Bill Buford

From the author of the best-selling, widely acclaimed Heat--a new hilariously self-deprecating, highly obsessive account of the author's adventures, this time, in the world of French haute cuisine Bill Buford turns his inimitable attention from Italian cuisine to the food of France. Baffled by the language, but convinced that he can master the art of French cooking--or at least get to the bottom of why it is so revered-- he begins what becomes a five-year odyssey by shadowing the esteemed French chef Michel Richard, in Washington, D.C. But when Buford (quickly) realizes that a stage in France is necessary, he goes--this time with his wife and three-year-old twin sons in tow--to Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France. Studying at L'Institut Bocuse, cooking at the storied, Michelin-starred La Mère Brazier, enduring the endless hours and exacting rigeur of the kitchen, Buford becomes a man obsessed--with proving himself on the line, proving that he is worthy of the gastronomic secrets he's learning, proving that French cooking actually derives from (mon dieu!) the Italian. With his signature humor, sense of adventure, and masterly ability to immerse himself--and us--in his surroundings, Bill Buford has written what is sure to be the food-lover's book of the year.

Adventures, With Family, in the Kitchens of Lyon, Looking for the Origins of French Cooking

Dirt

A journalist who spent eight years traveling with and gathering information on Britain's notorious soccer hooligans chronicles his extraordinary experiences with these dangerous, violent, and fiercely loyal fans.

Among the Thugs

A staff writer for The New Yorker and author of Among the Thugs offers an exuberant, witty account of his entry into the world of a professional cook-in-training, documenting his experiences in the kitchen of Mario Batali's acclaimed restaurant Babbo, his apprenticeships with Batali's former teachers, his relationship with Batali, and his immersion in the world of food. 100,000 first printing.

An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany

Heat

A journalist who spent eight years traveling with and gathering information on Britain's notorious soccer hooligans chronicles his extraordinary experiences with these dangerous, violent, and fiercely loyal fans

Best of Young British Novelists (Granta (Viking))

Granta 7

The best and, at times, the most disturbing of Granta pieces relating to the family are gathered in this 400-page anthology. Raymond Carver, Mona Simpson, Geoffrey Wolff, Angela Carter, Mikal Gilmore, Louise Erdrich, Saul Bellow, Doris Lessing, Peter Carey, Bret Easton Ellis, and twelve other equally powerful writers tackle this most consuming of subjects. The Granta Book of the Family includes fiction, memoir, biography, and reportage, and is inspired by the relationships forced on us by the accident of birth -- relationships that form and brand character and life.

The Granta Book of the Family

The book that helped define a genre: Heat is a beloved culinary classic, an adventure in the kitchen and into Italian cuisine, by Bill Buford, author of Dirt. Bill Buford was a highly acclaimed writer and editor at the New Yorker when he decided to leave for a most unlikely destination: the kitchen at Babbo, one of New York City’s most popular and revolutionary Italian restaurants. Finally realizing a long-held desire to learn first-hand the experience of restaurant cooking, Buford soon finds himself drowning in improperly cubed carrots and scalding pasta water on his quest to learn the tricks of the trade. His love of Italian food then propels him further afield: to Italy, to discover the secrets of pasta-making and, finally, how to properly slaughter a pig. Throughout, Buford stunningly details the complex aspects of Italian cooking and its long history, creating an engrossing and visceral narrative stuffed with insight and humor. The result is a hilarious, self-deprecating, and fantasically entertaining journey into the heart of the Italian kitchen.

An Amateur Cook in a Professional Kitchen

Expanding on his August 2002 "New Yorker" article, Bill Buford now offers a richly evocative chronicle of his experience as "slave" to Mario Batali in the small, chaotic, highest-standards kitchen of Batali's three-star New York restaurant, Babbo, and of his apprenticeships with Batali's former teachers.

An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Butcher in Tuscany

New Writing from America

Dirty Realism

Walton Ford

Erin doesn't get what all the fuss is about. When did boys stop being friends and start being boyfriends? Why are all the girls in her year shaving their legs and slopping goop on their faces? And since when did her big sister start keeping secrets about her love life? Erin's never been afraid of doing her own thing but she never thought she'd be deliberately left out. What's everyone's problem?

Pancha Tantra

The acclaimed bestseller (over 63,000 copies sold in paperback) now reissued with a new cover. What kind of man spends his Saturday afternoons with people named Bonehead, Paraffin Pete and Steamin' Sammy? Bill Buford's acclaimed" Among the Thugs" is a book about the experience and the attractions of crowd violence.

For most of his adult life, Bill Buford had secretly wanted to find himself in France, in a French kitchen, having mastered the art of French haute cuisine. And where better than Lyon, the most Frenchly authentic of cities and the historic gastronomic capital of the world? There were a few obstacles- he didn't speak a word of French, he had no formal training, he didn't know a soul in Lyon, and his wife and two twin toddlers currently lived in New York City. So begins Bill Buford's vivid, hilarious, intimate account of his five-year odyssey in French cuisine. After realising that a stage in France was the necessary first step, he moves with his young family to Lyon. Studying at L'Institut Bocuse, cooking at the storied, Michelin-starred La M re Brazier, enduring the endless hours and exacting rigeur of the kitchen, Buford becomes a man obsessed - with proving himself on the line, proving that he is worthy of the gastronomic secrets he is learning, proving that French cooking actually derives from (mon dieu!) the Italian. As he befriends the local baker, attends a pig slaughter, and gradually earns the acceptance of the locals and his fellow chefs, Buford comes to understand the true grit, precision and passion of the French kitchen. Warm, insightful and richly entertaining, Dirt is a feast of a book, which is sure to become a classic of food writing on France.

