Feel the “Heat”

I recently read a book called Heat by Bill Buford. The author works for the New Yorker and wants to do a quick magazine article about Mario Batali. He gets to follow him around for a couple of days and it turns into so much more. After a relatively brief outline of why he started the book in the first place and a history of how Mario is where he is, the book then deals with Buford’s experiences as a ‘kitchen slave’ at Babbo’s Mario’s restaurant in New York. He goes from doing the grunt work all the way to the top of the heap – working the pasta station on the line. He then takes an apprenticeship under a butcher in Italy. It is a great book and a must read for anyone looking to get into this crazy profession.

One negative to the Food Network is the glamorization of cooking and being a chef. The book really put thing into perspective. You really have to work hard. You have to really dedicate your life to the restaurant. You have to do what it takes to make sure your restaurant will be successful. Most people can not do that, and that is why restaurants fail so often. When people ask me if they should go to culinary school, I tell them to work in a high turnover, busy, restaurant. And now I tell them to read this book.