Book Review - Heat by Bill Buford

Date: September 12, 2007
Author: Bill Buford:
Title: Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany.
Rating: 6/10

How I got a hold of this book: I bought it from Kramerbooks.
Where I read it: Home/Metro
This book made me feel: That I hate professional United States kitchens.
Why I like it: The time in Panzano
Why I don't like it: Time at Babbo with all the sexist racist loser fucks.
The plot in five words: Torture/demean/remove/recover/calm

This book made me think of: South Seattle Community College pastry/culinary schools and the teachers that were loser fucks.
Memorable character: Maestro in Panzano
Memorable quote: It is, I concluded a side effect of this kind of food, one that's handed down from one generation to another, often in conditions of adversity, that you end up thinking of the dead, that the very stuff that sustains you tastes somehow of mortality.
Person I met while reading this book: I watched the Orioles baseball game on gameday.

Something memorable that happened in my life during the time it took to read the book: I ran my fastest 5k because I am inspired by Brian Roberts of the Orioles, another open-heart surgery patient.
If I could recommend this book to one person, it would be to: Someone before he/she enters culinary school.
How this book changed my life: Food should be simple, preparation should include joy. That is missing from the United States culinary industry.
Will I read it again: not likely

Notes: This book has inspired me to remove the trappings of culinary competition and just enjoy food I make. With this in mind I may focus more on bread. It has always been a part of me, and even in chaotic times the process remains calming. Also, there's so much shit food in DC that I really need to take the bull by the horns regarding what I eat.