Sous Chef: 24 Hours in the Kitchen

‘Put a new pan down. Season the bass. Always from a height. The bass goes in. A monk looks done. Give it the cake tester. It’s barely warm. Another minute. To the pass with it. A pan is too hot. The oil smells scorched. Start again. Burner at full tilt. Now for the mussels. They jump in the oil. Aromas flourish. On with more gambas. On with more pans. On with more burners. Scrape down the plancha. Towel your brow. Printers buzz. A new pick. Six more fish. Your legs are tired. Tickets blur.’ Sous Chef takes you behind the swinging doors of a busy restaurant kitchen, allowing you to inhabit this normally hidden world, in real time. Follow chef from the moment he opens the kitchen in the morning as he guides you through the meticulous preparation, the camaraderie in the hours leading up to service and the adrenalin-rush as the orders start coming in. Thrilling, addictive and bursting with obsessive detail, Sous Chef will leave you breathless and awestruck – walking into a restaurant will never be the same again.

Reviews of Sous Chef: 24 Hours in the Kitchen

* 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 * One of the most informative, funny and transparent books about the restaurant biz ever written — BRET EASTON ELLIS * A good cook chooses ingredients carefully, just as a writer must select the right words. Michael Gibney is a word cook of the highest order and this book will leave you licking your fingers — GARY SHTEYNGART author of Super Sad True Love Story * Miraculous … Gibney has the soul of the poet and the stamina of a stevedore … Tender and profane New York Times Book Review * Gibney's writing is in Anthony Bourdain's league: he puts across both the intense stress and the intense joy of cooking in a professional kitchen Time, 15 Best Books of 2014 * 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 and Butter * Thrillingly crafted The Bookseller * Fascinating and fun Boston Globe * The pace – when you're in the thick of it – is thrilling, and the tension palpable Independent * Compelling … a fascinating read Herald * Shows what it's really like to work full-on in the high-end restaurant industry. A must-read Scotsman