Rating: 
Summary: Anthony Bourdain is my god
Review: Being a line cook in a dump for a year has taught me a thing or two about life in the resturaunt biz bourdain has taught me the rest. some say his book is an autobiography, i can see were one would say such athing, but if your not a cook then you wouldn't know what 30 tables of 4tops can do to a persons ego and mental status, most of all physical being. If you take a second look at the life of bourdain, you will see a man who is telling you the way of how it is, not just his life story but that of all chef's. The insain world of culinary arts is just that an art and he is teaching that fact to you and me. Bourdian has shown me what i can expect as i go to school this fall for C.A. and what will happen in the years to fallow. I have know the same pains as him, emotional and physical, scars never to go away, and friendships that will last forever, but at the end of each day were a little stronger in our self's. belivng more, and craving the next days aggonys. anthony bourdian is my best teacher, and a close friend (not personaly) in the fact that he'll has told me the way i should go with my life. and let me tell you, i can't wait thank you MR Bourdain Ethan Kalar St. Cloud, MN ekalar@yahoo.com
Rating: 
Summary: Good Job Chef!
Review: For anyone who has ever been "on the line" in either the restaurant, hotel or club business, Tony Bourdain's book has got to strike some terribly hilarious, regrettable, passionate, degenerate and, most of all, familiar chords with you. If you haven't been where Tony's been, the world he describes might seem a little outrageous and far-fetched; but the honest truth from one who lived a lot of what Bourdain describes is that the characters he so lovingly talks about in his book are in almost every way, the characters I worked with for over 25 years. I know them all! He tells it just like it is. Bourdain has almost a reverent regard for the the men and women who ply their craft well and without delusions of grandeur,day in day out,on the cooking lines of the world--- regardless of what psychological abnormalities, bad habits,or sexual idiosincracies they might be afflicted with. He also loves food, as is obvious in his passionate description of Scott Bryan's food; and the wonderful cinematic tour of the Tsukiji(Tokyo's central fish market). GOOD JOB CHEF! And try to cut down a little on the booze--- as it will help a with the excrutiating muscular aches in your legs.
Rating: 
Summary: Kitchen Confidential
Review: A self aggrandizing celibration of dysfunctional personal and workplace behavior with little to say about kitchens or cooking and alot to say about the authors supposed coolness. This book is truly a waste of time.
Rating:
Summary: realistic to a tee
Review: I have just finished this book and I loved it.I have been a chef for 20 years and i have seen all this and more in that time.I am still howling about the hidden side towels in the ceiling.How many times have I seen that.This book really discribes what goes on in the heat of battle on a busy night.The feeling of being "weeded"giving the well done steak a "little love"in the microwave.I especilly enjoyed the chapter"a day in the life"that is my day to a tee right down to spinning out the next days prep list in your head as you drift off to sleep after a twelve hour day I will be passing this book onto my line cooks and I am sure that they will enjoy It as much as I did.Im sure that many people will be shocked by the vulgarity and discriptions of "selling the old seefood at brunch"but it is all true.For people who have never been in "dantes inferno"during a busy rush.When the orders are pouring in,when the greese trap backs up,when the saute cook cuts his hand wraps it with duct tape and fires the salmon without missing a beat.The pressure is unbelivable.That is why cooks are so crazy.And dont kid yourself.We are all a little crazy.We have to be to survive.There is a saying in the kitchen."If you dont love it get out now.You will end up hating it"I recomend this book to any cook out there.He or she will enjoy it and see a little bit of themselves in it.By the way I pull hot sizzle pans out of the oven with my bare hands all the time and my cooks love it
Rating:
Summary: Awesome book if your a cook
Review: This book was a wonderful tale about the culinary arts. This scholar of the cooking world is educated in the business and in the REAL BUSNESS
Rating:
Summary: Oh indeed, the restaurant industry is a beautiful place!
Review: Bourdain writes about the passion of the kitchen (and the passion that happens sometimes inside it). Having been in the industry since I was 15 (but not much behind the line) I have been in the trenches of the restaurant, and seen many a weirder thing in the kitchen. For those who have a passion for life and like a book to be more than what it's cover suggests - you will enjoy reading Bourdain's revealing look at how he got started, his memories of his early childhood of trying, then learning to love the weirdest of foods, that as adults we love to love! There is nothing like a memory to set you straight about why you pursued a career you've grown to love. I own my own restaurant where luckily nothing so tawdry has gone on but still I too have my restaurant and hotel stories. To find other storytellers in the industry writing more about what goes on in the back of the house stirs me, as I am sure it does others. Refreshing it is not to read the frou frou drizzle of certain Celebrity Puppet "Chefs" who could not work behind the line if there life depended on it. I am glad to see someone putting it down so eloquently, yet so drenchingly honest. As an owner (and I always a very honest restaurant employee), I highly recommend the last chapter "So you want to be a Chef." Every restaurateur, chef (and those pursuing chefdom) and consultant should have this book! If you have ever been in the industry and been burned (yes, really burned) by a chef or "broiler boy," you will live in the pages with Bourdain. I have recommended this to every friend I have from the field, as there is a certain kinship that occurs with your fellow garcons, chefs, managers, etc. and Bourdain brings all of those tales to you on a beautiful plate to feast upon. And it by far is the best book on my night table this year. Cheers and Salut!
Rating: 
Summary: Misleading.....
Review: The title and dust jacket info lead you to believe that the book will be a behind-the-scenes look at restaurants. The book actually turns out to be a choppily written autobiography. Much of the story simply follows the author around from failed restaurant to failed restaurant. This gets tedious fairly quickly. There are a few passages that describe what a busy kitchen is actually like, and the grace and skill involved when someone is trying to cook 5 different meals simultaneously. For a few pages, everything comes together the way I wish the whole book had. These bits are few and far between.
Rating:
Summary: Cook and tell
Review: This book is a must read for anyone who has been told "You ought to open a restaurant!" This common complement to home cooking has launched numerous failures for various idealistic culinary hobbyists. Bourdain's autobiographical essays are humorous and tell the as-to-yet-unheard truth about the restaurant trade. It's especially interesting for those of us with friends or relatives in the business. Yes, Bourdain has attitude up the wazoo, but the guy loves food and loves the rogues and roguettes who help him to cook up the goodies we all love to scarf down.
Rating:
Summary: Kitchen Confidential
Review: Great insight into the restaurant world. The chapter on what not to order at a restaurant alone is worth the price of the book. To bad there isn't a glossary for those of us who don't speak fluent food and french. A lot of fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Who's kitchen confidential?
Review: Ok..I liked the book. But, after being in the same business Mr. Boudrain is...I must say that what he paints as standard procedure in all restaurant kitchens is simply not the case. Like I said..I liked the book, but I find myself wondering if Mr. Bourdain spent his years training on a pirate ship. Peter Vazquez , Chef/Owner Marisol Restaurant (hello S.M.)
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