Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line by Michael Gibney
Posted on August 1, 2014 in Books
If you liked Kitchen Confidential, you’ll like this book. This is 24 hours in a Modern American NYC restaurant as told by one of the Sous-Chefs. Since I have family members in the food industry, read other books like this, and watch a lot food professional food shows, none of this stuff came as a surprise.
For the lay person, this is a revealing look about what really happens behind the scenes of a nice restaurant. It has the highs and the many lows of it. It’s quite well written and it’s a debut work.
The second person narrative actually worked because you felt immersed in the kitchen with the narrator. His struggles were your struggles.
It’s a fun little book for those of us interested in food and the industry. I do not want this work, but it’s fascinating. At the core of it is the desire to make good food and do it well day after day.
Read July 31, 2014.
I’ve heard a lot about this book on multiple podcasts! I’m not sure if I’ll check it out, but I’m definitely glad it was written.
A lot of this stuff is not shocking to people who are aware of the industry, but the book does write it out in detail. I really only recommend it if you like food a lot and have interest in the behind the scenes stuff. It’s also a relatively quick read for a “nonfiction” book. Thanks, Geoff!