Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
This is an excellent book about the kitchen of a large high-end restaurant, explained from the point of view of one of the Sous Chefs. (I did not realize that the Sous Chef is only one step down from the Executive Chef). Gibney brings it alive, explaining in just enough detail what is required to complete the intricate dance that delivers delicious food to 200 some diners every evening.
highly recommend.
highly recommend.
Another book about being a chef that convinces me, once again, that as much as I enjoy cooking, I would never like doing it for a living. Gritty and entertaining, the book focuses on one of the two sous chefs at a busy restaurant; for Gibney's sake you hope he moves on to his own restaurant before the sous chef life destroys him.
It's weird how so many reviews talk about Chopped or other FN shows... And how this falls short in comparison. This isn't a show or a competition. It's work. Work is work. Work, more often than not, is dull. Especially if you wrote a book about 24-hrs in the life of. (and if clearly describes itself as "24 hours on the line.")
That said, I thought this was really interesting. This book describes in detail all the happenings in the kitchen, focusing of course on sous chef duties. Starts when he gets to work in the morning, and describes pretty much every action/thought (generally) between then and the next morning.
I could never be a chef/cook/anything in any restaurant.
I wish I could tip the chefs/etc. in the back, as opposed to the front staff.
That said, I thought this was really interesting. This book describes in detail all the happenings in the kitchen, focusing of course on sous chef duties. Starts when he gets to work in the morning, and describes pretty much every action/thought (generally) between then and the next morning.
I could never be a chef/cook/anything in any restaurant.
I wish I could tip the chefs/etc. in the back, as opposed to the front staff.
A really accurate and thoroughly pretentious look at life on the line at an upscale New York restaurant.
Definitely an interesting story. Having worked in restaurants for a lot of my life, this book struck a chord with me. It was enthralling and, oddly, one of the few books written in the second person where it didn't bother me. If you like cooking, or like experiencing a day in the life of someone who lives very differently than you do, this book is for you.
For starters, I wish I'd known there was a glossary in the back. Gibney throws around some very specific terminology (sapori forte?).
I enjoyed Sous Chef. The second person POV took some getting used to but the immediacy it grants is effective. The reader gets a sense of how complicated and balanced a good restaurant kitchen is. Total whirlwind.
Gibney's word choices also took some getting used to; some passages feel like creative writing exercises: uniquely describe this plate of food! Then I read the back and saw that he has a MFA in non-fiction writing. It felt like he was trying too hard, going overboard on the dictionary and thesaurus. ("… bibulous partygoers," really?)
I get that this is A Day in the Life, but some portions did not work as well for me. The parts in the restaurant? Great. Outside the restaurant? Not so much. Also: The girlfriend stuff was weird in this POV.
This sounds like I did not like the book -- I did! But I was frustrated by the presentation of the narrator (you cannot help but read him as Gibney). He is Everyman and Superman: pretentious, intellectual, cocky, easygoing, multilingual, softhearted, loving, contemptuous, deep, foulmouthed, sentimental, ready to go balls-out, careless, ambitious, poetic, etc. etc. etc. Too many things for the scope of this book.
I enjoyed Sous Chef. The second person POV took some getting used to but the immediacy it grants is effective. The reader gets a sense of how complicated and balanced a good restaurant kitchen is. Total whirlwind.
Gibney's word choices also took some getting used to; some passages feel like creative writing exercises: uniquely describe this plate of food! Then I read the back and saw that he has a MFA in non-fiction writing. It felt like he was trying too hard, going overboard on the dictionary and thesaurus. ("… bibulous partygoers," really?)
I get that this is A Day in the Life, but some portions did not work as well for me. The parts in the restaurant? Great. Outside the restaurant? Not so much. Also: The girlfriend stuff was weird in this POV.
This sounds like I did not like the book -- I did! But I was frustrated by the presentation of the narrator (you cannot help but read him as Gibney). He is Everyman and Superman: pretentious, intellectual, cocky, easygoing, multilingual, softhearted, loving, contemptuous, deep, foulmouthed, sentimental, ready to go balls-out, careless, ambitious, poetic, etc. etc. etc. Too many things for the scope of this book.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, although I'm not sure it's up everyone's alley. I do think it helps to know a bit about cooking or the restaurant world to fully enjoy this. I really enjoyed that this is one full day as a sous chef, so you really get in the weeds with the writer.
Once you get used to the second person narration, it's a great snapshot of life as a sous chef. I loved the set-up of the 24 hour day. It was also exhausting. Best part: exhaustive glossary in the back for non-chefs or those people who haven't been reading books about food for the past decade.
How shall I begin? This book was very nostalgic for me having worked in food service for several years. It also struck a chord because I do love coming and have aspirations of opening a bar one day. It provided me with a different perspective on the how and why of the service industry. It is a very easy read and laid out quite well. But if you're going into this book thinking it is going to offer you some profound deeper meaning to life... you are simply looking in the wrong book.
The narrative style was refreshing as it reminded me of a choose-your-own-adventure book, but the narrator was such a stereotypical frat boy that it was almost nauseating at times.