And the Making of a Great Chef, Madness, Pain, Sex

A great book written in true colours and honesty. A chef who has many years over the stoves will fully understand this book and if you strive every day for nothing but perfection, insisting on perfection on every aspect of kitchen operations, you too, will succeed.... Marco is exceptional and one of the best chefs of our era.

Although I enjoyed the parts of the book that describe how professional kitchens work and the process of starting a restaurant as well as some of the decisions behind running one, I didn't really find the narrator very compelling. Plus, since most of the celebrity gossip, locations, and restaurants are in England, it wasn't as fun to read for the gossip as Anthony Bourdain's books. So I wouldn't really recommend it.

I am a chef of the old school and never have used brutal belittling as a tool. Aggressive and concise guidance, YES but never humiliation. He has 3 stars I do not but different country and different HR directors to deal with. He is a culinary master a deserves every accolade he has received. We follow in the footsteps of each our own mentors, I never chose him but non the less and interesting book he has written. I would love to be a fly on the wall for a re-union of him and chef Ramsey, another european mad man.. A read that is worthy of your time, though i caution the first year culinary student..

This book was recommended to me by Keith Floyd. And what a story it is! Fantastic, how Marco is able to look at himself from a distance. Could simply not put it down. Totally hooked and I hope to shake his hand one day. Highly recommended.

White's story is very entertaining. One senses his voice very clearly when reading Devil in the Kitchen. He provides a compelling history of the restaurant industry over the past 20 or 30 years, having interacted with many of the best chefs on both sides of the Atlantic. His pursuit of excellence and self-actualization is both inspiring and, at times, sad.

This book will ring true for anybody who has spent years in a kitchen, and will connect with any craftsman who has expended time and energy toward perfection.

The book I received had a different cover than the one I purchased, no worries though. However..as I have been reading the pages are coming unglued from the book. I am careful with my books so maybe it was just a weak binding. Great read. Marco is a strange character, but I love his stories!

While White's account of his ascent from humble working class roots to the top of his profession has its moments the writing is uneven and the narrative choppy. As with many autobiographies, "Devil in the Kitchen" is rather like looking through someone's photo album; it's a series of glimpses into their life, not a flowing story. I was also hoping for more insight into White's culinary sensibilities but the book focusses more on White the bad boy rather than White the cook. It was interesting to learn about the cooks he worked with (Mario Batali,for example) and in some cases inspired (particularly Gordon Ramsay; the truth about Ramsay's faux documentary "Boiling Point" confirmed for me that Ramsay is as manipulative and arrogant as he appears to be). To sum it up, this is a book that has its moments but that could have been so much more.

I love biographies / autobiographies (this one was a bit of both, having a ghost writer), and I love to cook, so I was definitely drawn to this book. It was good. It wasn't the most interesting book in terms of the overall picture of his life, but the individual anecdotes that made up each chapter were fun and lightly entertaining. Marco is a complicated character, having some great qualities (he's a perfectionist and very hard worker in the kitchen, which made him so successful; and he's very honest and forthcoming with his thoughts and feelings, which makes this book possible). His negative qualities include a penchant for verbally abusing his employees and cutting off long/deep friendships over rather small quibbles. It was also interesting to do a google search on his wife Mati (I was curious if they were still together) ... the first page of articles was about her allegedly beating up both of her grown sons in an argument, some time after spending millions of dollars in a divorce from Marco which they eventually dropped due to the cost. If you're looking for someone to look up to as a hero, Marco probably isn't it, but if like me you love to understand people and learn from their varied experiences in this interesting journey called life, check out this book.

Before I've read this I've already enjoyed cooking Julia Child's recipes--salade Nicoise, chocolate mousse, reine de saba cake. I also have a degree in English literature. So I know what good recipes are, I've read many great writers. The Devil in the Kitchen takes the cake. Very fast moving, very entertaining. Very truthful. There's substance on every page. I never knew great Chef cooking could be so rough and competitive. But in an exhilarating way, like a soccer match. Indeed, this cook does play sports. And I didn't know the clientele of great restaurants play their little games to get a free meal. MPW can be rough with them! I couldn't put this book down.. Read it from cover to cover.

