Chefs, Drugs and Rock  Roll, Andrew Friedman
Chefs, Drugs and Rock  Roll, Andrew Friedman
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Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll
How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits and Wanderers Created a New American Profession

Author: Andrew Friedman

Narrator: Roger Wayne

Unabridged: 14 hr 34 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 02/27/2018


Synopsis

Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll transports listeners back in time to witness the remarkable evolution of the American restaurant chef in the 1970s and 1980s. Andrew Friedman goes inside Chez Panisse and other Bay Area restaurants to show how the politically charged backdrop of Berkeley helped spark this new profession; into the historically underrated community of Los Angeles chefs, including a young Wolfgang Puck; and into the clash of cultures between established French chefs in New York City and the American game changers behind the Quilted Giraffe, River Café, and other storied establishments. Along the way, the chefs, their struggles, their cliques, and, of course, their restaurants are brought to life in vivid, memorable detail. As the ’80s unspool, we watch the profession evolve as American masters like Thomas Keller rise, and watch the genesis of a “chef nation” as chefs start crisscrossing the country for work and special events and legendary hangouts like Blue Ribbon become social focal points, all as the industry-altering Food Network shimmers on the horizon.Told primarily in the words of the people who lived it—from writers like Ruth Reichl to chefs like Jeremiah Tower and Jonathan Waxman—Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll treats readers to an unparalleled 360-degree re-creation of the industry and the times through the perspectives not only of the pioneering chefs but also of line cooks, front-of-house personnel, investors, and critics who had front-row seats to this extraordinary transformation.

About Andrew Friedman

Andrew Friedman is the author of Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll: How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits and Wanderers Created a New American Profession (2018), and producer and host of the independent podcast Andrew Talks to Chefs, currently in its sixth year. He is also the author of Knives at Dawn: America’s Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d’Or Competition (2009), co-editor of the internationally popular anthology Don’t Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World’s Greatest Chefs, and co-author of more than twenty-five cookbooks, memoirs, and other projects with some of the United States’ finest and most well-known chefs. Additionally, he is an adjunct professor within the School of Graduate and Professional Studies at the Culinary Institute of America. An avid tennis player, he co- authored American tennis star James Blake’s New York Times bestselling memoir Breaking Back: How I Lost Everything and Won Back My Life (2007), and was for several years a TENNIS magazine editor-at-large. He lives in Brooklyn, NY. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by June

Content of the book was great! I lived through this time period, worked on culinary promotions and have met a number of the chefs featured in the book, so it was fun to get behind-the-scenes stories. BUT: I listened to the audiobook and the narrator unfortunately mispronounced more than a few chefs'......more

Goodreads review by Kasa

The in-depth history of how the profession of chef went from "behind the scenes" to "into spotlight" as the chaotic, riotous world of modern restaurant culture came to be. There were a lot of familiar names here, and I was particularly amused by the Tom Colicchio's story as well as that of Jonathan......more

Goodreads review by John

A serious interest in food and cuisine is a relatively new phenomenon in the United States, but the culture has exploded over recent years until a major derailment thanks to the pandemic. Nevertheless, interest remains. Andrew Friedman has done a stellar job chronicling the rise of the American star......more