Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany (edit title)

• Rated 4 stars

“This book has changed me.

If you're ever in my presence, don't mention pasta; I'll go off on a 10-minute digression about Italy, tortellini belly buttons and the incorporation of egg in a hand-rolled recipe.

I've also begun to view meat differently, too. With every slab of somethin' on my plate, I'm trying to imagine where it came from, how it was cut, and what it must have looked like when the animal was still alive.

I am officially the world's most irritating dinner guest. Thanks, Mister Buford.”

• Rated 0 stars

“A Culinary Adventure”

• Rated 4 stars

“As a huge fan of The Iron Chef, the Food Network, and (let’s face it) food, I couldn’t wait to read Heat, Bill Buford’s account of his midlife apprenticeship to chef Mario Batali of Molto Mario fame. An editor for The New Yorker, Buford couldn’t find a writer to do a profile of Batali, so he took on the assignment himself, hardly a burden for a self-confessed foodie and competent home chef. But after arriving at Batali’s three-star New York restaurant, Babbo, Buford learned just how much he had to learn. The kitchen’s pace is frantic and Buford struggles for months. His instruction is literally trial by fire, as Buford is singed more than once and seems to lose pounds of flesh through both knife accidents and sweat. Eventually, though, he gets the knack and progresses from “kitchen slave” to line cook, pasta maker, and ultimately a butcher who could teach a thing or two to Batali: “Then I had crossed over. I was no longer on the outside looking in. I stopped being an author writing about the experience of the kitchen. I was a member of it.” Along the way, Buford paints a warts-and-all portrait of Batali, who lives by the motto “Wretched excess is just barely enough.” In every way, Batali emerges as a giant: girth, ego, talent, and pain in the neck. Buford crams the book with food history, explanations of cooking terms, and culinary gossip, all rendered with clarity and wit. Although the book loses some steam in the closing chapters when Buford is working in a Tuscan butcher shop, on the whole Heat is a sizzling, savory, and satisfying dish. ”

• Rated 3 stars

“I am fascinated by cooking, baking and food in general. I love the Food Network, so when I found out there was a book about a guy who worked in Mario Batali's kitchen I just had to read it. I liked the concept of the book, being behind the scenes and finding out what really goes on in the kitchen. I learned a lot about what it takes to make the meals we eat in restaurants, about the humane treatment of animals that are used for food and about Mario himself. If you love food in general and Italian food in particular then this book is for you.”

• Rated 4 stars

“Reviewed on my blog for 26 December 2006.”

• Rated 4 stars

“I recommend this book, especially if you love food and restaurants! It tells the authors experience as a "kitchen helper" in a famous NY city restaurant. Some good behind-the-scenes stories . . . but it also details the author's continuing love affair with food which lead him to apprentice in Italy . . . with a butcher . . . some of the writing bogged down for me at times. On the whole, I enjoyed the book though. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“Excellent memoir. I think that the stories of Batali's development were the most fascinating part. Also, interesting from a perspective of how people get truly great at something. Basically Buford discovered that working in a restaurant makes you a better cook because of the sheer repetition of the tasks. For instance, after a couple days of chopping 500 carrots into identical matchsticks you're going to get it down. The obsessiveness of the young cooks at Babbo reminded me of the young cooking students who worked at the Country Club I used to work at. One of the things I've always liked about the restaurant business is the passion of the people in it and that really came through in this book.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I really gave this book the good "college try," but could not get into it. While some chapters were interesting and humorous, other chapters seemed to drag on and the real-life characters (Mario Batali, etc.) just didn't grab me. The overuse of parentheses was slightly grating. I guess I'm not a huge food-writer fan ... ”

• Rated 3 stars

“This book was entertaining but billed as an Amateur's adventure but really it's a well connected writer/friend of Mario Bataili adventure when one takes all the opportunities available. An interesting exploration of Mario's life and growth following his footsteps.”