The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef - Blood

The writer's jourrney in becoming a chef gives a revealing look into kitchens where our food is prepared and the pain of a young person finding the way into the world of the professional kitchen. A good read.

As a writer myself, I had an epiphany reading this book. Gabrielle Hamilton is a keen observer first, a very analytical thinker second, and a writer thirdly. Treat yourself. This book is embarrassingly honest.

I don't think writers should trash their ex-spouses, especially in this case if the rumors are true that the author had an affair with her sister's husband. That said, this book is an interesting insight into the making of a successful restauranteer.

Anthony Bourdain's review says it all. This book is MUCH MORE than a story of how one woman became a chef and restaurant owner. It's a deeply personal, funny-as-hell, moving memoir of a LIFE. I am recommending it to everyone I talk to and anyone who'll listen. It's simply wonderful.

Our book club chose this book for our upcoming October selection. With a title like, "Blood, Bones & Butter" what could this possibly about? Turns out, this is an inspiring story of a very talented, hard working woman off to a rocky start in life who is saved by finding her passion, cooking. The story bogs down a bit in the middle, but you will be rewarded by reading on. The author gives us a candid, behind the scenes look into the kitchen of a very successful restaurant, and into the heart of its "reluctant chef".
Can't wait for the book club discussion.

I think the most enjoyable thing about this book is the writing. Ms. Hamilton's glowing descriptions of food, her matter-of-fact, but eloquent descriptions of the often strange events of her life are very definitely worth reading. You won't learn anything about what really made her a chef, but you will enjoy the ride.

This book was not informative enough to be a biography nor interesting enough to be a novel. It was sketchy with its time frame and unrewarding from the cook's point of view. In all, I found it rather shallow and whiny. She sounds like a meticulous if not very engaged person; it makes one wonder about the way she cooks. I have never had the opportunity to visit her restaurant, so I cannot comment on that. Want to read a good chef's biography? Try Richard Olney's "Reflexions". Overall, I was very disappointed since Bourdaine gave it such accolades.

This is a completely honest account, not only of the inadvertent making of a great chef, but it means to be a woman, warts and all. I loved it and will probably read it again and again. 5 stars for a talented writer.

I had never heard of Gabrielle Hamilton when my book club picked this book. I loved it! Her voice is so honest and refreshing. She vastly underplays her "star chef"ness and focuses instead on her work/life balance, desires, and choices. I learned about food, and how to be a woman at work, and how to keep striving. Hamilton is not just a great chef; she's a great writer.

Fasntastic book. I didn't know who Gabrielle Hamilton when I bought the book, and the prose and rhythm of the book were a very good surprise. A great autobiography and an interesting look into a restaurant's chef life and kitchen.

Gabrielle's story is a colorful, delicious, and emotional delight. As a chef, restaurant manager, card carrying foodie and now food purveyor I have spent the past 30 plus years living, loving, cooking, fighting and eating my way on a similar path. Up until now, Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential has been my favorite book illustrating the crazy life of one in the food biz...but now Gabrielle tops my list.

Perhaps it is her at once lyrical style of writing or maybe it is the manic, emotional, sensual...slightly psychotic outbursts that I could relate to and thoroughly found relatable and most of all honest. Nowadays so many prospective young chefs have a romantic/celebrity notion of what it means to be a chef, but not Chef Hamilton. The life of a chef is all consuming, gritty, nasty, artistic, and passionate. In one minute you can be on "the line" finishing the perfect dish you've envisioned in your skull for the past 2 weeks and sending it out to the dining room...the next minute you are on your knees scrubbing the grime off the stove and finally you might finish your night at 2am racking your brain looking over the schedule trying for the life of you to cover the grill on the next day's lunch shift.

Why do we do it? Because we must. We love everything about food and the execution of it. We do it because it is our passion. We do it for the immediate gratification of it when our guests receive the experience they were hoping for in our dining room. Family life and personal life may suffer for our craft, but it goes with the territory of those of us committed to it.

If you love food, if you think you love the restaurant experience, read this wonderful book.

An amazing read by such a talented woman. Hamilton can write. And cook! She goes deep in this one to explore the many aspects of her life. She defies labeling. This is as much a Horatio Alger story as it is a an authentic portrayal of feminism. Hard work is her message. By paying your own way, you can be the person you want to be. There's a deep yearning for family in the author. She thinks by marrying an Italian doctor (she'd previously been a lesbian) she'll be accepted into their tribe. But she knows that blood is thicker than water, and that the dissolution of her marriage will break the bonds to this extended family. An astounding read. Lyrical, sad, part brilliant and never cliched, Hamilton has a powerful memoir.

