The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambition

The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambition
by Graydon Carter, John DeLucie

The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambition
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Book Summary Information

Author: Graydon Carter, John DeLucie
Edition: Kindle Edition
Audio: English (Published)
Format: Kindle eBook
Published: 2009-05-05
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 258
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books

Book Reviews of The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambition

Book Review: "The Hunger" Satisfies
Summary: 4 Stars

"The Hunger" is an insider story of the education and rise of an Italian blue collar New York City cook. At age 30, John Delucie is a corporate placement counselor who is bored with his job and looking for a change. He decides to go to cooking school and then takes a job with Dean and DeLuca, a New York City deli and high end food store. He moves from this job to an increasingly demanding series of cooking jobs at restaurants, requiring increasing responsibilities. There are setbacks, but the direction of his career is generally upward. It culminates with him becoming a part owner and executive chef of the famous Waverly Inn in New York City.

The story is told in a somewhat disconcerting manner. Delucie alternates a straight-forward description of his rise in the culinary profession with a chronological description of the development of the Waverly Inn. Early parts of the book about his background tend to drag a bit, so juxtaposing them with the excitement of the story of the development of a hot new restaurant was probably a good idea. The reader wants to stick with the early parts of the author's career so that the reader can see how it all ends with the triumph of the Waverly Inn. Still, the shifting back and forth can be a bit disorienting.

Overall, the story is exciting and interesting. Naturally, this book brings to mind Anthony Bourdain's "Kitchen Confidential" and Bill Buford's "Heat," both books with similar stories. Delucie's book is not as good as either of these, perhaps because there is less drama than in either of these other two books. Nevertheless, after a somewhat slow start, Delucie builds excitement, as, he works his way up the career ladder, enduring arbitary chefs, crazy owners, and the irrationality of some patrons. It's a good book. I'd give it four stars on a five star scale, compared to five stars for the Bourdain and Buford books.

Summary of The Hunger: A Story of Food, Desire, and Ambition

A page-turning memoir from the chef of The Waverly Inn, New York City's vaunted celebrity gathering spot

The Hunger is an insider's romp through the crazy life of the restaurant business, told by a journeyman chef who fought his way to the top. Trapped in a dead-end job, John DeLucie called it quits and invested his meager savings in a ten-week cooking class. Upon completion, armed with no professional experience and the barest of basic skills, he walked into the renowned gourmet shop Dean & DeLuca and asked for a job. The next day he found himself chopping forty pounds of onions in the prep-kitchen basement. A glamorous new chapter had begun. DeLucie worked his way up the bumpy NYC food chain, from executive chef at La Bottega to Nick & Toni's in East Hampton, eventually finding his way to The Waverly Inn, which he opened with publishing magnate Graydon Carter and several partners. It was here that John married his mastery of simple but unique flavors with Carter's A+ list of glitterati to create downtown's hottest eatery.

The Hunger tracks John though the pitfalls of cooking for a living, as well as the roller-coaster ride that became his personal life. Woven into the grit are the stories behind some of DeLucie's signature recipes, including New York's "Best High-End Burger" and the now famous truffled mac and cheese. Here is John's tale about food, desire, and appetite?and how one person overcame all odds to make it in the fiercely competitive world of food.

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