Customer Reviews

A Meal Observed

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The best dinners are those slowly savored with friends and loved ones. Years afterward, one might still recall much of the fare of a memorable evening, the warm ambiance and the stylish décor, or an incredible waiter, a magnificent seafood dish, soufflé, or the fifty year old Bordeaux. In France, Guide Michelin starred restaurants are intended to be the ultimate French dining experience employing the best chefs, lush furnishings, unparalleled service and a magnificent wine cellar.

Yet, unless one is accustomed to formal French dining, there is a certain apprehension, the dread of committing some unpardonable dining room faux pas that will draw glares from the haughty staff and muted mirth from in-the-know fellow patrons. Andrew Todhunter invites the reader along to a memorable dinner at Taillevent, the world renowned three star restaurant and, arguably, the best restaurant in the world. Todhunter shares his apprehension and appreciation of this dinner-of-a-lifetime at the mecca of haute cuisine.

A Meal Observed will not leave the reader drooling over the cuisine served nor will it divulge secret recipes from the celebrated Parisian restaurant. What it will do is reveal to the reader the dedication of those who have chosen cooking as a career and the complexities of flawless performance night after night.

The premise of each of the book's chapters is to unhurriedly savor every exciting course from amuse-bouche to the complimentary cognacs that conclude the evening and to recognize the varied skills of the maître d', table captain, sommelier, head chef, sous-chef, pastry chef and the entire kitchen "brigade." The author incorporates not only apt descriptions of the courses laid before him but sprinkles in reminiscences of his own culinary life, a few interesting philosophical observations as well as a smattering of gastronomic history. Todhunter served several months as a sort of apprentice - reporter at large at Taillevent before making the anonymous dinner reservation for he and his wife.

A Meal Observed is more than just a recitation of ingredients of artistically arranged plates. The author interviewed several of the chef/craftsmen that daily toil long hours in obscurity, many with minimal pay, their years of endeavor, their singular mindedness, their near maniacal dedication to churning out masterpiece after masterpiece. Unlike much of America, where advancement is the goal and each rung on the ladder a mere stopping off point, European culture is still tied to apprenticeship and mastering the job at hand - imbuing each step of the career path with proud accomplishment. In the end, the reader is left with a deeper appreciation not only of the glorious presentation of food but the intricacies of preparation, coordination and management of a world class restaurant.

This was my first exposure to Andrew Todhunter's writing, and I was pleased to the extent I was able to learn about him, not just his dinner at Taillevant. He does veer off from the subject of the meal, but I thought that enhanced the reading experience. I also enjoyed his behind-the-scenes descriptions of the kitchen, which added an extra dimension. If you have ever had a meal in a restaurant of similar distinction, this book will allow you to relive that delicious experience. All-in-all, I would heartily recommend this book to anyone interested in food and its professional preparation. And, if you are like me, it will act as an amuse bouche, making you want to read Todhunter's other books.

Todhunter, apparently at ease on towering rock faces, diving in frigid lakes, and storm kayaking, walks somewhat anxiously into the 3 star French restaurant Taillevent for a full course meal. He recounts the meal in such a way that one feels one is sitting at the table with him and his wife watching a time-honored and sacred ceremony take place. It is the ritual of haute cuisine performed meticulously by the world's best chefs, sommeliers, and servers, and described in wonderful detail by the author. Todhunter worked in the restaurant and interviewed many of the principal chefs. His treatment of the various views of cooking as art and the exploration of the contentious politics within the kitchen and between the chefs and servers is fascinating. I haven't enjoyed a personal essay on dining this much since Liebling's "Between Meals".

Gourmet food fan Andrew Todhunter is both the American who travels in search of the best local foods and a writer who have spent months in restaurant kitchens learning behind-the-scenes processes: as such, his A MEAL OBSERVED is the perfect description of how a professional orchestrated kitchen is run. The reader may wonder how a single restaurant coverage can take up over two hundred pages: the meal in question is itself a five-hour affair: take in-depth descriptions of French dishes, add memoirs of the author's American childhood and foods, consider cooking methods and politics and add liberal dash of recipes at book's end and you have the answer.

I love this book. Some of the reviewers miss the point. This book is about the meal and it is about the life of the author. They are interwoven wonderfully making his book a fascinating and delightful read. Don't miss it!

My book and music reviews are usually based on entertainment value, and for this and other reasons I give "A Meal Observed" 5 stars. This book has the "perfect reader" and it feels like I just happened to be one, as if the book were written specifically for me. There will be those who are "above" the book and will not laugh out loud the way I did, so very many times. I find this little book a revealing gem and one of the most culturally informative books this American has ever read. Sad when the book ended I look forward to more first person travel tales from this author. Somewhere between Pixar's rat-infested food movie and this book I now have a burning need to go to France and eat organs.

Here's an interesting idea for a book: Go to an exclusive French restaurant, indulge in a long and pricey meal, and then write about it. That's it. That's this book. It is a course by course description of a single meal. Todhunter tells about the food and the service and the restaurant and the chefs and wanders around here and there into all sorts of fascinating tangentially related topics. A fun quick read.

This is a muddled, confused book that occasionally entertains, but ultimately grows tiresome. As the narrator, Mr. Todhunter fills page after page with reminisces about old girlfriends, his mother's curious relationship with food and his father's unusual disciplinary style. Ummmm... why do I care?

The sad thing is that the author is obviously a talented writer and has chosen an interesting topic, but his story becomes self-indulgent and tedious. In the end, he isn't as interesting as the cooks and culinary history that he should be probing. When he does provide insights into cooking and the spirituality that underlies the process of preparing, serving and eating food, they lack any real depth. His ponderings are really quite trite.

Throughout the book, the author comes off as a dilettante, intrigued by fancy cuisine and proud of his ability to appreciate it. His credibility stems from his off-and-on work as an apprentice at Taillevant. Well, in writing "Heat" and by really delving into culinary history and the personalities behind a highly successful restaurant, Bill Buford handily beats this rambling jaunt.

You think you're going to read a book describing an incredible meal at one of the world's finest restaurants with some tasty insights about what goes on behind the scenes in the kitchen. Instead you get -- ugh -- filler. Todhunter likes to go off on rambling tangents about, for instance, the history of salt. Feels like padding to me. I have dined at this caliber of Paris restaurant and have also worked in a three-star kitchen there, and there is so much more that could have been said. Save your money.

Can't put the book down. Very interesting book about a dinning experience in France at one of the 3 star establishments. The only critisism is that the author tends too sway from the subject at hand. Overall I would recommend this book to one interested in knowing about the French proffesional kitchen and some of the personalities that make up the "brigade". This book has led me to others of similiar subject matter. I just skim the many pages of diversion to continue with the main account.