about food from this very enjoyable and easy read eg " commercially available chickens, for the most part..are loaded with salmonella.." as well get some excellent hints from a good chef eg baked fish recipe. He is perhaps vain, but refreshingly modest, prefers home cooking, and remains unimpressed by an individuals background at an expensive private school - character is just about everything, for a cook on line. And, lets face it, the cook's life is mainly about the senses - laughter, pain, smells, sounds,tastes and sights - that one does need a strong stomache for. These are vividly brought to life by Mr Bourdain.
Rating: 
Summary: Truthful
Review: After twenty-three years in the restaurant buisness.Someone finally had the balls to tell it like it is.This book is dead on about life in the restaurant world. The real truth diners don't know about, and don't want to know.A kitchen is like a pirate ship , one captain keeping everyone in line.Drinking,sex,drugs,is just a part of the life.I think this is a masterpiece,and I'll work for Chef Bourdain anyday.He's my kind of chef, just like me!
Rating:
Summary: Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
Review: Just when you thought it was safe to go to a restaurant! Compelling reading, I could not put it down. Totally absorbing, characters that leap out at you. I will never eat kingfish again, nor fish in New York on a Monday. Not for the squeamish, but it has the ring of reality.
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Summary: Dick Marcinko...In the Kitchen
Review: Bourdain's book is a fast talking, no-nonsense book about life behind the counter at your favorite restaurant. It is not, as sometimes marketed, a "revelation" of atrocities committed in the kitchen. This is not 60 Minutes. Instead, Bourdain paints a vivid picture of the frantic, at times happy-go-lucky lifestyle of the professional chef in autobigraphic style. Through the example of his own life he shows the journey of cooks who achieve success, from the entry level greasy-spoon joints on up the line to 5 star bistros. His hard-hitting irreverent style is entertaining and amusing. This is a great read, whether you're interested in the cooking profession or not.
Rating:
Summary: they all carry knives
Review: You'll learn some kitchen slang, a lot of new obscenities, a couple of cooking tips. You've already learned all the restaurant survival tips, like "don't order fish on Monday," from reading the reviews. The main draw here is Anthony Bourdain his own bad, raunchy self. He is Not A Nice Person. I wouldn't want to be him, or even particularly close to him. I'm not sure I even want to eat his food - maybe I know a little too much about his kitchen for comfort. But: man, he tells a good story. Some parts of the story drag, as the various doomed restaurants of his early career start blending together. That costs him a star in my rating. Otherwise, it's an exciting, morbidly fascinating view into Bourdain's life as a sensualist, and the "dysfunctional family" of his kitchen. I "read" this book as an audiobook from audible.com, which I highly recommend. Bourdain himself does the reading, adding life and dimension to this character study. Also, it gets you past the unfortunate editorial flaws mentioned in a previous review.
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Summary: Rave Review
Review: A "friend of a friend" recommended this book for my 19-year-old son, who works in a kitchen and leaves for cooking school in the fall. It arrived via UPS two days ago, and I'm halfway through it already. It's a completely hilarious, reverent, and gritty view of the people who work in kitchens, with a few "how-to" tips thrown in for good measure. This book has helped me to understand what attracted my son to this kind of work, and I know he'll find it not just entertaining, but truly useful in preparing for his career.
Rating:
Summary: One part Fear and Loathing and One part Joy of Cooking
Review: Reading this amazing book is like finally tasting an old wine that you knew existed, but didn't know how to find. I assume that most of the folks who are posting positive reviews relate to the author's ultra-real account of the restaurant industry. As well, the writing is raw and simple - the perfect way to tell a tale that is the same. It makes you want to go fill a nasty old thermos with some 12-year Scotch and get your hands in some good food. Yum.
Rating:
Summary: A HIP TRIP
Review: What a FABULOUS book... crude, rude, insightful,informative and excruciatingly funny!!!!!! Kudoos to Chef Bourdain to tell it like it is.. I'd really love to "do lunch" with his wife Nancy!!!
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