Seconded. The first part of the Soul of the Chef, about Certified Chef Master Exam, has to be the tensest thing I ever read in books about cooking. You feel the pressure, the stress of the participants. I reread it every now and then for pure enjoyment. I really enjoyed Joe Bastianich's Restaurant Man recently (in audiobook form, read by the author). It is a nice look behind the scenes of restaurant life, written in pretty Bourdainesque style. Lots of expletives, so YMMV.