Behind the Scenes in a Professional Kitchen

Addicted to the Food Network? Always wanted to be a chef? Been dreaming about finding out about the action behind the scenes of a three star restaurant kitchen? Read Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as a Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford. Buford is a writer with the New Yorker magazine who was curious about what kind of cook he would be in a professional kitchen. He met Mario Batali, and the opportunity arose to work in the kitchen of Babbo, Batali's three star restaurant in New York City. This begins a series of apprenticeships that Buford takes on to expand his culinary knowledge of Italian cooking.

Buford starts at the bottom as a prep cook - cutting, dicing and more cutting and moves up the line, eventually to the grill and the pasta station. He writes really well and you join him in his fascination on why things work in a kitchen, and why things don't. The events taking place at Babbo, become a drama with characters that travel through the entire book.

His culinary explorations are interesting as well - did you know that polenta was originally made from barley? And polenta can cause a vitamin deficiency - if it is the ONLY thing that you eat? He tries to get at the heart of what Batali learned in Italy about cooking - and goes to some of Batali's teacher's to learn with them. While in Italy, Buford trains with a pasta maker and butcher to learn the their art of Italian food. And he comes to realize the differences between the small restaurateur/home cook of the Italian regions and the variations that Batali has made for the fancier New York City restaurant customer.

This is a great book and well written. He gives you some knowledge of Italian cooking, a background on Mario Batali, the ins and outs of a busy restaurant kitchen and he makes you think twice about ordering in a restaurant after 10:00 pm! Enjoy.