No Experience Necessary
The Culinary Odyssey of Chef Norman Van Aken
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Narrated by:
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Norman Van Aken
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By:
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Norman Van Aken
About this listen
No Experience Necessary is Chef Norman Van Aken's joyride of a memoir. In it he spans twenty-plus years and nearly as many jobs - including the fateful job advertisement in the local paper for a short-order cook with "no experience necessary."
Long considered a culinary renegade and a pioneering chef, Van Aken is an American original who chopped and charred, sweated and seared his way to cooking stardom with no formal training, but with extra helpings of energy, creativity, and faith. After landing on the deceptively breezy shores of Key West, Van Aken faced hurricanes, economic downturns, and mercurial moneymen during the decades when a restaurant could open and close faster than you can type haute cuisine. From a graveyard shift grunt at an all-night barbeque joint to a James Beard-award finalist for best restaurant in America, Van Aken put his trusting heart, poetic soul, natural talent, and ever-expanding experience into every venture - and helped transform the American culinary landscape along the way.
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Hotbox
- Inside Catering, the Food World's Riskiest Business
- By: Matt Lee, Ted Lee
- Narrated by: Matt Lee, Ted Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Matt Lee and Ted Lee take on the competitive, wild world of high-end catering, exposing the secrets of a food business few home cooks or restaurant chefs ever experience.
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Needs to be a series!
- By Sallyterra on 04-27-19
By: Matt Lee, and others
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Waiter to the Rich and Shameless
- Confessions of a Five Star Beverly Hills Server
- By: Paul Hartford
- Narrated by: James Patrick Cronin
- Length: 10 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Waiter to the Rich and Shameless is not just a peek into the secretive inner workings of a legendary five-star restaurant; it is not just a celebrity tell-all or a scathing corporate analysis. It is a top-tier waiter's personal coming-of-age story, an intimate look into the complicated challenges of serving in the country's most elite, Hollywood-centric dining room while fighting to maintain a sense of self and purpose.
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Not what I imagined
- By Autumn Larkin on 02-17-17
By: Paul Hartford
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Angelina's Bachelors
- A Novel, with Food
- By: Brian O'Reilly
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Far too young to be a widow, Angelina D’Angelo suddenly finds herself facing a life without her beloved husband, Frank. Late one night shortly after the funeral, she makes her way down to the kitchen and pours all of her grief and anger into the only outlet she has left - her passion for cooking.
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A Mouthwatering Comfort Listen
- By Blee Medel on 01-30-12
By: Brian O'Reilly
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Back of the House
- The Secret Life of a Restaurant
- By: Scott Haas
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Food writer and clinical psychologist Scott Haas wanted to know what went on inside the mind of a top chef - and what kind of emotional dynamics drove the fast-paced, intense interactions inside a great restaurant. To capture all the heat and hunger, he spent 18 months immersed in the kitchen of James Beard Award-winner Tony Maws's restaurant, Craigie on Main, in Boston. He became part of the family, experiencing the drama first-hand.
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Truly horrible narration
- By Fidge on 03-28-15
By: Scott Haas
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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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Knives at Dawn
- America's Quest for Culinary Glory at the Legendary Bocuse d'Or Competition
- By: Andrew Friedman
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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The Bocuse d'Or is the real-life Top Chef, a biannual cooking competition in France featuring teams from 24 countries vying for the top honors. Named after Paul Bocuse, one of the greatest, most influential living chefs, the Bocuse d'Or has become the most sophisticated and closely watched cook-off in the world. Ironically, though American cuisine now rates among the best in the world, a U.S. team has never placed among the top three in the competition.
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Fascinating for Foodies
- By Linda Zimmerman on 02-07-12
By: Andrew Friedman
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Confessions of a Carb Queen
- A Memoir
- By: Susan Blech, Caroline Bock
- Narrated by: Aimee Jolson
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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By the time Susan Blech was 38 years old, she weighed a staggering 468.1 pounds. She binged. She was "only a little chubby," or so she convinced herself. Gripping, sometimes shocking, and ultimately inspiring, Confessions of a Carb Queen is the story of how Susan changed her life to save her life, ultimately losing 250 pounds without surgery. Susan speaks candidly about eating binges, fat sex, and other topics no obese person has dared to address.
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Negative reviews are ridiculous.
- By Heather Marie on 01-07-16
By: Susan Blech, and others
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Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll
- How Food Lovers, Free Spirits, Misfits and Wanderers Created a New American Profession
- By: Andrew Friedman
- Narrated by: Roger Wayne
- Length: 14 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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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.
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the reader makes the audiobook - unfortunately
- By Lawrie Thicke on 04-20-19
By: Andrew Friedman
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Bruno's Challenge
- And Other Stories of the French Countryside
- By: Martin Walker
- Narrated by: Robert Ian Mackenzie
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Martin Walker presents his first collection of Bruno stories featuring all the familiar characters from the novels, the glories of the Périgord, and ample helpings of food and wine.
