Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll

December 1, 2017
A tasty venture in a culinary wonderland.In his latest book, Friedman (Knives at Dawn: America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d'Or Competition, 2011, etc.), who has co-authored more than 20 cookbooks, focuses on the rise of the chef profession. The author anchors the book at the beginning of the 1970s, when "Americans, from coast to coast, and in large numbers, began voluntarily, enthusiastically cooking in restaurants for a living--a once forbidden and unrespected professional course--screw the consequences." He argues that when ambition becomes a driving force in a young professional's life, it quickly outweighs the possible repercussions. This was a new mindset at the time, when professional tracks were still highly structured and conservative. Specifically, Friedman explains that the Vietnam War created an urgency to take more risks in regard to pursuing vocations. He goes on to tell the tale of Wolfgang Puck's rise to fame and creation of his signature restaurants, Spago and Chinois on Main-, as well as the establishment--and sometimes, dissolution--of landmark restaurants in New York and Los Angeles, including Ma Maison, The Quilted Giraffe, Chanterelle, Le Cirque, and La Cote Basque. In discussing these restaurants, Friedman also examines the psychology involved in their success. For instance, the author describes at length the omnipotence of French cuisine in American food culture: "a funny thing happened to many of those Americans who mastered French cuisine: They quickly developed a desire to move beyond it, to forge their own style, whether a personalized answer to nouvelle cuisine, or--in many cases--the development of a distinctly American repertoire founded on the hard-earned techniques they'd picked up from the French." Friedman is at his best when exploring the intricacies of the relationships among restaurant owners and chefs--Puck, Thomas Keller, Buzzy O'Keeffe, Larry Forgione, Marc Sarrazin, Paul Prudhomme, and dozens of others who were constantly innovating.An intriguing perspective on a profession that very quickly captivated our attention--a great gift idea for the foodie in the house.

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February 19, 2018
In this enthusiastic history, food writer Friedman (Knives at Dawn) surveys the figures and institutions that powered the “transformation of American cooking” in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s. Through the 1960s, Friedman writes, canned vegetables, McDonald’s, and TV dinners defined dining in America, with restaurant kitchens deemed the last refuge of dropouts and ex-cons. Then, he asserts, the countercultural upheaval behind draft dodging and Woodstock also inspired hippies to source local ingredients, while world travelers tried to recreate meals they experienced in France or Italy. Melded with the French nouvelle cuisine movement, these trends led thousands of young food enthusiasts to embrace cooking as a profession, a philosophy, and, not infrequently, a path to celebrity. Friedman follows a colorful assortment of these chefs—including David Bouley, Wolfgang Puck, and Alice Waters—as they defied a growing fast-food nation to create a headstrong new dining ethos that promoted chefs from being mere kitchen workers to achieving a new cultural prominence. Throughout, Friedman brings each chef to life: Charlie Palmer, for example, was “a broad-shouldered, Hemingway-esque former high school football player from the dairy community of Smyrna, New York,” who was terrified when he moved to New York City in the 1970s. Friedman’s passion for the subject infuses every anecdote, detail, and interview, making this culinary narrative an engrossing experience.

December 15, 2017
Frequent cookbook collaborator Friedman (Knives at Dawn, 2011) takes a sweeping look at the rise of the American celebrity chef in the 1970s and '80s. Relying heavily on interviews with the now aged chefs and their associates, most of them gazing back with nostalgia on their hard-partying youths, Friedman examines in extensive detail the rise and sometimes fall of a few restaurants, nearly all in either New York, the San FranciscoBay Area, or Los Angeles. Commonly known figures like Wolfgang Puck and Paul Prudhomme put in appearances, along with hundreds of other, lesser-known cooks and eaters. While all the chapters gush with details of the time period, the author loosely dedicates his chapters to various topics: small restaurants owned by wealthy couples in New York, the declining influence of French cuisine on its American counterpart, the role of women in restaurants around San Francisco, and so on. Although the book may be overwhelming for the casual restaurant goer, committed foodies will eat it up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2018

Friedman (Knives at Dawn) has been writing about food and chefs for two decades. His newest book chronicles the rise of modern chefs in the 1970s and 1980s. Through conversations with chefs, critics, and friends, Friedman illuminates the evolution from laborer cook to celebrated chef. Contributors include famous names such as Wolfgang Puck, Alice Waters, and Mimi Sheraton, as well as some chefs who might be less familiar to readers: Bruce Marder (chef-owner of Capo, Santa Monica) and Sue Conley (cofounder of Cowgirl Creamery). Many profiled here share an unconventional career path that includes an influence of France's culinary techniques, some more directly than others. But all the chefs featured within this smooth narrative came to the realization that cooking in America could be an open book; creativity flowed as they experimented with techniques and food combinations. Friedman mostly focuses on New York and Los Angeles, where many of these chefs gravitated toward. VERDICT An easy-going history that will be devoured by foodies and cooking fans as well as those interested in American cultural history.--Ginny Wolter, Toledo Lucas Cty. P.L.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 1, 2017

From the coauthor of two dozen cookbooks, here's the story of how American chefs became hot in the 1970s-1980s, from the spark struck in politically charged California by the likes of Alice Waters and Wolfgang Puck to East Coast wonders Mario Batali and Tom Colicchio and the fall of New York City's French restaurant as the only game in town. With a 50,000-copy first printing.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.