Reading an autobiograpy of successful chefs has become analagous to reading an autobiography of sports superstar. Although the rush of serving an all-star duck confit may not be up there with hitting a walk-off grand slam in the World Series, the egos seemingly soar at the same altitude.

I give some leeway in this assessment to Anthony Bourdain, who brings a scalpel in disecting his mistakes and a laughtrack in retrospect. Marco Pierre White started the trend of the maniacal Lord of te kitchen who will stop at no humiliation to achieve perfection in his kitchen.

This is done unapologetically. The kitchen has White's stamp on it, and his product is what leaves the kitchen. It is hard to imagine working in this environment. Seemingly, anyone with a shred of sensitivity would either need to harden quickly, or be left behind.

I was drawn to this book after reading Gordon Ramsay's autobiography. Ramsay was a protege of White's, survived, and became a White knockoff, or so it seems. White has both kind and harsh words for Ramsay. White seems fresher, and more original in the telling of his story.

But make no mistake. Food, and our obsession with food is what makes these men popular, has made them wealthy, and leaves us hanging on their words and stories. It is their drive, their questing for culinary creativity and perfection, and their hard work and long hours in the kitchen that has set them apart.

Would I befreind these people? Most likely not. They are certainly a breed apart. But their stories are fascinating, their ego's huge, and their tales, often hilarious.

This story does not live up to Bourdain's in humor, or in the story telling, but still, an interesting read.

I have only ever read three other autobiographies and that was enough to put me off the genre for good. However I picked this one up because Marco lived on the same estate as my grandparents whom I visited regularly as a child and I thought local references and memories might be interesting. I was intending to skim read it but I was engrossed from the first page.

The loss of his mother at such a young age was by far the most traumatic thing that ever happened to him and whilst he acknowledges this and recognises how the experience, amongst other things, might have shaped him, he doesn't use it as an excuse. In fact it's interesting to see how a persons attributes and failings can be traced to parents, upbringing and early experiences.

I enjoyed his tales of escaping to the Harewood estate to go fishing and his first jobs, his days on the Kings Road with the Chelsea crowd through to his success as a Michelin starred chef. Most of all I admired his hard work, determination and passion for creating which comes through almost obsessively. Even if you have no interest in fine dining or 'cheffing' you can't help but enjoy his mischievous streak as he describes people he worked with and stories of pranks both in the kitchen and out.

Interestingly the title of this book in Britain is simply 'The Devil In The Kitchen' which I feel is a better description as the book isn't about sex or madness and the additional title just isn't needed.

Having read Devil in the Kitchen, excerpts from White Heat, many articles, seen his show, The Chopping Block, as well as several interviews, the real Chef Marco is still a mystery to me. This book presents a rather conflicted and confusing portrait of the man called the infant terrible of the kitchen: from neglected child, misunderstood youth, and Michelin award-winner, to driven businessman, womanizer, and foul-mouthed celebrity chef.

Will the real Marco Pierre White please stand up? One thing I appreciated about Chef Marco was his comment about women chefs. He felt that women made good chefs and possibly better chefs than men because women cook with precision and do not take short cuts.

I found Devil in the Kitchen an interesting read, and the antics put forth within its pages often left me open-mouthed with incredulity. However, it is not a 5 star read; it is poorly edited in spots, and lacks depth. Where was that spontaneous something that leads the reader to believe that this is a genuine rendering of events? I felt it lacked authenticity, and was told in a somewhat pompous style. I guess that is fitting for the man called The Kitchen Devil, isn't it?

