This book is an autobiography of the author's meandering in the world of cooking. It is how he learning to enjoy food. It details how he started to cook at a restaurant. He then ended up going to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) as an " I'll show them " maneuver. Following this how he gained and lost various cooking jobs and what he looks for in a chef of any restaurant he manages.
This is a book I am not sure I am happy I read once. If it were not for the fact that he has a few good tips and I am in the market for kitchen knives, I would rate this book lower.
I will save you the trouble of reading this book by giving the cooking advice that was important to me:
1) Throw out all your kitchen knives. Do not go buy a set of German knives such as Henckels. You will not spend the time each day with a whetstone followed by a steel to keep them sharp. You only need at most three knives. Buy a Global Chefs Knife. It is a good stainless steel knife that will keep it's sharpness a long time and is a good one to use. It is stainless steel. If you need a second knife, buy an Offset Serrated knife by the F. Dick company. You will only need the third knife (a boning knife) if you plan to filet a lot of fish.
2) The biggest difference between the way your and my food tastes and the food of the chefs is that the chefs use shallots instead of onions.
3) Look at the bathroom in the restaurant you are going to eat in. It is visible to the public so if it is filthy then the kitchen, which you cannot see, is probably worse.
4) Do not eat weekend brunches. Plan on no fresh food deliveries from Thursday to Tuesday to be safe. Weekend brunch food will be creative ways to sell whatever formerly fresh food didn't sell at the end of the week.
There you have it. Now the bad part. His book is a contradiction between his advice and his life. He gives other advice on how to have a successful restaurant, then he spends the last fifth of the book on how others have been a success by not following his rules. He openly sneers at the Food TV folks, yet tomorrow - yes the very day after today - January 8 2002 he starts a once a week TV cooking program on Food TV called A Cook's Tour. A Cook's Tour on Food TV airs Tuesdays at 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. and Saturdays at 11:00 p.m. All times ET.
The last part of the book is on why not to be the cook, including the burns, blisters, ulcerated wounds, amputations, etc.
There is profanity and crude behavior throughout the book. The more you hear the profanity the worse it is. He revels in it, even proclaiming he has trouble not swearing at Christmas dinner when the whole family is there. Eventually the profanity gets to the point it is like course cracked peppercorns under a dental plate.
Recommended:
