In this in-depth, behind-the-scenes tell-all about the lives of women chefs, journalist Charlotte Druckman walks the reader into the world behind the hot line. But this is a different perspective on the kitchen: one told through the voices of more than 70 of the best and brightest women cooking today, These are female chefs performing culinary and domestic high wire acts: juggling sharp knives, battering heat, bruising male egos, and working endless hours, often while raising small children and living from paycheck to paycheck. How they deal with pressures, the expectations, the successes and failures, makes for absorbing reading.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In this well-researched book, food journalist Druckman explores what it’s like for women in the very intense and sometimes glamorous restaurant industry as she interviews 75 female chefs and restaurant owners from around the country. Initially, the author’s jokey asides seem distracting and the footnotes reminiscent of a term paper, but once the other voices are interspersed, hers becomes endearing and the footnotes useful sources of additional background, including what certain lingo like BOH (back of house) means. She speaks with such luminaries as Alice Waters and Lydia Shire as well as newbies Christina Tosi and Stephanie Izard (to date the only woman to have won Top Chef). The chefs weigh in on a variety of subjects including how to promote themselves and grow their businesses via television and social media, and balancing 18-hour days and personal lives. But the biggest recurring issue they encounter is sexism, like the banker who won’t give a chef-owner with a thriving restaurant a loan for a second place, the guys in the kitchen who verbally abuse and harass their female counterparts, and the pastry field, where many women end up and do spectacularly well, but are far less respected by awards outfits and restaurant critics.
Review
Publishers Weekly: In this well-researched book, food journalist Druckman explores what it's like for women in the very intense and sometimes glamorous restaurant industry as she interviews 75 female chefs and restaurant owners from around the country. Initially, the author's jokey asides seem distracting and the footnotes reminiscent of a term paper, but once the other voices are interspersed, hers becomes endearing and the footnotes useful sources of additional background, including what certain lingo like BOH (back of house) means. She speaks with such luminaries as Alice Waters and Lydia Shire as well as newbies Christina Tosi and Stephanie Izard (to date the only woman to have won Top Chef). The chefs weigh in on a variety of subjects including how to promote themselves and grow their businesses via television and social media, and balancing 18-hour days and personal lives. But the biggest recurring issue they encounter is sexism, like the banker who won't give a chef-owner with a thriving restaurant a loan for a second place, the guys in the kitchen who verbally abuse and harass their female counterparts, and the pastry field, where many women end up and do spectacularly well, but are far less respected by awards outfits and restaurant critics. (Nov.)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By goongirl
Format:Hardcover
I have only read 3 chapters at this point, however thus far this book is a real disappointment. As a chef, I was hoping for some in-depth analysis into my world but between the exhaustive footnotes and the author's constant opinion on every little thing (down to where to get the best macaroons), I still can't get through it. It's insulting when the writer is writing about women in the kitchen but then proceeds to make all the same mistakes and assumptions about women in the kitchen. I don't need to read that sort of book; I live it. What female chefs need is a female chef writing about their experiences, not a food writer that spends pages upon pages on herself. The book feels very self-deserving. The reader doesn't need to read for pages about how you would work in a kitchen but physically can't. We don't care. This is not your story, but at every turn you have found a way to make it about yourself.....down to pages about a previous incident with a pastry chef, where you still try to get your point across about the "disagreement" you had. That whole section felt like a 16 year old girl that wouldn't let go of a fight with her boyfriend. Who cares? I am not reading this book to hear about all your wonderful eating experiences in Paris, or to "oh and ah" at your list of chef connections. I want to feel closer to the women that do what I do everyday. Honestly, I can't believe the editors even let in most of the personal footnotes. They only tire and piss off the reader. I don't even have the energy to go into all the quotes....ridiculous is all I can say.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
By EditrixIsa
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I have followed Charlotte Druckman's writing in a variety of places. Besides being incredibly knowledgable about almost every aspect of food, what you sense is that she REALLY enjoys it. It's not JUST an intellectual enterprise--you feel the pleasure she gets from it. But of course the real issue is her subject: looking at the lives of women chefs in a really fascinating way. All I know is that I was more curious about this whole world after finishing it, which is always the sign of a great book.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Charlotte Druckman's book is smart, funny, and deeply insightful. She reveals the world of women chefs in an original and engaging manner with no holds barred. Her writing is erudite, entertaining and often hilarious, and the professional advice offered in the book doesn't just apply to women in the culinary field - it has universal appeal. I only wish I had read this book 25 years ago when I first entered the workforce.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Eh
The author's "voice" is to talk about the challenges of writing a book on women chef's over and over. I would have preferred a more confident point of view.
Published 2 months ago by Deborah R. Bander
5.0 out of 5 stars
We Needed This Book
I've been a female chef for over 10 years now, and there is just SO much to say about it. It's about more than sexism or gender roles, it's more than finding a balance of career... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Allison Marie
2.0 out of 5 stars
poor quality of printing
I received 2 copies of this book and there is ink all over many of the pages. It appears to be an error at the printer but maybe it is intentional. Unfortunate choice.
Published 5 months ago by Nancy Kaplan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very well written
This is a very informative and well written book. The subject has been well researched and is presented in a well organized and entertaining manner.
Published 6 months ago by Linda Sisler
1.0 out of 5 stars
Not enough original writing
I read an engaging excerpt of this book and bought it based on the strength of that excerpt. When I started reading it, though, it opened (after a lengthy intro) with a series of... Read more
Published 6 months ago by mimblewim
1.0 out of 5 stars
Does not deserve shelf space
Question to self: why am I bothering to flip the pages of a book that starts off with a dense equation of words from Virginia Woolf which I couldn't solve? Read more
Published 7 months ago by propinquity
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