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Books of a culinary nature

This month in the Literarea, we're combining our love for all things literary and all things culinary and taking a look at books of a culinary nature: one new, one old and one classic (all of which are in print and available).

"RESTAURANT MAN"
By Joe Bastianich

The new book is "Restaurant Man" by Joe Bastianich. There are three ways you might know Joe. First, by his last name: his mother, Lidia, was one of the first true star chefs in America. Second, by the string of successful Italian restaurants he opened with Mario Batali, a star chef in his own right. Third, by his role as Gordon Ramsey's chef-kick and judge on Fox TV's MasterChef.

"Restaurant Man" charts Bastianich's rise in the restaurant world, starting as a kid working in his parent's "blue-collar, red-sauce joint" that his father, Felice, ran pragmatically and with an eye on the details – from the cost of food to how much liquor the staff was inevitably siphoning off for their own purposes. In fact, one of Joe's important jobs as a youth was to salt the wine so the staff wouldn't get too drunk between lunch and dinner services.

Initially, instead of becoming a restaurant man like his father, Joe tried his hand in the world of high finance on Wall Street. But after just one year, he understood that his heart was in marinara and not money. Well, that's not entirely true: He makes the point that to be a successful restaurateur you have be about the money and function as frugally as possible (Batali is known for routinely saving vegetable scraps from the garbage bins and repurposing them) while appearing to be giving and generous. It's the way to engender good will both with customers and the staff.

"Restaurant Man" opens with the line, "Here's everything you need to know to open a restaurant," and Bastianich proceeds to lay down the insights and the hard truths he's learned after a life in the restaurant business. There's no regaling the reader with glamorous stories of culinary celebrity. His writing, much like chef-author Anthony Bourdain, is straight forward and matter of fact no matter the subject, whether it be food pricing and the money-sucking linen costs to the use of alcohol and drugs, drugs, drugs.

There's also the never-ending battle with dodgy vendors and landlords, as well as vindictive food critics. In fact, this book stands right up next to Bourdain's sleeper hit "Kitchen Confidential", which was published in 2000. Instead of blurbs from chefs on the book cover, there are recommendations by some of the great American authors of the past 30 years: Jim Harrison, Jay McInerney and Bret Easton Ellis. With the stamp of approval from those writers, that should answer any questions as to whether this book is worth reading.

"THE DEVIL IN THE KITCHEN: SEX, PAIN, MADNESS AND THE MAKING OF A GREAT CHEF"
By Marco Pierre White

The old book is "The Devil in the Kitchen: Sex, Pain, Madness and the Making of a Great Chef" by Marco Pierre White. White is the original bad-ass chef. Long before Gordon Ramsey was yelling at wannabe chefs and the French, White was telling clientele who questioned his food to "F*** off." That in and of itself is not admirable, however White was the first of the star chefs to say "the customer isn't always right." And in White's mind usually they are quite wrong.

Since "The Devil in the Kitchen" is an autobiography the story is obviously about the life of White, who came up from poverty to become a multiple Michelin star-winning chef. He lost his beloved mother when he was six and grew up an angry young man. But he used that anger and that "one single, soulful memory of that moment when I last saw my mother" as fuel for his dream of culinary success. And no one succeeded like White. He was the first British chef (and the youngest chef anywhere) to win three Michelin stars, and future star chefs like Mario Batali and Gordon Ramsey have survived tours of duty in White's kitchen. Working with White puts one into a sort of war zone what with the constant risk of flying pots and plates. He's notoriously as tough on his staff as he is on recalcitrant customers.

In his autobiography it's not that he tries to gloss over the bad boy image so much as to explain where it came from, starting with the day he lost his mother. He also shows that he paid his dues working for (and ultimately outgrowing and out cooking) three major French chefs in Great Britain. Of course, there's some selective amnesia, which you will find in most autobiographies of controversial characters, but the story is riveting especially if you have even a passing interest in the culinary arts.

EVERYDAY DRINKING: THE DISTILLED KINGSLEY AMIS
By Kingsley Amis

For those unfamiliar with the author, Kingsley Amis was a renowned British author and one of the great masters of comedic storytelling. He published more than 20 books in his lifetime (he died at age 73 in 1995) and was knighted in 1990. Oh, and he was widely regarded as one of Britain's all-time authorities on drink, which, considering the history of Brits imbibing alcohol, is quite an honor.

In "Everyday Drinking" (the newest edition from 2008 features an introduction by friend, admirer and heavyweight drinker in his own right, the late Christopher Hitchens), Amis intersperses hilarious alcohol-related short stories, along with his own well-tested recipes – some named after his famous novels, like "Lucky Jim," and others named after friends "Evelyn Waugh's Noonday Reviver" – and rather helpful musings on subjects like The Hangover ("a piece of selfless research, undertaken by a pioneer"), The Boozing Man's Diet, What to Drink with What, and How Not to Get Drunk.

The humor is wry, bright and quick and it's easy to see why it's called "the distilled Kingsley Amis." The insight and advice comes from decades of "everyday drinking" by one of the masters of English comedy, who also sired another great novelist and comedic writer in his own right, Martin. And Martin (along with, until recently, his best buddy Hitchens) has carried on his father's torch quite proudly over the years as well.

This book is quotable from beginning to end – "You will find it a splendid pick-me-up, and throw-me-down, and jump-on-me. Strongly dis-recommended for mornings after" and "And most experts will tell you that the bloom begins to fade from a martini as soon as it is first mixed, which may be pure subjectivism, but, in any drinking context, subjectivism is very important" – and it's this that makes "Everyday Drinking" a classic in the literary sense. It's well worth reading if you are a fan of great writing or a fan of great drinking – even more so if you are a fan of both.

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