Eat their words

Has it really been seven years? Chef Anthony Bourdain patented the tough, tell-all kitchen persona in 2001 with Kitchen Confidential. JUNE LEE sizes up the contenders for his throne

Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip – Confessions of a Cynical Waiter
A Waiter
For four years, Steve Dublanica updated the wildly popular Waiter Rant blog under a pseudonym, winning himself a book contract and finally revealing his true identity in July. What makes him the Anthony Bourdain of the front of house? His searing observations on bad tippers, nutty kitchen staff, starry-eyed diners and psychotic bosses in New York City are as witty and fascinating as the world Bourdain first described.

The Man Who Ate the World
Jay Rayner
In The Man, Jay Rayner, food critic for the UK broadsheet The Guardian, rumbles from city to city exploring the world’s high-end dining scene, blending gastronomic disbelief with wonder as he confronts the absurdities of the modern world. While searching for the perfect meal, he tackles Russian mafia territory, Dubai’s artifice and Manhattan’s bombast, stripping away the glittering façades to reveal the true food experience in all its forms.

Garlic and Sapphires
Ruth Reichl
Formerly a food critic at The New York Times, Ruth Reichl is both revered and feared – so much so that restaurants display her picture so the staff can identify her. Besides giving a glimpse of the dog-eat-dog world of New York dining, Reichl goes to great lengths to entertain the reader with her repertoire of disguises, mostly inspired by her infamous mother – who used to feed her family rotten food – and to goose the restaurants at their own game. After all, she says, restaurants are the great economic equalisers; anyone who dines deserves the same quality. The fun starts when Ruth the nobody and Ruth the critic receive vastly different treatment – she spares no one in this gleeful romp.