I love biographies / autobiographies (this one was a bit of both, having a ghost writer), and I love to cook, so I was definitely drawn to this book. It was good. It wasn't the most interesting book in terms of the overall picture of his life, but the individual anecdotes that made up each chapter were fun and lightly entertaining. Marco is a complicated character, having some great qualities (he's a perfectionist and very hard worker in the kitchen, which made him so successful; and he's very honest and forthcoming with his thoughts and feelings, which makes this book possible). His negative qualities include a penchant for verbally abusing his employees and cutting off long/deep friendships over rather small quibbles. It was also interesting to do a google search on his wife Mati (I was curious if they were still together) ... the first page of articles was about her allegedly beating up both of her grown sons in an argument, some time after spending millions of dollars in a divorce from Marco which they eventually dropped due to the cost. If you're looking for someone to look up to as a hero, Marco probably isn't it, but if like me you love to understand people and learn from their varied experiences in this interesting journey called life, check out this book.

Before I've read this I've already enjoyed cooking Julia Child's recipes--salade Nicoise, chocolate mousse, reine de saba cake. I also have a degree in English literature. So I know what good recipes are, I've read many great writers. The Devil in the Kitchen takes the cake. Very fast moving, very entertaining. Very truthful. There's substance on every page. I never knew great Chef cooking could be so rough and competitive. But in an exhilarating way, like a soccer match. Indeed, this cook does play sports. And I didn't know the clientele of great restaurants play their little games to get a free meal. MPW can be rough with them! I couldn't put this book down.. Read it from cover to cover.

Reading an autobiograpy of successful chefs has become analagous to reading an autobiography of sports superstar. Although the rush of serving an all-star duck confit may not be up there with hitting a walk-off grand slam in the World Series, the egos seemingly soar at the same altitude.

I give some leeway in this assessment to Anthony Bourdain, who brings a scalpel in disecting his mistakes and a laughtrack in retrospect. Marco Pierre White started the trend of the maniacal Lord of te kitchen who will stop at no humiliation to achieve perfection in his kitchen.

This is done unapologetically. The kitchen has White's stamp on it, and his product is what leaves the kitchen. It is hard to imagine working in this environment. Seemingly, anyone with a shred of sensitivity would either need to harden quickly, or be left behind.

I was drawn to this book after reading Gordon Ramsay's autobiography. Ramsay was a protege of White's, survived, and became a White knockoff, or so it seems. White has both kind and harsh words for Ramsay. White seems fresher, and more original in the telling of his story.

But make no mistake. Food, and our obsession with food is what makes these men popular, has made them wealthy, and leaves us hanging on their words and stories. It is their drive, their questing for culinary creativity and perfection, and their hard work and long hours in the kitchen that has set them apart.

Would I befreind these people? Most likely not. They are certainly a breed apart. But their stories are fascinating, their ego's huge, and their tales, often hilarious.

This story does not live up to Bourdain's in humor, or in the story telling, but still, an interesting read.

I have only ever read three other autobiographies and that was enough to put me off the genre for good. However I picked this one up because Marco lived on the same estate as my grandparents whom I visited regularly as a child and I thought local references and memories might be interesting. I was intending to skim read it but I was engrossed from the first page.

The loss of his mother at such a young age was by far the most traumatic thing that ever happened to him and whilst he acknowledges this and recognises how the experience, amongst other things, might have shaped him, he doesn't use it as an excuse. In fact it's interesting to see how a persons attributes and failings can be traced to parents, upbringing and early experiences.

I enjoyed his tales of escaping to the Harewood estate to go fishing and his first jobs, his days on the Kings Road with the Chelsea crowd through to his success as a Michelin starred chef. Most of all I admired his hard work, determination and passion for creating which comes through almost obsessively. Even if you have no interest in fine dining or 'cheffing' you can't help but enjoy his mischievous streak as he describes people he worked with and stories of pranks both in the kitchen and out.

Interestingly the title of this book in Britain is simply 'The Devil In The Kitchen' which I feel is a better description as the book isn't about sex or madness and the additional title just isn't needed.

Having read Devil in the Kitchen, excerpts from White Heat, many articles, seen his show, The Chopping Block, as well as several interviews, the real Chef Marco is still a mystery to me. This book presents a rather conflicted and confusing portrait of the man called the infant terrible of the kitchen: from neglected child, misunderstood youth, and Michelin award-winner, to driven businessman, womanizer, and foul-mouthed celebrity chef.

