He also stars in a television show about food around the world called Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations.But it is no ordinary cooking program. Bourdain is adventurous, and likes to go to usual places to try unusual foods, many made with ingredients most people have never heard of.

Because of Bourdain’s wide knowledge and experience in the culinary field, he wrote a memoir in 2000 called Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. It is not a cookbook. Rather, Bourdain talks about his life in the kitchen and reveals secrets about the food industry, many of which will surprise the reader.

For example, Bourdain explains that life as a chef is not as glamorous as it looks on television. It is tough work—a chef can never take a night off on a Friday or Saturday, and is expected to come to work every day, even if he is sick. The kitchen is hot, crowded, and stressful. Because of those conditions, a team of chefs becomes very intimate and they must respect each other.

Bourdain also offers advice for the book’s readers. He suggests that people never go to a restaurant on Monday night, especially if they want to eat fish or meat. Most restaurants order fish on Thursday, in preparation for Friday and Saturday, their busiest nights.
Bourdain explains that on Sunday, restaurants try to sell the remaining fish in specials. And on Monday, the restaurant will still use the leftover fish, perhaps at a lower price. So, if you want fresh fish or meat, wait till the end of the week to dine out.

Also, it is always a good idea to visit busy restaurants instead of empty ones. At a busy restaurant the food changes often because there are more customers, so the food is probably fresher. At a slow restaurant it is possible that the restaurant uses older food, simply because not many people are buying it.

           Other advice in the book has to do with cooking. What are the secrets that make restaurant food better than food cooked at home? There are some ingredients, says Bourdain, that chefs always use to make good food.

           One of those ingredients is shallots. The shallot is a plant from the onion family, widely used in cooking for its delicate onion flavor. Bourdain recommends putting shallots in almost everything: sauces, soups, and meats. He also believes more garlic should be used at home, like it is in restaurants. Fresh garlic adds a great flavor to everything. Bourdain never uses garlic that comes in a jar or a can.

           He also says that restaurants use more butter than you think. At home people often use margarine or oil, but Bourdain insists that real butter makes everything taste better. In fact, even in Italian restaurants, where chefs supposedly use olive oil in all the food, Bourdain says that a surprising amount of butter is used.