
Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll
How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits and Wanderers Created a New American Profession
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Narrated by:
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Roger Wayne
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By:
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Andrew Friedman
About this listen
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.
A (mostly) oral history 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 listeners 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.
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Restaurant Man
- By: Joe Bastianich
- Narrated by: Joe Bastianich
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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How does a nice Italian boy from Queens turn his passion for food and wine into a nationwide empire? In his intrepid, irreverent, and terrifically entertaining memoir, Restaurant Man, Joe Bastianich charts his remarkable culinary journey from his parents’ neighborhood eatery to becoming one of the country’s most successful restaurateurs, along with his superstar chef partners: his mother, Lidia Bastianich, and Mario Batali.
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If you liked Kitchen Confidential you'll...
- By J.D. McPherson on 02-19-16
By: Joe Bastianich
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Life, on the Line
- A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat
- By: Grant Achatz, Nick Kokonas
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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In 2007 chef Grant Achatz seemingly had it made. He had been named one of the best new chefs in America by Food & Wine in 2002, received the James Beard Foundation Rising Star Chef of the Year Award in 2003, and in 2005 he and Nick Kokonas opened the conceptually radical restaurant Alinea, which was named Best Restaurant in America by Gourmet magazine. Then, Achatz was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma - tongue cancer.
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A Tasteless World?
- By Exec. Chef 'Special K' on 03-18-14
By: Grant Achatz, and others
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A Chef's Christmas
- By: Anthony Bourdain
- Narrated by: Anthony Bourdain
- Length: 1 hr
- Unabridged
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Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential, once again brings to light the inner workings of the "culinary underbelly" in his bold reinvention of the traditional Christmas story. At once risqué and charming, A Chef's Christmas is sure to bring holiday cheer to those who make dinner and those who only make reservations.
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Typically gritty & fun
- By Anna on 03-29-03
By: Anthony Bourdain
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Bone in the Throat
- By: Anthony Bourdain
- Narrated by: Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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When up-and-coming chef Tommy Pagana settles for a less than glamorous stint at his uncle's restaurant in Manhattan's Little Italy, he unwittingly finds himself a partner in big-time crime. And when the mob decides to use the kitchen for a murder, nothing Tommy learned in cooking school has prepared him for what happens next. With the FBI on one side and his eccentric wise guy superiors on the other, Tommy has to struggle to do right by his conscience and avoid getting killed in the meantime....
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Very unique culinary-based mafia story
- By Marisa J. on 12-21-18
By: Anthony Bourdain
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Yes, Chef
- A Memoir
- By: Marcus Samuelsson
- Narrated by: Marcus Samuelsson
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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It begins with a simple ritual: Every Saturday afternoon, a boy who loves to cook walks to his grandmother’s house and helps her prepare a roast chicken for dinner. The grandmother is Swedish, a retired domestic. The boy is Ethiopian and adopted, and he will grow up to become the world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson. This book is his love letter to food and family in all its manifestations.
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A fun and inspiring civics lesson
- By loix on 06-27-12
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Blood, Bones & Butter
- The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
- By: Gabrielle Hamilton
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Hamilton
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent 20 fierce, hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Above all she sought family, particularly the thrill and the magnificence of the one from her childhood that, in her adult years, eluded her. Hamilton’s ease and comfort in a kitchen were instilled in her at an early age when her parents hosted grand parties, often for more than 100 friends and neighbors. The smells of spit-roasted lamb, apple wood smoke, and rosemary garlic marinade became necessary to her.
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A Little Prickly--But Yummy
- By Mel on 03-11-12
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Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert, and Gabrielle Hamilton on 'How I Learned to Cook'
- By: Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert, Gabrielle Hamilton
- Narrated by: Michael Ruhlman
- Length: 1 hr and 25 mins
- Original Recording
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Anthony Bourdain, Gabrielle Hamilton, and Eric Ripert are all well established, accomplished chefs; they share their early cooking experiences, what influenced their cooking styles, and what made them want to be chefs forever. Bourdain is the executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles, the author of the best-selling book Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly, and the host of the popular Food Network series, A Cook's Tour.
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gross noises
- By Slothflyer on 08-12-10
By: Anthony Bourdain, and others
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Medium Raw
- A Bloody Valentine to the World of Food and the People Who Cook
- By: Anthony Bourdain
- Narrated by: Anthony Bourdain
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 10 years since his classic Kitchen Confidential first alerted us to the idiosyncrasies and lurking perils of eating out, much has changed for the subculture of chefs and cooks, for the restaurant business and for Anthony Bourdain. Medium Raw explores those changes, tracking Bourdain's strange and unexpected voyage from journeyman cook to globe-traveling professional eater and drinker, and even to fatherhood. Bourdain takes no prisoners as he dissects what he's seen.
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Surprisingly tender.
- By Sparkly on 10-09-12
By: Anthony Bourdain
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Bourdain
- The Definitive Oral Biography
- By: Laurie Woolever
- Narrated by: Laurie Woolever, Christopher Bourdain, José Andrés, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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When Anthony Bourdain died in June 2018, fans around the globe came together to celebrate the life of an inimitable man who had dedicated his life to traveling nearly everywhere (and eating nearly everything), shedding light on the lives and stories of others. His impact was outsized and his legacy has only grown since his death.
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After listening to the bio of AB…
- By GwP on 09-30-21
By: Laurie Woolever
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Humble Pie
- By: Gordon Ramsay
- Narrated by: Gordon Ramsay
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
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This is Gordon Ramsay’s autobiography – the first time he has told the full story of how he became the world’s most famous and infamous chef: his difficult childhood, his brother’s heroin addiction and his failed first career as a footballer: all of these things have made him the celebrated culinary talent and media powerhouse that he is today.