Will the real Marco Pierre White please stand up? One thing I appreciated about Chef Marco was his comment about women chefs. He felt that women made good chefs and possibly better chefs than men because women cook with precision and do not take short cuts.

I found Devil in the Kitchen an interesting read, and the antics put forth within its pages often left me open-mouthed with incredulity. However, it is not a 5 star read; it is poorly edited in spots, and lacks depth. Where was that spontaneous something that leads the reader to believe that this is a genuine rendering of events? I felt it lacked authenticity, and was told in a somewhat pompous style. I guess that is fitting for the man called The Kitchen Devil, isn't it?

This delicious book by Marco Pierre White is the story of the Chef's rise to international cooking stardom and his maturity as a person. Marco White was a superstar chef before all of today's so-called 'celebrity' TV chefs. He trained some of today's stars such as Mario Batali and Gordon Ramsey. His simple story is about compulsion - 100% pure, total and absolute focus to be a three-star Michelin rated chef. To achieve this he had to exclude all else in his life - wives, friends, family - everything. His story may be about food and restaurants but his determination and drive could apply to any one who has achieved similar success in a different field - its the cost of that success that finally influences him. His accomplishments were many. His story is absolutely fascinating.

Enjoyed many an excellent meal at Harvey's and Gavroche....long before I had any idea who he was. Found his story addictive, couldn't put it down..but then I'm fascinated by culinary memoirs. would have enjoyed more photos, but i've read they are in other books of his, so off I go to order them.

Given Marco Pierre White's reputation (he's been referred to as the first celebrity chef and enfant terrible of the UK restaurant scene), his uncompromising beliefs in doing what he considers "right", and his propensity for public displays of, shall we say, "emotion", I was looking forward to a highly entertaining book. The first chapter, "Off My Trolley" and the description of the episode where he threw all the cheeses from the cheese tray at the wall because they were too small and insisted that they be left there all night seemed to start the book in the expected way.

But then, no more sparks. The remainder of the book was a matter-of-fact telling of his life story with little apparent enthusiasm. I was hoping to get a deeper insight as to what made this man so compulsive about the food he prepared (a fault that I, hopefully to a lesser degree, share) as well as other aspects of his apparently very interesting life. But perhaps I had no right to expect that, or perhaps this book was an attempt to clean up his public image and all the potential excitement got left in the drafts.

All in all, not a bad book and very informative. But if you're looking for an exciting read, look elsewhere.

This book takes no time in introducing us to the powerful story of a boy who loses his mother very young and spends much of his life racing to close the hurt this causes. If this sounds like an odd approach to a chef's life, it is nonetheless what clearly drove Marco Pierre White and his story is moving, as well as full of celebrities, ferocity and bad behaviour.

What also comes over very clearly is how passionate this man was about being the best. I get the impression that is was the desire to prove himself which, more than anything, made this person put in such dedication and drive.

It is an interesting and emotional story, one that reads well and is certainly worth reading. Recommended.

Sherlock Holmes and the Flying Zombie Death Monkeys

Marco Pierre White is both an award-winning chef and the product of a council block in Leeds. The Devil in the Kitchen demonstrates the relationship between those two facts, as Marco is driven to succeed, leveraging his blue collar work ethic and personal pride. His drive is all-consuming, with 17 and 18 hour days at the stove a common pattern. He is animated by a love of food--nature's great gift--and he operates on adrenalin, nicotine, an obsession with quality control and, for a time, the need for public recognition of his efforts.

Marco is often thought of in America as Gordon Ramsay's mentor. If so, he put the hell in hell's kitchen, though the book is less about him as a devil than about the demons that make him a great chef. The book is a tour of British gastronomy in that Marco works--in the course of his life--at many of England's great restaurants and for England's great (often non-English) chefs.

