Fun Books For Cooks

After a hard day in the kitchen, sit down and read one of these entertaining and adventurous books for cooks about life in the kitchen and in culinary school.



Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
By Anthony Bourdain

While I would recommend anything by Anthony Bourdain, this book is now a classic. This is my favorite and a must-read for anyone who has ever worked in a kitchen or wondered what it would be like. Very funny, real, graphic and entertaining, Bourdain takes you behind the scenes of the restaurant business and reveals the truths that you may or may not want to know. This book is a perfect 10 for kitchen memoirs.






A Cook's Tour: Global Adventures In Extreme Cuisine
By Anthony Bourdain

In this fantastic journey of a book, Bourdain takes you to places near and far to experience the cuisine of different lands and cultures. He learns his appreciation for food and the creatures that feed us, as well as the compassion of many different people, their foods and livestyles.






Bone In The Throat
By Anthony Bourdain

Aahhh. The glory of Mafia and kitchen stories all wrapped into one lovely reading package. I think that says it all.











Cooking Dirty: A Story of Life, Sex, Love and Death in the Kitchen
By Jason Sheehan

This book is clearly Anthony Bourdain-inspired as it is an entertaining memoir of working blue-collar kitchen jobs in high-pressure kitchen situations. Bouncing around from kitchen to kitchen, this is Sheehan's tale of "getting paid to play with fire and knives". If you like drugs, sex and rock 'n roll with your cocktail weenies, this is a good book for you.

Under The Table
By Katherine Darling

This book is much more tame than most other books by cooks such as Anthony Bourdain, but it offers a good description of what goes on in the 6 months of a fancy French culinary school. Darling describes the challenging process of learning how to cook professional-style food, as well as the friendships and competitors that arise from such an experience. She offers a recipe at the end of every chapter - a tasty treat after reading each section.

The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire and Ambition
By John Delucie, Graydon Carter

DeLucie tells the story of how he got into the cooking business to arise to celebrity chef stardom. He left a career in finance to pursue his desire to become a chef in New York City in the 1990's. This tale of cooking success is another credible memoir of a successful, well-known and appreciated professional chef.


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