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The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambition
A page-turning memoir from the chef of The Waverly Inn, New York City's vaunted celebrity gathering spot
"The Hunger" is an insider's romp through the crazy life of the restaurant business, told by a journeyman chef who fought his way to the top. Trapped in a dead-end job, John DeLucie called it quits and invested his meager savings in a ten-week cooking class.
...moreHardcover, 256 pages
Published
May 1st 2009
by Ecco Press
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I'm a sucker for reality shows, especially those involving cooking contests, so I was predisposed to like THE HUNGER, despite the fact that it has nothing to do with vampires.
This memoir is framed with two stories, one of The Waverly Inn, which DeLucie is executive chef/partner, and one of his decision to become a chef in the first place. While the life of a chef is glamorized on television, DeLucie doesn't sugarcoat the long hours and low wages that people in the restaurant industry ...more
This memoir is framed with two stories, one of The Waverly Inn, which DeLucie is executive chef/partner, and one of his decision to become a chef in the first place. While the life of a chef is glamorized on television, DeLucie doesn't sugarcoat the long hours and low wages that people in the restaurant industry ...more
In tagging The Hunger, I couldn't even call it a cookbook. It simply provides no recipes. It is a memoir written by John DeLucie, executive chef of The Weaverly Inn in NYC, which opened in 2006.
DeLucie tells us of his struggles being a 9-5 headhunter, the emptiness of corporate life. At 30 he decides he wants to cook and completely changes career paths. The book is broken down into, what I'll call, comparative chapters, what went on when he first started to what is going on curre...more
DeLucie tells us of his struggles being a 9-5 headhunter, the emptiness of corporate life. At 30 he decides he wants to cook and completely changes career paths. The book is broken down into, what I'll call, comparative chapters, what went on when he first started to what is going on curre...more
The Hunger won't leave fans of foodie memoirs wanting more. John Delucie is the executive chef and co-owner of a trendy Manhattan restaurant. It's packed with celebrities and one of its other owners is Vanity Fair editor-in-chief Graydon Carter. Delucie followed a twisting and twisted career path to get there. Starting out as a refugee from a sales job he hated, Delucie earned his cooking chops the old fashioned way -- starting at the bottom literally chopping vegetables in the basement and work...more
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Not that it matters, but I can't remember if I got this one from Border's closing or B&N online clearance, but either way, I'm happy I spent the assumed $2.00 on it. I had never heard of the author, or the restaurant he works at, or even the person who wrote the forward....but there's a picture of a dining room on the cover and "food" appears in the subtitle, so I figured I'd give it a try. Like it says, The Hunger talks about Delucie's journey from 9-5 job to a very short time in cook...more
This was definitely an interesting book, truthfully written and full of insights into the professional kitchens of New York. There's not a lot of sugar coating on anything in this book: personality, names, language, stupid mistakes, and more.
It reminds me of why I wouldn't enjoy a career as a chef in a professional, bustling, insane kitchen. It was also a bit demoralizing, and made me wonder if there were anybody in NY's restaurant industry who maintained high morals.
Ther...more
It reminds me of why I wouldn't enjoy a career as a chef in a professional, bustling, insane kitchen. It was also a bit demoralizing, and made me wonder if there were anybody in NY's restaurant industry who maintained high morals.
Ther...more
John DeLucie, the chef and part-owner of The Waverly Inn in New York City, is doubtless a very nice fellow. But there are too many books written by too many chefs extolling their climb to fame from humble beginnings. TIME Magazine favourably reviewed "The Hunger" in an article about this season's books by cooks. This book could have been condensed into a nice long magazine article, which would have been readable and interesting. DeLucie boasts of charging $55 a plate for macaroni and ...more
I am loving this book...as a recovered (-ing?) restaurant manager...there is something about reading about the restaurant business that at once provides me with awe and longing and equally fills me with dread and panic!
This book is a fascinating account of Chef Delucie's ascent to restaurant glory. We read about his dissatisfaction with life as a shady recruiter and how he made the decision to become a chef. Interspersed with the colorful details of the cook jobs that led up to him h...more
This book is a fascinating account of Chef Delucie's ascent to restaurant glory. We read about his dissatisfaction with life as a shady recruiter and how he made the decision to become a chef. Interspersed with the colorful details of the cook jobs that led up to him h...more
The Hunger is a story of a dickhead living in New York City with no idea what to do with his life. He decides to leave a dead end corporate job and go to culinary school. He works his way up the ranks of the food industry, destroying two marriages in the process. At the end of the book, he is chef/owner of his own wildly successful restaurant, and still a dickhead. Still, I enjoyed his writing style, and he didn't try to hide who he is, and he tells a good story. If you're the type who watches F...more
I like this guy! Honest and so delightfully cheffy. Of course, this book totally made me want to check out the Waverly Inn, especially after the awesome story of the invention of their famous white truffle mac & cheese (shady alley truffle encounter? Check!). The stories of the celebrity diners are also super fun...my favorite was the visit from Karl Lagerfeld:
"When Lagerfeld spoke, it was silent enough in the clubby dining room for every last soul to hear his words. 'We have...more
"When Lagerfeld spoke, it was silent enough in the clubby dining room for every last soul to hear his words. 'We have...more
The book reads like a glorified timeline told out of order with a few shallow mostly cliché introspective footnotes thrown in. Mentions of interesting dishes he has created are scattered throughout the book and given minimal instructions, limiting the possibility of an aspiring cook being able to duplicate them. Enjoy his food but skip his writing.
This was a great memoir of how Delucie came to be the executive chef of The Waverly Inn in Greenwich Village. The restaurant business is an exclusive entity and if you have worked in a kitchen you can relate to John Delucie's co-workers/employees/employers. I'm a softy for foodie books and the industry and really enjoyed The Hunger.
What I learned from this book? That I'm not a big fan of gruff, crass, unlikable narrators who name-drop foods and celebrities with equally mediocre writing skills.
Comparing a tough night in a kitchen to the Bataan Death March (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Deat...)?
Give me a break.
Comparing a tough night in a kitchen to the Bataan Death March (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bataan_Deat...)?
Give me a break.
Interesting overview of the NYC restaurant scene, in particular the Waverly Inn. It does bug me that the fact checkers didn't catch the mix up between Public Enemy (TWICE!) and NWA.
Another chef trying to cash in,too bad he has nothing new to say. Tons of name dropping and false modesty. Bourdain did it better. still does.+
a quick read about one man's path to chef-stardom. lots of nitty, gritty details, kitchen lore, and gossip. quite entertaining.
Having many years of waitressing behind me, I always enjoy cooking related memoirs! That restaurant business was crazy!
Made me hungry and respectful of chefs and their staffs.
I have read a lot of chef's memoirs and with this last one I finally realized that the life of chef has no appeal.
I like a good story about hardworking folks who get fed up with their status quo corporate jobs and enter the near thankless culinary profession. Honestly. It's noble and from what I hear, far more enjoyable. Kudos John Delucie.
Connie
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John'alee Burk
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“Lobster-both-ways is popular tonight. The preparation is easy enough. Take a two-pound lobster. Kill it with a sharp chef’s knife straight between the eyes. Remove the claw and knuckle meat. Steam for five minutes, chop into salad with aioli, celery, and lots of shallots and chives. Chill. Reserve the tail until ordered. Paint with herb-infused oil, season with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, grill for two or three minutes until it’s just cooked through. Serve with spicy organic greens.”
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