Heat - Bill Buford

Heat

By Bill Buford

  • Release Date: 2006-05-30
  • Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Score: 4.5
4.5
From 133 Ratings

Description

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.

Reviews

  • Fantastic read!!

    5
    By xtracalibur
    You will be hungry from page one. A brilliant, easily readable, and intimately revealing view into the business of fine Italian restaurant cooking at the very highest levels. A feast for the soul.
  • Engaging...and Informative

    5
    By Jason_ManOfRadio
    An excellent novel if you ever wanted to know about the inner workings of a restaurant, of Chef Mario Batali, or of the true origins of pasta (really! Egg anyone?). If you're an enthusiastic cook, more confident than competent (that is, keen but fundamentally clueless), then this is right for you.