Sous Chef: 24 Hours On the Line

Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line
By Michael Gibney
Ballantine Books, 2014. 240 pgs. Nonfiction

Have you ever sat in a nice restaurant and wondered how all that appetizing food got to your plate? There’s a lot going on behind the scenes of every restaurant, and Sous Chef is a fun look into the miracle of logistics that every restaurant is. This book gives a unique, second-person narrative of a typical day in the life of an upscale sous chef, from deliveries and food prep in the early morning hours to the cathartic fatigue of serving up that last plate. You’ll joke with your co-workers, deal with demanding customers, and find out just how much knowledge and skill is required for creating and serving delicious food. With casual language and vivid descriptions, the author brings life to an initially thankless but ultimately rewarding job of bringing raw ingredients through a chaotic kitchen to your plate. You’ll never think of restaurants the same way again.

LC