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181 reviews for:
Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking
Bill Buford
3.67 AVERAGE
181 reviews for:
Dirt: Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking
Bill Buford
3.67 AVERAGE
I did enjoy reading this. The sections describing his family adapting to life in Lyon, learning French, making friends, going to school, were really engaging. The descriptions of the city, its food and history were likewise interesting.
But the book also felt a bit disjointed. For example, near the end of the book, Buford takes a trip to a lake where a unique freshwater fish can be found. He goes to some trouble to convince the local fisherman to take him out on the lake, however the next page Buford is instead tracking down he local flour miller, without ever again mentioning the lake or describing the fishing he went to such lengths to experience.
I also found his defense of the abusive working conditions he experienced at a top tier kitchen to be strange and off putting. (Where pots are thrown at workers, people are regularly hit, name calling and cursing or expected, all in the name of holding up some ideal of cuisine.) Kudos to Hortense for getting out of there and getting into the fashion industry. I imagine her perspective on that kitchen would have been a lot less favorable that Buford's.
But the book also felt a bit disjointed. For example, near the end of the book, Buford takes a trip to a lake where a unique freshwater fish can be found. He goes to some trouble to convince the local fisherman to take him out on the lake, however the next page Buford is instead tracking down he local flour miller, without ever again mentioning the lake or describing the fishing he went to such lengths to experience.
I also found his defense of the abusive working conditions he experienced at a top tier kitchen to be strange and off putting. (Where pots are thrown at workers, people are regularly hit, name calling and cursing or expected, all in the name of holding up some ideal of cuisine.) Kudos to Hortense for getting out of there and getting into the fashion industry. I imagine her perspective on that kitchen would have been a lot less favorable that Buford's.
3.5 stars. I liked his previous book better. There were several tangents about cooking history that bored me even though I like history.
Fascinatingly delicious, surprisingly poignant. Recommend! ♥️
I was really put off when fairly early in the book he spouts off a bunch of “facts” about soft shell blue crabs that aren’t accurate at all. It really made me question the rest of the book.
I love food memoirs and I especially enjoyed hearing Buford read his own work. It would be four stars, but loses a star because I felt like it was just too long which made it feel slow in parts.
I really enjoyed the parts about Lyon, his twin boys, their neighborhood and school, Bob's bread, working in the kitchen. I got bogged down in the second half of the book I think with too much detail of specific culinary history. A bit too long for me.
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but there are a few nit-picky things that keeps me from going all the way up to 5 stars.
First, the narrative seemed a bit disjointed in places, particularly in the last third of the book. Certainly not disjointed enough to put down, but there is a definite feeling of maybe the author being rushed there at the end.
The other problem is that there sometimes seems to be a bit of inconsistency in who the audience is. There is lots of untranslated French, and, while I have always wanted to learn to speak and read French, I just haven't gotten around to learning much yet (oh, how I envy his wife's talent with languages...or maybe just her time and opportunity to learn them!). Also, in some places he tosses around highly technical French cooking vocabulary without explaining it while in other places he finds it necessary to define things like what a pizza peel is.
Besides those things, this is a very interesting read. He never presents Lyon as overly romantic, but he tells us all the things that made him love the place and the people he met there. He also made me want to try to find some of that amazing flour! I would bake a loaf of bread with it in tribute to Bob, the most interesting and heartbreaking person in the entire book!
First, the narrative seemed a bit disjointed in places, particularly in the last third of the book. Certainly not disjointed enough to put down, but there is a definite feeling of maybe the author being rushed there at the end.
The other problem is that there sometimes seems to be a bit of inconsistency in who the audience is. There is lots of untranslated French, and, while I have always wanted to learn to speak and read French, I just haven't gotten around to learning much yet (oh, how I envy his wife's talent with languages...or maybe just her time and opportunity to learn them!). Also, in some places he tosses around highly technical French cooking vocabulary without explaining it while in other places he finds it necessary to define things like what a pizza peel is.
Besides those things, this is a very interesting read. He never presents Lyon as overly romantic, but he tells us all the things that made him love the place and the people he met there. He also made me want to try to find some of that amazing flour! I would bake a loaf of bread with it in tribute to Bob, the most interesting and heartbreaking person in the entire book!
Fascinating glimpse into the mythic food culture and history of France!
Some elements (well, raising twin boys abroad) brought to mind Anthony Doerr's "Four Seasons in Rome." I've enjoyed both books, narrated by their authors.
Some elements (well, raising twin boys abroad) brought to mind Anthony Doerr's "Four Seasons in Rome." I've enjoyed both books, narrated by their authors.