I loved Gabrielle Hamilton's choice of language and her brutal honesty. Other reviews will tell you more about the content. Instead I will focus on how moved I was by her struggles, her resilience, and her humanity. I hope she will continue to write --- and to cook. Shame on Charlie Rose for doing such a lousy interview.

I read this book shortly after finishing another food related memoir, "Life, on the line", by Chef Grant Achatz of Alinea. While both books are highly recommended, as literature there is no comparison. Ms. Hamilton's book reflects her literary training - she's both a chef AND a writer. I can't comment on the quality of her cooking since I haven't been to her restaurant, Prune, but she's a wonderful writer, if at times a bit wordy. Like many well crafted novels the story builds steadily to its inevitable, bittersweet climax. The last fifty pages were hard for me to put down; this latter part of the book describes, with great insight, the crumbling of a marriage. It also describes tree pruning and the impossibility of finding fresh burrata in the USA. It's all good.

I've found most of the chef-authored biographical books boring. This one, however, kept me interested throughout. It's not just that the author's experiences are interesting, it's that she's a very good writer.

I loved this book! I was involved and infatuated and hungry right from the beginning. I could relate to her troubled childhood and the love of a mother that was after all human and a bit crazy! The relationships she had were very dynamic and curious. I loved the ability Gabrielle has to dialouge as if she was speaking to me in a witty way, she became my friend. I love to cook and I love to read, how wonderful to be completely immersed in both. I was sad to finish this book, as I got near the end I dragged it out for two days!

Blood Bones and Butter - I enjoyed parts of it, but got bogged down in the details of her life - each section seemed too long to me, I have little recall of her experiences while traveling in Morocco, for example, and too much of her misbehaviors - can't really understand her animosity towards her mother

Sweet, yet mostly sour, I have felt many the same feelings as Gabrielle. Now I decide if I'd like to follow in her foot steps.. I would recommend this book, but only to a the most analytical reader. "Brava, Mama!"

I loved this author's writing style, very descriptive. And the colorful life experiences. Heard her interviewed on America's Test Kitchen on NPR and knew immediately I wanted to read the book. Was very sad when it ended. Since have purchased it for two other people.

Loved this book. A great insight into love, marriage, relationships,and business ownership. I thought this book would be an homage to cooking but it was so much more. What a pleasant surprise. Don't hesitate to buy this book. I was quickly hooked and was left wanting more.

Gabrielle Hamilton is a gifted writer with a great story to tell. Her memoir reminded me of The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls, as both are so brutally and vividly honest about their dysfunctional families. Unfortunately, someone told me to google her before I finished the book and I was upset and sad, as I learned too much about her personal life. It’s weird because here she is offering you a memoir, so you want to learn as much about her as possible, but then you think, oh my god, her personal life is still totally messed up. And it’s so crazy you want to respect her privacy, yet you are a bit invested in her story and crave a happy ending. So it’s really just best to enjoy the book without googling her or her restaurant.

This is a very entertaining and interesting book. I finished it right before going to her restaurant for dinner. She was there that night and came over to our table to talk. She was very humble and nice and was very pleased that we had read her book.

Honest and vulnerable are the attributes that I first noticed.
Next came association by way of her thought processes as a youngster. Add to that,the wonderfully romantic and delicious descriptions of the foods in her life in the natural state or table ready and you have a literal feast!

I was lucky to see the video interview with author Gabrielle Hamilton with interviewer Charlie Rose (PBS) and wanted to add this to my collection of 'cook books'. It's really an earthy, honest depiction of someone who has proven once again that, here in the U.S.A. if talent is available, USE IT with great success in the business world !!

My first thought when I finished this book was that the author does indeed have the narcissistic personality required to succeed in this business. My second was that I was really sad when Ms. Hamilton finally succeeded in forcing herself onto and into another persons kitchen, the room where the soul lives sometimes, and insisting her was way better than old world experience. Snarky, thorny, prickly and rude are not a different way to say driven, ambitious, successful and talented, they are descriptions her choice of attitude and it does not make for good book you had to shell out to read.