The book includes recipes of some signature dishes and sidebar tips on Marco's methods and techniques. The narrative (written with James Steen) is brisk, interesting and engaging. It is a story of obsession and accomplishment but not really about sex, pain, and madness, as the subtitle suggests. There is a little sex and a bit of pain but no madness in the clinical sense. There are also tantrums, anecdotes of the glitterati and tales of the rich, the powerful, the hungry and the rude. The world of Marco's kitchens will not be unfamiliar to readers of Tony Bourdain or fans of Gordon Ramsay's many shows. In some narratives cookery is all sweetness, light, conviviality, love and family. Here it is war, but war that is very tasty and washed down with first growth red bordeaux.

Both confirmed foodies and fans of memoir and autobiography will enjoy this book.

MARCO PIERRE WHITE IN THE TRADITION OF ENGLISH ECCENTRICS
TAKES OR RATHER BAKES THE CAKE!

HIS ANTI ESTABLISHMENT ATTITUDES AND APPEARANCE MAKE THIS
HALLOWED ENGLISH CULINARY GENIUS EVEN MORE REMARKABLE.

HIS BRILLIANCE WAS TO DESTROY THE HACKNEYED PRESUMPTIONS
THAT GREAT BRITAIN WAS AND IS A WASTE LAND OF BAD FOOD.

HIS COURAGE IN THIS EXCELLENT BOOK WAS TO RELAY HIS RAGS
TO RICHES RISE TO STARDOM,WARTS AND ALL YET EXPLAINING
THAT IT'S ALL ABOUT INGREDIENTS AND IF YOU CAN CAPTURE
THOSE INGREDIENTS WITH INTEGRITY YOU CAN UNLOCK FLAVORS
WHICH IS WHAT FINE COOKING IS ALL ABOUT.

SOMETHING THAT IS LOST ON MANY OF TODAY'S RISING CELEBRITY
CHEFS - SIMPLICITY NOT COMPLEXITY.

THIS WAS AN EXCELLENT READ - I WISHED THERE HAD BEEN MORE,
PERHAPS A SEQUEL CAN OFFER US MORE RECIPES,ANECDOTES AND
BRILLIANT MARCO PIERRE WHITE TECHNIQUES.

THE DEVIL IN THE KITCHEN IS ONE HELL OF A READ - FIVE BIG
FAT FLAVORFUL MICHELIN STARS.

I enjoyed learning about the career Marco Pierre White since he is legendary.
I read Gordon Ramsey's autobio and came away feeling I knew him.
Do I know Marco? Not as much.
Still well-written, fun and enjoyable for foodies.

I started my professional kitchen career in the early 90's so I missed the rock and roll kitchens of the 80's. This was a good book. Filled with vivid recollections of fine and not so fine restaurants. The food may me salivate and Marco inspires lust of a different nature. This is a great book for the professional and the home cook letting you see what it took and takes to be a world class Chef.

A chef's biography that could have used a lot more detail and maybe a ghostwrite. I got the sense White had some interesting stories to tell but he needed to draw them better. Whether that meant spending more time on stories and drawing them fully or building in space for the reader to breathe, I'm not sure.

An interesting look at Marco Pierre White's journey from a public housing project in Leeds to becoming the first of today's generation of celebrity chefs. Before Emeril, Batali, and purely made for TV products like Rachel Ray, White redefined fame for a chef, dating supermodels and being hounded by British tabloids.

The book is interesting, though not particularly well-written, and it certainly tends toward self-absorption on White's part. It is nowhere near the equal of Anthony Bourdain's work, or Bill Buford's excellent "Heat", which offers a behind-the-scenes look at the bombastic, but endearing, Mario Batali.

In today's world of professionally trained chefs (see Michael Ruhlman's excellent "The Making of a Chef"), White is a anachronism, coming up as an apprentice in progressively more prestigious kitchens. Some of the most interesting technical elements of the book share White's thoughts on the evolution of classical French cuisine, as it has become progressively lighter over time, with heavy sauces de-emphasized in favor of highlighting the principal ingredients. Sadly, these elements are sparingly interspersed amongst a steady diet of White's eruptions in the kitchen ("bollockings") and anecdotes in which he curses his patrons and throws them out of his restaurants.

