Four Kitchens
My Life Behind the Burner in New York, Hanoi, Tel Aviv, and Paris : A Memoir
Book - 2011
A foodwriter and graduate of the French Culinary Institute recounts her time apprenticing at four high-end restaurants around the world, including under the famed chef Wylie Dufresne at the molecular gastronomy hotspot wd-50.
Publisher:
New York : Grand Central Pub., 2011
Edition:
1st ed
ISBN:
9780446559874
0446559873
0446559873
Characteristics:
viii, 337 p. ; 22 cm


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Add a CommentAn interesting look at how restaurants treat, and benefit from the apprenticeships. Although not a particularly revealing book with lots of "dirt" on the places she's worked, still a very good look at what it means to be working in this industry. Including the poor paying jobs in the back of the kitchen, how you can be stuck repetitively doing the same task and lose sight of the enjoyment of cooking, and a glimpse in how different restaurants are managed.
My first clue that this wasn't going to be the best was when the author explained that the name of the restaurant wd-50 was both a play on the owner's name and the address AND a play on WD-40, and then goes on to explain what WD-40 is. Overall, it's an interesting read about getting to live and work so many places, if not the most well written.
I was a bit disappointed in this book. I love reading memoirs, especially about food, but this one fell a little flat. Beyond the fact that Shockey was lucky enough to not need to work after college and got the opportunity to intern at four amazing restaurants, there wasn't much else going on in this book.