Author Bill Buford had thought of himself as a reasonably good cook, although he had always wondered how good of a cook he'd be if he worked in a kitchen. Conveniently, Buford became friends with famous chef Mario Batali, who offered him an opportunity to train in the kitchen of his restaurant, Babbo. Buford leapt at the chance, and this book documents his culinary adventures in Babbo's kitchen and beyond. Bufor describes what it's like to work in Batali's kitchen, but also travels to Italy and London, where he studies such things as the fine art of pasta preparation, as well as the art of butchery.
I had read this book years ago (it was published in 2006) but was reminded of it recently when I was reading an article about Mario Batali. The article, which focused on complaints about Batali's behavior, mentioned that Buford wrote about Batali's behavior years ago. Reading the book originally, I didn't think as much about some of it, although I felt that Mario was not only a bit over the top, but also that I didn't understand why Batali would tolerate certain kinds of behavior in his kitchen. However, this time through the book, it is a little clearer on that last point: Batali probably tolerated behavior because he, himself, didn't think anything was wrong with engaging in this kind of behavior. As a result of the recent news about Batali, reading the book was a completely different experience.
I did like reading about Buford's learning experiences, although I sometimes marveled at the fact that Buford was apparently wealthy enough to not only work in Babbo's kitchen, but also travel abroad several times. That aside, it's an interesting book, although I felt that the adoration of Batali sometimes wore a bit thin, as did the extensive writing about butchery. But, that's just my take on it.
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