If youve ever wondered whether all chefs are born evil - and if not, what makes them go bad - then this is the book for you. With delicious wit and an admirable mixture of insider knowledge and analytical detachment, Phillip Norman takes you behind the scenes of the hospitality industry in his native Australia - into the chaos of restaurant kitchens, the wanton debauchery of wedding catering and the chemically induced unreality of corporate entertaining.

Youll meet brawling bikers, axe-throwing teenage mothers, topless waiters and a crazy bisexual Russian beauty, none of whom can begin to...