Andrew Friedman Libri

Acclaimed chef writer Andrew Friedman offers an engaging exploration of the intricate processes and people involved in creating a single restaurant dish, providing a vivid snapshot of the contemporary restaurant community and food supply chain. On a typical evening at a modern American restaurant, diners place their orders, a routine that fuels the establishment. Friedman slows down this process, focusing on a dish from Chicago's Wherewithall restaurant, tracing its journey from order to table through real-time kitchen and field reporting. As the kitchen team prepares the dish, Friedman introduces readers to the key players, including the chefs who design the meal, line cooks, sous chefs, and dishwashers who keep operations running smoothly. The narrative extends to the producers, farmers, and ranchers who supply the restaurant, highlighting their vital roles in the supply chain. Readers will experience visits to Midwestern farms, witness the beef aging process, participate in grape harvesting at a Michigan winery, and ride along with delivery drivers, all while learning about the often-overlooked immigration stories of farm and restaurant workers. This book is a captivating journey into the world of restaurant dishes, offering insights into our food systems and celebrating the unsung heroes of the culinary world. It promises to change how readers perceive every restaurant meal they enjoy.

DON'T TRY THIS AT HOMECulinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest ChefsA hilarious and heartening collection of kitchen disasters.In this raucous new collection, over forty of the world's greatest chefs relate outrageous true tales from their kitchens. From hiring a blind line cook to flooding the room with meringue to being terrorized by a French owl, these behind-the-scenes accounts are as wildly entertaining as they are revealing. A delicious reminder that even the chefs we most admire aren't always perfect, Don't Try This at Home is a must-have for anyone who loves food or is fascinated by those who masterfully prepare it.

In 2004, James Blake's life was getting more perfect by the day. A rising tennis star, with each passing year his game seemed to improve. In 2002, he was named Sexiest Male Athlete by People Magazine, and along the way he continued to gain in the rankings and earn respect on the court. Each day seemed to offer a new milestone, a new achievement; he was leading a charmed life and loving every minute of the ride.But that life came to an abrupt halt in May 2004 when Blake broke his back in a freak accident on the court. A few months later, as Blake was recovering from his injury, he suffered another tremendous setback when his father–the man who had raised him and provided the inspiration for his tennis career–lost his battle with stomach cancer. Shortly after his father's death, Blake's situation was further complicated when he contracted Zoster, a rare virus that paralyzed half of his face and threatened to end his already jeopardized tennis career.Breaking Back tells the story of the tumultuous year that followed these three devastating events, detailing how Blake persevered through hardship to become one of the best tennis players in the world. Here Blake explains how the wisdom and words that his father imparted to him over the years gave him the ability to succeed in the face of these seemingly insurmountable odds. Though these trials proved the most difficult of his life, ultimately this trifecta of tragedy became the culmination of all his father's lessons, showing Blake that even in death, his father was still teaching him how to be a man.In the spirit of Lance Armstrong's It's Not About the Bike and Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking comes this remarkable tale of strength and determination from one of tennis's biggest stars. A story of passion, willpower, and the unbreakable bonds between a father and a son, Breaking Back is one athlete's account of finding hope in the bleakest of times.