Bibliofemme Reviews
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Les Halles Cookbook by Anthony Bourdain 
(Published by Bloomsbury)
Although already the author of two well-received memoirs - Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour - as well as a couple of not so popular detective novels, it's only now that American chef Anthony Bourdain has got around to writing his own cookbook and he throws himself into the undertaking with commendable vigour.
His already hyperactive writing style doesn't get lost anywhere along the way as he pushes, prods and sometimes seems to want to deliberately antagonise readers. Bourdain is the executive chef at New York City restaurant Les Halles, and he has decreed that this book is a "field manual to strategy and tactics". To that end, he's determined to treat the reader as if he or she were a rookie in his kitchen. He doesn't mince his words as he coerces and advises, issuing warnings and occasionally yelling (in print).
Bourdain takes the solid, mainly carnivorous (don't miss the blood and guts chapter), French principles behind Les Halles and reworks them for a private kitchen to good effect. Behind all the bluster, there's a chef with a talent for imparting his knowledge of food to those who wish to learn. While it won't be very useful to vegetarians, the Les Halles Cookbook is an undoubted education. 
Also by Anthony Bourdain
Kitchen Confidential
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February 2005
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