Name: Sous Chef
Rating: 3.233333333333333 (15 reviews)
ISBN: 9780804177870

Michael Gibney

An executive sous chef who has worked alongside cooks from some of the nation's leading restaurants documents an intense 24-hour period that illuminates the allures and adversities of a professional culinary life. 30,000 first printing.

24 Hours on the Line

Sous Chef

Matthew Royal

The secret Iron Chef ingredient everything in this book is made from is... *drum roll*... testosterone!

Michael Gibney and his chef bros aspire to the tatted-up kitchen bad boys on the poster in their kitchen. His knives are ladies, and plunging them into a brie is steamy sex, complete with a cigarette smoked out back when the work is finished. He unconsciously describes a kitchen hierarchy ideally run with military precision, complete with hero worship up the chain of command, battlefield promotions, discipline, honor, and pride in your unit, regimentation of jobs with only one right way to do everything, looking askance at "mercenary" workers who move on when a better kitchen opens up, and screaming for respect from underlings even when you're at fault.

Gibney mentions that old school chefs, like his chef, took their knocks in Paris at the Cordon Bleu cooking school, and now they knock everyone else. Julia Child in her semi-autobiography, My Life in France, observed a huge number of recently discharged soldiers attending Cordon Bleu on the GI bill following World War II, and I suspect this modern American macho chef archetype and the entire militarized kitchen culture stems from this surge of military men into the kitchen.

Annoyingly, Gibney uses "fake" 2nd person narrative. It's not a choose-your-own adventure book, and it's not generalized to be Everyman's experience, so it comes across as juvenile. We hear every uncensored inner thought, whether or not it's kitchen-related, as though he wrote a 1st person stream of consciousness narrative, but then remembered his middle school teacher telling him NEVER to write the word "I" in a book report. Find, replace, done.

This is not a book that will help you understand the processes of a Sous chef, the techniques they use, or how to become one. It's not generalized enough to give you tips on planning a menu, breaking down a recipe into a project plan, or perfecting your mise en place. It is a day in the life of one man who works as a sous chef, so it's a primary source you'll have to synthesize, and isn't any of the things you were hoping for when you saw the book in the library and added it to your Goodreads.

Judy Hudgins

fast-paced and exhausting read, but you will never look at a meal eaten out the same way again.

The back must slave to feed the belly. . . . In this urgent and unique book, chef Michael Gibney uses twenty-four hours to animate the intricate camaraderie and culinary choreography in an upscale New York restaurant kitchen. Here readers will find all the details, in rapid-fire succession, of what it takes to deliver an exceptional plate of food—the journey to excellence by way of exhaustion. Told in second-person narrative, Sous Chef is an immersive, adrenaline-fueled run that offers a fly-on-the-wall perspective on the food service industry, allowing readers to briefly inhabit the hidden world behind the kitchen doors, in real time. This exhilarating account provides regular diners and food enthusiasts alike a detailed insider's perspective, while offering fledgling professional cooks an honest picture of what the future holds, ultimately giving voice to the hard work and dedication around which chefs have built their careers. In a kitchen where the highest standards are upheld and one misstep can result in disaster, Sous Chef conjures a greater appreciation for the thought, care, and focus that go into creating memorable and delicious fare. With grit, wit, and remarkable prose, Michael Gibney renders a beautiful and raw account of this demanding and sometimes overlooked profession, offering a nuanced perspective on the craft and art of food and service. Praise for Sous Chef “A wild ride, not unlike a roller coaster, and the reader experiences all the drama, tension, exhilaration, exhaustion and relief that accompany cooking in an upscale Manhattan restaurant.”—USA Today “Fascinating and fun . . . Gibney is both a gifted observer and supremely knowledgeable about his craft and the inner workings of a professional kitchen.”—The Boston Globe “Gibney has a fine ear for language and delivers an extraordinary amount of information about ingredients and techniques.”—The Wall Street Journal “Sous Chef reveals the high-adrenaline dance behind your dinner.”—NPR “Experience one exhilarating day in the shoes of a New York chef in this enthralling book.”—Parade “A vibrantly written guide to terminology and process, with plenty of real-time detail and a dash of kitchen gossip.”—Entertainment Weekly “[A] sizzling and informative debut . . . The choice of perspective pushes us through the text at breakneck speed, a subtle yet skillfully employed narrative move that also sets the stakes high for the reader. . . . Portion it out over numerous sittings for no other reason than prolonging its enjoyment.”—The Daily Beast “A terrific nuts-and-bolts account of the real business of cooking as told from the trenches. No nonsense. This is what it takes.”—Anthony Bourdain “Michael Gibney's you-are-there Sous Chef is one of the most informative, funny, and transparent books about the restaurant biz ever written.”—Bret Easton Ellis “This is excellent writing—excellent!—and it is thrilling to see a debut author who has language and story and craft so well in hand. Though I would never ask my staff to read my own book, I would happily require them to read Michael Gibney's.”—Gabrielle Hamilton, author of Blood, Bones & Butter From the Hardcover edition.

Jessica 

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I won a copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway a few years back. Sadly, Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line just wasn't my cup of tea. I did not finish the book, despite the writing and general intrigue one might get from the description. Perhaps it was because I am simply not a foodie (sniffle) that I didn't connect with it, perhaps I just wasn't in the mood--regardless of the reasons, it wasn't for me. 

Taste is subjective and this is all you should consider when picking it up or poking at my review (or anyone else's) so don't let me scare you away. If you are a foodie or a chef or are just looking for something new to experience, this is definitely going to be your next check-out. From what I understand, it's very informative and fun for a lot of others, so it's definitely worth a second look.

Sous Chef 24 Hours on the Line

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