Heat is Hot

Categories: Cookbooks

Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-quoting Butcher in Tuscany, Bill Buford's searing account of his time learning to cook in celebrity chef Mario Batali's restaurant, is fascinating reading for anyone serious about cooking.

An avid home cook, Buford thought he knew his way around a kitchen but was curious to see what it was like to cook with the big guys.  He signed on as unpaid apprentice to the Falstaffian Batali and chronicled the ensuing adventure.

Heat follows Buford as he progresses through the hierarchy of cooking, from basic kitchen slave who chops vegetables week after week to when, as an experienced cook, he accompanies Batali and other staff members to a benefit dinner in Tennessee.

Along the way, Buford decides he needs to learn more about Italian cooking and apprentices himself to a master pasta-maker and a legendary butcher.  Soon he has even outmastered Mario in some techniques and must face the question of whether he wants a career in journalism or in cooking.

 Funny, ribald and utterly fascinating, this is first-rate writing about food, cooking and the crazed world of restaurants.  If you liked Kitchen Confidential, you'll love Heat.