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Erin's Reviews > Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line
Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line
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ARC for review.
I'm a sucker for foodie books. Now, don't get crazy, I'm not actually going to COOK anything, so I'm not that interested in cookbooks, but I love me good food that someone else makes, so reading about life in restaurants is incredibly fun for me. Therefore, I knew I would enjoy SOUS CHEF and I did. However, learn from my mistakes! I spent an enormous amount of time using the wonderful dictionary, Wikipedia and translation tools on my Kindle without realizing there was a glossary in the back (but the Spanish used is not included and using the translation tool to get a literal translation of the insults hurled by the dishwasher is great - I highly recommend it). So, I don't cook AND I'm an idiot.
Note two - this book is written in the second person, so, basically, YOU are the sous chef and Gibney is just a benevolent elf looking over your shoulder, telling you how you are screwing all this up. I mention this only because I know that second person drives some readers insane...if you are that person it might take you outside this great book, which would be a terrible shame, because second person really works here - because you FEEL the tension of getting everything done correctly and quickly. I mean, this is your JOB on the line here. Get your shit together! It just takes a bit to get used to it: Book: "Fluke is your favorite fish" (357) Me: "No, it's not." Book: "I don't want to hear your sniveling, I just told you fluke is your favorite." Me: "OK. Fluke, then. I'm good." So, I also learned that I smoke a lot, especially when things get tense.
The book is set up over about a twenty-four hour period of working in the restaurant. For fans of these types books you'll be well aware of some aspects (the hierarchy of the kitchen, for example) but covering the depth of all that occurs in the time period gives a level of detail that was new to me (use of the sous vide method, prepping the fish, the division of labor and the disgusting-sounding spoon water). So, super interesting, engaging and now I'm DYING for some violet mustard, guanciale, and boquerones sauce. Highly recommended.
I'm a sucker for foodie books. Now, don't get crazy, I'm not actually going to COOK anything, so I'm not that interested in cookbooks, but I love me good food that someone else makes, so reading about life in restaurants is incredibly fun for me. Therefore, I knew I would enjoy SOUS CHEF and I did. However, learn from my mistakes! I spent an enormous amount of time using the wonderful dictionary, Wikipedia and translation tools on my Kindle without realizing there was a glossary in the back (but the Spanish used is not included and using the translation tool to get a literal translation of the insults hurled by the dishwasher is great - I highly recommend it). So, I don't cook AND I'm an idiot.
Note two - this book is written in the second person, so, basically, YOU are the sous chef and Gibney is just a benevolent elf looking over your shoulder, telling you how you are screwing all this up. I mention this only because I know that second person drives some readers insane...if you are that person it might take you outside this great book, which would be a terrible shame, because second person really works here - because you FEEL the tension of getting everything done correctly and quickly. I mean, this is your JOB on the line here. Get your shit together! It just takes a bit to get used to it: Book: "Fluke is your favorite fish" (357) Me: "No, it's not." Book: "I don't want to hear your sniveling, I just told you fluke is your favorite." Me: "OK. Fluke, then. I'm good." So, I also learned that I smoke a lot, especially when things get tense.
The book is set up over about a twenty-four hour period of working in the restaurant. For fans of these types books you'll be well aware of some aspects (the hierarchy of the kitchen, for example) but covering the depth of all that occurs in the time period gives a level of detail that was new to me (use of the sous vide method, prepping the fish, the division of labor and the disgusting-sounding spoon water). So, super interesting, engaging and now I'm DYING for some violet mustard, guanciale, and boquerones sauce. Highly recommended.
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Sous Chef.
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Reading Progress
January 30, 2014
– Shelved as:
to-read
January 30, 2014
– Shelved
February 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
biography-memoir
February 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
nonfiction
February 6, 2014
– Shelved as:
food
February 8, 2014
–
Started Reading
February 9, 2014
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-7 of 7 (7 new)
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message 1:
by
Amy
(new)
Feb 10, 2014 07:10AM
Okay. I have to read this just because it's in 2nd person.
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this is going to sound really obnoxious, but i think you might feel me on this one:i had a friend coming through london buy me a box of maldon salt i specifically wanted to use in a fancy brownie recipe
it cost a lot
my cleaning lady (an old family friend of legendary bubbleheadedness) mistook it for dishwashing detergent powder
i was very sad
the end
julio wrote: "i was very sadthe end ..."
That is, indeed, a sad story. My husband once thought he'd clean out the refrigerator and threw out all the "condiments" he didn't recognize. There went so many $s worth of assorted fancy ingredients I'd put there for safe-keeping. *sigh* But at least he didn't wash the dishes with them I suppose.
That story makes me cry cheap salty tears. If you read this book you'll have lots of good Spanish curses to hurl the next time this happens.
GET AWAY FROM PEOPLE EXPLOITING AMAZON
I'm going to start reading it as soon as it comes in the mail. Can't wait!!
Sorry, but I hate second-person narration. I have one book that's structured like this, and I couldn't get past the first page.
