The Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "THIS BOOK CHRONICLES a year behind the scenes at the New York City restaurant Daniel..." (more)
Key Phrases: crab gelée, two risotto, prep kitchen, New York, Alex Lee, Daniel Boulud (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Daniel Boulud's Manhattan restaurant, Daniel, is considered one of the nation's top dining spots. But in 1999, New York Times restaurant reviewer William Grimes demoted Daniel from its lofty four-star status to a merely "excellent" three stars. Leslie Brenner's The Fourth Star recounts her self-assigned year behind the scenes at Daniel, at the end of which Grimes returned the coveted star. Her fascinating fly-on-the-wall narrative takes readers to the restaurant's two arenas: the front of the house, a world of demanding patrons and equally exacting staff, who try to accommodate guests while ensuring the smooth coordination of operations; and the world behind the swinging doors, a roiling place in which tension is both staved off and cultivated by barking chefs--including Boulud--but which nonetheless (or consequently) produces world-class food.

Brenner takes readers everywhere: to the reservations desk and its crew's VIP-seating machinations; to staff meetings; to a wine-buying session; to a visit from President Clinton (who is allergic, it's noted, to chocolate); and, primarily, to the kitchen, where "the work is really hard and someone else takes all the credit" and burnout means that cooks, most in their 20s, stay an average of a year. This is all great stuff, and Brenner is particularly, almost amazingly, good at getting it all down to the last crème brûlée. Unfortunately, the book is compromised by the author's near-sycophantic regard for Boulud (his "genius is readily apparent," is a typical observation) and the restaurant, whose "wondrousness" is presented as a given. Thus the narrative, which is also (perhaps unavoidably) repetitive, often feels like an infomercial. Hanging her tale on the wish for the fourth star also plays Brenner false, as the issue is largely unmentioned or otherwise expressed by the cast of characters, leading Brenner to interject leading comments ("Could [Boulud] have missed his moment in the eyes of the critic whose judgment matters most?") that only salute the lack of narrative tension. These things said, the book is still a must-read for anyone interested in the workings of a top-drawer restaurant at the peak of its powers, and of the amazing hierarchical dramas, front of the house and back, that make it what it is. --Arthur Boehm

From Booklist

Reporter Brenner spent a year in New York's elegant restaurant Daniel as its staff labored together to earn a coveted fourth star from the New York Times' powerful restaurant critic. Brenner's microscopic account of the dining room staff, the chefs, and the restaurant's patrons makes fascinating reading for foodies, who will virtually drool over dinner items such as ravioli stuffed with artichokes and arugula or risotto gazpacho. Brenner's vivid descriptive powers come to the fore to relate the professional and personal successes and setbacks of many of the kitchen staff, from the brilliant, charismatic chef-owner, Daniel Boulud, to the line cooks and even the oft-ignored busboys. In each aspect of this eating establishment, detail is everything. Brenner's account of how the restaurant takes (and refuses) reservations offers many an object lesson for anyone striving to do public service right. Consummately professional reservationists even smile as they talk on the telephone because they believe that a smile can be "heard" across the phone lines. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Clarkson Potter; 1 edition (June 11, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609608088
• ISBN-13: 978-0609608081
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,062,795 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for would-be chefs and all food-lovers, October 9, 2002

By	"johnachef" (Hyde Park, NY) - See all my reviews

As one who abandoned a graduate degree in English in order to pursue a career as a chef, I can't recommend this book more highly: it provides an invaluable glimpse into a world most culinary students can only imagine, and usually romanticize. I would make it required reading at all culinary schools. Daniel Boulud is the best in his field, both as a chef and as a restaurateur, and The Fourth Star gives us an amazing opportunity to witness just how he does it. From a literary perspective, the characters are as fascinating as those in a good novel, and the relentless pursuit of excellence (and of course the attempt to gain a fourth star) that goes on in the restaurant makes for a compelling read. This was one of those books that I was sorry to see end.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A big disappointment, November 14, 2003

By	A Food Lover (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Fourth Star: Dispatches from Inside Daniel Boulud's Celebrated New York Restaurant (Paperback)

I love everything about food so was really looking forward to reading this book. Unfortunately, I found it to be a huge disappointment. While there are certainly some very interesting anecdotes on how elite restaurants operate as well as some great cooking tips and ideas, the vast majority of the book is dull and repetitive. The books is effectively a journal of daily life in the restaurant and the author is probably the only person not to realize that most days in a kitchen (just like at any job) are pretty much the same. Nonetheless, she doesn't hesitate to point out each time a customer order a soup or if (brace yourselves) a table of four decides to order five appetizers.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Our Pate, which Art on Table, August 19, 2003

By	Avid Reader (Franklin, Tn) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This is a book by and for foodies. As such it is filled with a lingo that may require some translation for the uninitiated. Even so, it is both an intriguing tale (how he got the fourth star) even as it contains some of the best behind-the-scenes restaurant action ever written.

One grasps the passion, the obsession, the degree to which the performers immerse themselves in every aspect of food from both the "business" end (running a restaurant) and the "artistic" end (selecting, preparing, cooking). Just reading through one of those hectic nights is exhausting but the author seems to have been in the pits with the major players. The outtake vignettes such as the episode on making reservations or on the quirky but faithful customers are sheer joy.

And who has not imagined such a dinner as the one that finally concluded the book. Bravo for such an effort as this one!