Anthony Bourdain is the executive chef at brasserie Les Halles in New York. After two "misspent" years at Vassar College, he attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park. He has since spent more than two decades working in professional kitchens. His memoir/rant, Kitchen Confidential (Ecco Press, 2001) stemmed from an article he'd written for The New Yorker magazine about life behind the scenes in restaurant kitchens. The book he went on to write described life in those kitchens in even more lurid detail, and it became a surprise international bestseller.

In late 2000, Anthony set out to eat his way across the globe, looking for, as he puts it, "kicks, thrills, epiphanies" and the "perfect meal." The book and its companion Food Network series A Cook's Tour chronicle his adventures and misadventures on that voyage, including the already infamous episode in which he ate the live beating heart of a cobra.

Anthony is also the author of two satirical thrillers, Bone In The Throat and Gone Bamboo, as well as the urban historical, Typhoid Mary. He lives in New York City with his wife, Nancy, and he's a proud fan of the New York Yankees.