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Outtakes and Ephemera
- By SW Clemens on 03-23-22
By: Martin Walker
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The Midwest Survival Guide
- How We Talk, Love, Work, Drink, and Eat... Everything with Ranch
- By: Charlie Berens
- Narrated by: Charlie Berens
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you ever had a goodbye lasting more than four hours? Do you lack the emotional capacity to say “I love you” so you just tell your loved ones to “watch out for deer”? Have you apologized to a stranger because she stepped on your foot? If you answered yes to any of these questions, there’s a good chance you’re a Midwesterner - or a Midwesterner at heart.
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Perfect for the Long Drive to WI
- By Amazon Customer on 01-24-22
By: Charlie Berens
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Stir
- My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home
- By: Jessica Fechtor
- Narrated by: Jessica Fechtor
- Length: 6 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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At 28, Jessica Fechtor was happily immersed in graduate school and her young marriage and thinking about starting a family. Then one day she went for a run, and an aneurysm burst in her brain. She nearly died. She lost her sense of smell and the sight in her left eye and was forced to the sidelines of the life she loved. Jessica's journey to recovery began in the kitchen as soon as she was able to stand at the stovetop and stir. There, she drew strength from the restorative power of cooking and baking.
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Wonderful powerful read
- By Amazon Customer on 01-13-24
By: Jessica Fechtor
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In the first portrait of James Beard in 25 years, John Birdsall accomplishes what no prior telling of Beard's life and work has done: He looks beyond the public image of the "Dean of American Cookery" to give voice to the gourmet's complex, queer life and, in the process, illuminates the history of American food in the 20th century.
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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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Worthwhile listen, cringe-worthy pronunciations
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Rice, Noodle, Fish
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An innovative new take on the travel guide, Rice, Noodle, Fish decodes Japan's extraordinary food culture through a mix of in-depth narrative and insider advice. In this 5,000-mile journey through the noodle shops, tempura temples, and teahouses of Japan, Matt Goulding, cocreator of the enormously popular Eat This, Not That! book series, navigates the intersection between food, history, and culture, creating one of the most ambitious and complete books ever written about Japanese culinary culture from the Western perspective.
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Starts strong tapers off
- By Craig Bryan on 01-02-21
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What I Ate in One Year
- (and related thoughts)
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Food has always been an integral part of Stanley Tucci’s life: from stracciatella soup served in the shadow of the Pantheon, to marinara sauce cooked between scene rehearsals and costume fittings, to home-made pizza eaten with his children before bedtime. Now, in What I Ate in One Year Tucci records twelve months of eating—in restaurants, kitchens, film sets, press junkets, at home and abroad, with friends, with family, with strangers, and occasionally just by himself.
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Another great listen…
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In Cooking as Fast as I Can, Cat Cora reveals, for the first time, coming-of-age experiences from early childhood sexual abuse to the realities of life as a lesbian in the Deep South. She shares how she found her passion in the kitchen and went on to attend the prestigious Culinary Institute of America and apprentice under Michelin-star chefs in France. After her big break as a cohost on the Food Network's Melting Pot, Cat broke barriers by becoming the first-ever female Iron Chef.
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Worthwhile listen, cringe-worthy pronunciations
- By Tag Christof on 09-01-20
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Rice, Noodle, Fish
- Deep Travels Through Japan's Food Culture (Roads & Kingdoms Presents, Book 1)
- By: Matt Goulding
- Narrated by: Will Damron
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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An innovative new take on the travel guide, Rice, Noodle, Fish decodes Japan's extraordinary food culture through a mix of in-depth narrative and insider advice. In this 5,000-mile journey through the noodle shops, tempura temples, and teahouses of Japan, Matt Goulding, cocreator of the enormously popular Eat This, Not That! book series, navigates the intersection between food, history, and culture, creating one of the most ambitious and complete books ever written about Japanese culinary culture from the Western perspective.
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Starts strong tapers off
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What listeners say about No Experience Necessary
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kevin Wilson
- 02-11-15
Memories
Reminds me a bit of myself, just not with all of the mind numbing success. A great read. And just lends credence to the fact that, anyone that's creative and is strong willed can do it, and have outrageous success.
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- Linda
- 03-17-14
Another Great Chef Memoir
I'm so glad the audio publisher let Norman narrate his book. It was like listening to an old friend tell a great story.
This book took me back to the early days (late70s, 80's and early 90s) when the American food explosion was so much fun to be part of (and I was) and chefs didn't care about their TV ratings (there was no Food Network yet), but about creating truly great food. There are recipes at the end of each chapter. My favorite is "Latkes with Sour Cream and Caviar" at the end of Chapter 19.
Norman is also a terrific writer ...reminded me a little of Hemingway's prose.. and that's good, since a lot of the book takes place in Key West, a Hemingway hangout. I loved this book. Go buy it. Go listen.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-30-23
Felt like I lived this life
So good. Every restaurant he has lived is a story. Key West’s charm dances through the book. His narration is entertaining and witty and real. I absolutely loved this book. A fantastic surprise.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-03-19
Great listen for chefs
I would recommend this book to all Up and coming chefs in Florida area and around the world . Great to hear about what life was like from one of the best South Florida chefs .
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- Shane K.
- 08-14-24
Fun book
A good book following the path of Van Aken. If interested in the culinary world this is a peak through a crack in the door.
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