Kitchen Confidential (Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly) – Anthony Bourdain

Anthony Bourdain's outrageous book will probably shock readers from outside our industry, although it has shocked those in the industry, too. AA Gill hits the right note when he describes it as "Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino".

Anthony Bourdain is executive chef at Brasserie les Halles in New York City and author of the novels, Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo. Kitchen Confidential is the autobiographical story of his climb up the culinary ladder through what seems like just about every restaurant in the city. The book follows Bourdain's career with hard, in-your-face, warts-and-all, controversial and explicit descriptions of kitchen life - and throughout he manges to be shocking, funny and revealingly realistic.

The book is probably the most truthful account yet of kitchen life, and credit must surely go to Bourdain for having the courage to tell it like it really is. The characters are interesting, and I certainly spotted lots of chefs whom I have worked with, employed and still meet on this side of the "pond". My only qualm concerns the use of "recreational drugs" while on the job.

I'm not sure whether it is the author's intention to make this the kind of tome that you can pick up and rejoin at any stage, but that's very much how it is, which means that it is highly suitable for us caterers who rarely have time to submerge ourselves in a book.

It's an enjoyable, unputdownable read, which scored 9.5 out of 10 in my view. This is one that you will either love or hate - and, let's be honest, you couldn't make this kind of stuff up.

by John Benson-Smith, chef director, Hazlewood Castle, Tadcaster, North Yorkshire

Kitchen Confidential (Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly) - Anthony Bourdain. Bloomsbury, £16.99.
ISBN 0-7475-5072-7