While an interesting read, this is really a book for professionals, or those deeply interested in the restaurant industry. There is little to learn about cooking, and if you want a look into the world of professional cooking, the books I referred to above are all better places to start.

I've sadly bought this book 4 times and never finished it. I recently took the time and actually read this book on my commute to work and remarkably finished this book in 12 days. Its very good and was worth every purchase

I was dining at a Jax in Truckee, CA when the head chef there told me I had to read this book - he was right! This book had me turning each page to find out what antic this amazing quirky chef would be up to next. For someone who loves cooking and who is or who has always wanted to be the chef this is a must read! And for anyone who loves autobiographies - this is a must read! And for anyone who wants to see what life was like for a chef in the early 80's through 90's this is a must read.

I didn't know what to expect before I began reading other than what impression I got from the press - that Marco Pierre White had a reputation for being 'scary'. I had no idea how hard he worked to achieve his dream and success and well deserved it us. I love his honesty & that there are no embellishments when telling his story. I enjoyed reading this very much & found it hard to put down, it's raw & he impressed me as a man of integrity.

Marco Pierre White is the original rock and roll chef and the first person I'm aware of to consistently go into the dining room and tell people to shove off.

When I was on an ACF Jr. Culinary Olympic Team in the late 90s, this was not a fact we overlooked, and for it White was instantly a hero of ours. I grabbed up all his cookbooks; the best of which was the tough to find White Heat. Through it, we discovered strange foods like caul fat, that we, as young cooks, had never seen, had, or even heard of.

Needless to say, when I saw he was writing a biography, my interest was peaked.

There's a funny story in the book that sums it up for me. A Michelin 3 star chef dined at White's restaurant, and afterwards, came into the kitchen to say everything was great except the fish -- which was salty. White told the cook who prepared it to tell the chef to "F off".

White seems to tell everyone to "F" Off, and as interesting as this book was to me, a fan, I'm sad to say, overall, it is pretty poor. White has a tremendous ego, and comes off sounding like a real jerk that ruins every meaningful relationship he's ever been apart of both personally and in business.

I loved this book but at the end I could not help but feeling that if I knew Chef Marco in real life, I would probably have hated him just like the many other people whom have known him. However, that does make this a bad book. This an a great story of a flawed man [aren't we all] reaching the pinnacle of his his art/trade.

This is in the Kitchen Confidential realm and I would say the autobiographical nature of Devil in the Kitchen has the edge [sorry, Tony].

I used to think of MPW as sell-out. A tired old chef peddling stock cubes and trying to convince people that they were somehow superior to salt...lol. After reading this book and taking a long walk in Marco's shoes, actually staging at the acclaimed Waterside Inn myself I don't think anyone should be commenting on who or what Marco is, they haven't worked hard enough yet.

A touching and enduring love story between Mr. White and his temper tantrums, most of which happen to take place in a kitchen, which is as close as this book comes to being about food. Mr. White's father was mean to him as a child, and Mr. White as a supposed grown up is mean to others, told 100 times over. Insanely boring. Kitchen Confidential was infinitely better although yes, Mr. White was quite the hottie back in the day and looks great on the cover.

This is the story of the original Rock star chef. Before there was gordon ramsey, anthony bourdain, or bobby flay there was Marco. A legend among chefs, everyone knows his name, and everyone respects him. He is the kinda guy you dont want to run into in a dark alley.

A wonderful story from childhood thru success and all the pitstops in between. I found myself laughing out loud at some of the stories. I just finished it last night, and am thinking of reading it over. A truly fascinating man.

I am into food and I enjoy reading about the food industry and its personalities. For all of his fearsome reputation, he has a lot of very interesting and reasoned opinions and clearly cared about what he was doing. It was a fun read about an interesting person. If you enjoy this genre of book, you will enjoy this book.