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Do wish it was unabridged though. . .
- By Tiffini on 04-16-10
By: Gordon Ramsay
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The Making of a Chef
- Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America
- By: Michael Ruhlman
- Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Ruhlman propels himself and his readers through a score of kitchens and classrooms, from Asian and American regional cuisines to lunch cookery and even table waiting, in search of the elusive, unnamable elements of great cooking.
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Interesting subject, terrible presentation.
- By JLouis on 07-22-07
By: Michael Ruhlman
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Heat
- An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany
- By: Bill Buford
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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From one of our most interesting literary figures, former editor of Granta, former fiction editor at The New Yorker, acclaimed author of Among the Thugs, a sharp, funny, exuberant, close-up account of his headlong plunge into the life of a professional cook.
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just okay
- By sjames on 10-14-06
By: Bill Buford
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Letters to a Young Chef
- By: Daniel Boulud
- Narrated by: Mario Brassard
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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From the reinvention of French food through the fine dining revolution in America, Daniel Boulud has been a witness to and a creator of today's food culture. A modern improviser with a classical foundation (a little rock 'n' roll and a lot of Mozart, he'd say), he speaks with the authority that comes from a lifetime of preparing, presenting, and thinking about food - an ancient calling with universal resonance. In Letters to a Young Chef, Boulud speaks not only of how to make a career as a chef in today's world, but also of why one should want to do so in the first place.
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It is a easy reading book.
- By Pechika on 05-18-21
By: Daniel Boulud
What listeners say about Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll
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- Linda
- 04-22-18
I Was There
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would recommend this book to anyone interested in food and restaurants and food history. It's very well written, The food scene in LA was very exciting during this time.
What did you like best about this story?
I was in LA and part of the food, food writing and restaurant industry from the late 70's through the 80's. The book is well researched, but I can think of a couple of LA people that I'm sorry aren't included. Nevertheless, to read about the evolution of dining and eating as an art and the emergence of chefs as celebrities makes this book a fascinating page turner.
What didn’t you like about Roger Wayne’s performance?
I wish these narrators would do more research on pronunciation. I cringed every time I heard a person's name or food mispronounced...escpecially the French terms. How hard could it be to do a little checking before you get into the recording booth?
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
No. It's too long, but very fun to listen to.
Any additional comments?
I bought the hard copy and was happy I did, because there are footnotes that are never part of the narration that enhance this author's work. Details that are interesting to the whole story and people involved are missing from the narration because of the lack of footnote narration.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Captain Carl
- 03-22-18
loved it
What a great trip down memory lane. I was in the kitchen at Michael's, Trumps, and Spago through all of that. It was a madhouse but what an adventure. the only thing I struggled with was the narrator's horrific pronunciations of French culinary terms. Noteworthy are poissionier, cuisinier and garde manger. Loved it nonetheless.
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4 people found this helpful
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- S. C. Johnson
- 10-20-23
Totally loved
Gave me insight into all the chefs I’ve grown to admire. It was intriguing to hear the stories behind the beginning of the celebrity chef scene.
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- Michael B.
- 07-03-18
great
well written
great read
well done
very much enjoyed the true stories
cant wait to read the follow
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2 people found this helpful
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- Salvatore Raguso
- 01-31-22
Good Book
For me, the book itself is awesome. The narration, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. I know I'm probably nit-picking, but some prep on the part of the narrator and producers is necessary. Mispronunciation throughout drove me crazy; names of people, places and dishes inclusive. That said, I enjoyed this book very much.
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- Tara Ransfer
- 10-16-22
Great History
I enjoyed this throughly! Unfortunate title right now, in the era of younger chefs that won’t pick it up thinking it’s going to glorify an unhealthy culinary life. I learned a lot from the 70’s and 80’s and actually lived the 90’s (actually still do what I do) in the San Francisco Bay Area. I knew the real people and it was a joy to see the history they built on from New York. I forgotten more than I realized. This is the era right before Food Network built celebrity chefs.
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- Ann
- 12-04-24
Living History
How fun to read about a time that I lived through. The San Francisco food scene in the 70's and 80's was bursting with new restaurants, new ideas and celebrity chefs. Friedman, captures the era from Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York at a time when chefs were all doing their thing and did not realize they were making history. He takes the reader from the early days of restaurants , not just Chez Panisse, but so many others. His interviews with the chefs and their colorful language has a really earthy feel, just like the food they were cooking. Like other reviews, I cringed at some of the pronunciations from the narrator. Simply appalling he would not find the correct way to say things, and not just French food terms, but towns and cities .
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-06-21
The reading performance is very hard to ignore
The stories are meaningful, entertaining, & seem well documented for an oral history.
Before purchasing this recording, I assumed the reviewers were nitpicking with their commentary on the performer's pronunciation & characterizations. I owe those reviewers a public apology.
It is stunning that any editorial team would allow this recording to be released. The author should pursue legal action.
I am a chef of the age of those profiled. I have known & still count several of the protagonists as friends. The spirit of those times is well captured. The events described , at least the ones I have first-hand knowledge of, are reported accurately. However, most of the main characters come off as far better people and in some cases better chefs than they actually were/are. As seems to be the case in most walks of life, it is hard to be a ground breaking success without being a bit of an animal. I think the author glosses over this idea due to a mild case of hero worship.
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- Colin Snyder
- 10-04-20
the industry in it's early years
if you have any hopes of making it in the service industry... be it chef, server, bartender...etc. it is good to know where the humble beginnings started and paved the way for you! this book can give those insights. amongst countless other
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- Tyler Kyle Boyle
- 04-17-24
Amazing book!!
An absolutely fantastic book on American chefs from the 70’s and 80’s. As a chef I find my self constantly returning to this book for inspiration.
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