Kitchen Confidential

Have you ever thought it might be fun to be a chef? Read Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. It will end any misconceptions you may have about the life of a chef. I have enjoyed many of Bourdain's books in the past and as usual, this book does not disappoint. Bourdain's writing is entertaining, engaging, clever, crass, obnoxious and fantastic. Incidentally, the audiobook is narrated by Bourdain and is fantastic. Bourdain begins with the story of eating his first oyster in France as a boy and realizing that food could be more than just something one ate when hungry. From there, he describes his first job at a restaurant, his realization that chefs live like rockstars, and his entry into the Culinary Institute of America. He tells of his stints at various restaurants in New York City, working for members of an "Italian Fraternal Organization," running hectic kitchens and dealing with unconventional employees. Bourdain describes the ins and outs of restaurant kitchens and enlightens us as to why you don't order meat well done or fish on a Monday night. Thoroughly entertaining, as usual.