Adventures in French Cooking

NATIONAL BESTSELLER A MACLEAN'S SUMMER READ A highly obsessive, hilariously self-deprecating account of the world of French haute cuisine, from the author of the best-selling modern classic, Heat. In Dirt, Bill Buford--author of the bestselling, now-classic, Heat--moves his attention from Italian cuisine to the food of France. Baffled by the language, determined that he can master the art of French cooking--or at least get to the bottom of why it is so revered--Buford begins what will become a five-year odyssey by shadowing the revered French chef Michel Richard in Washington, D.C. He soon realizes, however, that a stage in France is necessary, and so he goes--this time with his wife and three-year-old twin sons in tow--to Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France. Studying at l'Institut Bocuse, cooking at the storied, Michelin-starred Mère Brazier, Buford becomes a man obsessed--to prove that French cooking actually derives from the Italian, to prove himself on the line, to prove that he is worthy of these gastronomic secrets. With his signature humor, sense of adventure, and masterful ability to immerse himself in his surroundings, Bill Buford has written what is sure to be the food-lover's book of the year.

Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French cooking

New Europe!

Granta has long been recognized for its controversial and thought-provoking coverage of global issues. This collection of the best journalistic pieces written in the English language for Granta includes works by John le Carre, Ian Jack, James Fenton, Martha Gellhorn, and others.

The Best of Granta Reportage

Gathers articles about travel in Uganda, the Sahara, the Sudan, China, Siam, Taiwan, Saigon, Italy, Warsaw, and Moscow

Travel

Granta 26

Bill Buford turns his inimitable attention from Italian cuisine to the food of France. Baffled by the language, but convinced that he can master the art of French cooking--or at least get to the bottom of why it is so revered-- he begins what becomes a five-year odyssey by shadowing the esteemed French chef Michel Richard, in Washington, D.C. But when Buford (quickly) realizes that a stage in France is necessary, he goes--this time with his wife and three-year-old twin sons in tow--to Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France. Studying at L'Institut Bocuse, cooking at the storied, Michelin-starred La Mère Brazier, enduring the endless hours and exacting rigeur of the kitchen, Buford becomes a man obsessed--with proving himself on the line, proving that he is worthy of the gastronomic secrets he's learning, proving that French cooking actually derives from ( mon dieu!) the Italian. With his signature humor, sense of adventure, and masterly ability to immerse himself--and us--in his surroundings, Bill Buford has written what is sure to be the food-lover's book of the year.

Adventures in French Cooking from the Bestselling Author of Heat

A selection from the beloved bestseller Among the Thugs, “Waiting for a Goal” pinpoints the actual soccer amid the rampant hooliganism. They have names like Barmy Bernie, Daft Donald, and Steamin’ Sammy. They like lager (in huge quantities), the Queen, football clubs, and themselves. Their dislikes encompass the rest of the known universe, and England’s soccer thugs express their feelings in ways that range from petty vandalism to riots that terrorize entire cities. And for nearly a decade, from World Cups to beer halls, Bill Buford was one of them. Among the Thugs is the terrifying, definitive account of football hooliganism, a hall of fame sports book but also a paragon of immersive journalism. In “Waiting for a Goal,” Buford shepherds the reader into the stands, directly over the pitch, bringing the social imagination of a George Orwell and the raw personal engagement of a Hunter S. Thompson to bear on the most beautiful game there is. An eBook short.

Waiting for a Goal

From one of our most interesting literary figures – former editor of Granta, former fiction editor at The New Yorker, acclaimed author of Among the Thugs – a sharp, funny, exuberant, close-up account of his headlong plunge into the life of a professional cook. Expanding on his James Beard Award-winning New Yorker article, Bill Buford gives us a richly evocative chronicle of his experience as “slave” to Mario Batali in the kitchen of Batali’s three-star New York restaurant, Babbo. In a fast-paced, candid narrative, Buford describes three frenetic years of trials and errors, disappointments and triumphs, as he worked his way up the Babbo ladder from “kitchen bitch” to line cook . . . his relationship with the larger-than-life Batali, whose story he learns as their friendship grows through (and sometimes despite) kitchen encounters and after-work all-nighters . . . and his immersion in the arts of butchery in Northern Italy, of preparing game in London, and making handmade pasta at an Italian hillside trattoria. Heat is a marvelous hybrid: a memoir of Buford’s kitchen adventure, the story of Batali’s amazing rise to culinary (and extra-culinary) fame, a dazzling behind-the-scenes look at a famous restaurant, and an illuminating exploration of why food matters. It is a book to delight in, and to savour. From the Hardcover edition.

Bill Buford

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