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Cooking On The Line: from Food Lover to Professional Line Cook
Cooking On the Line...from Food Lover to Professional Line Cook, is a unique, behind the scenes, ground level, cook's-eye-view of the professional restaurant kitchen and it's Superstar Chefs. You will feel the heat, the pressure, and the intensity of cooking at the highest level. With no formal training, Wayne Cohen pursues his passion for food, changes careers in mid life, and becomes part of the legendary, hyper-competitive restaurant industry. Armed only with a love for food and a decent chef's knife, Wayne manages to talk his way into a restaurant kitchen, eventually becoming a line cook at award winning, multi-starred restaurants including; Michael Jordan's one sixtyblue, Chef Tony Priolo's Piccolo Sogno, and TV's MasterChef's Graham Elliot Bowles' restaurant Graham Elliot. Cooking On the Line is told from the unique viewpoint of a line cook, the guy who is really cooking your food. It reveals the experience of what it feels like to be immersed in all things food and the techniques of restaurant cooking, while dealing with the intense pressure of the moment, and personal relationships that come with the job. Cohen's detailed narrative about his experience as a line cook and his reflections of the restaurant industry offer a unique, behind-the-scenes perspective. Filled with delicious recipes throughout the book and a notable chapter detailing how to become a professional cook, COOKING ON THE LINE... from Food Lover to Professional Line Cook, is a must-read for all lovers of food.
258 pages, Paperback
First published February 11, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 3, 2015
Annoying narrator, poorly edited, some interesting content.
For me the main frustration of Cooking on the Line was the narrator, if he is to be believed he never makes a mistake, is always saving other people from their mistakes, and in the recipient of a constant stream of praise from everyone he meets. Hard to believe at the best of times - particularly from a novice professional cook - and written in a way that just sounds like bragging in some chapters.
The editing was also a let down, the book is full of heavyhanded foreshadowing intended to convince us that something exciting is just about to happen. It's a painfully schoolkid technique and happens throughout the book, more than once a chapter at its worse. It's not hard to handle a narrative with little actual drama in much more skilled ways - for example Spiced's postcards from the front line approach, or Beaten, Seared and Sauced's slow and steady story arc and character development.
Similarly poor editing has let through an awful lot of repetition (how many times does the phrase "superstar chefs" need to be in a single chapter? or "hit" in a single paragraph?). I accept that there are lot of people who can't write who still have good stories to tell, but that's exactly what editing is for.
All that aside - and a bragging arrogant narrator and poor editing is hard to get past - I did find value in some of the content. Long lists of the contents of different restaurants' mise en place may not be a usual part of a story, but I did learn from them.
So... don't read it for the writing, and take a few deep breaths to get past the author, but you're interested in how the hot line in a professional kitchen works you may find some pieces of information that make it worth the read.
For me the main frustration of Cooking on the Line was the narrator, if he is to be believed he never makes a mistake, is always saving other people from their mistakes, and in the recipient of a constant stream of praise from everyone he meets. Hard to believe at the best of times - particularly from a novice professional cook - and written in a way that just sounds like bragging in some chapters.
The editing was also a let down, the book is full of heavyhanded foreshadowing intended to convince us that something exciting is just about to happen. It's a painfully schoolkid technique and happens throughout the book, more than once a chapter at its worse. It's not hard to handle a narrative with little actual drama in much more skilled ways - for example Spiced's postcards from the front line approach, or Beaten, Seared and Sauced's slow and steady story arc and character development.
Similarly poor editing has let through an awful lot of repetition (how many times does the phrase "superstar chefs" need to be in a single chapter? or "hit" in a single paragraph?). I accept that there are lot of people who can't write who still have good stories to tell, but that's exactly what editing is for.
All that aside - and a bragging arrogant narrator and poor editing is hard to get past - I did find value in some of the content. Long lists of the contents of different restaurants' mise en place may not be a usual part of a story, but I did learn from them.
So... don't read it for the writing, and take a few deep breaths to get past the author, but you're interested in how the hot line in a professional kitchen works you may find some pieces of information that make it worth the read.
May 30, 2017
Wonderful insight into cooking on the line at fine restaurants in Chicago.
June 6, 2013
Very interesting look behind the scenes at what goes on in a restaurant kitchen and what it takes to be a professional chef. Loved the Chicago setting and that the author was not professionally trained. Got a little long and full of self-importance at the end.
March 11, 2012
Loved it! Read it cover to cover in one sitting. Wonderful narrative for foodies and people who love restaurants.
June 22, 2014
Great read!
Honest, insightful, entertaining - was sorry it came to an end! If you are a foodie, you'll definitely enjoy this!
Honest, insightful, entertaining - was sorry it came to an end! If you are a foodie, you'll definitely enjoy this!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews