Don't Try This at Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs

I don't watch cooking shows on TV nor do I read gourmet cooking magazines or anything like that ~~ the names of the chefs in here don't mean anything to me. It's not personal. I just don't have the time nor the interest to read about them nor do I travel to eat at fine restaurants ... But this book is hilarious. It is one of the few books where I am lost in the giggles over the mishaps in the kitchens. And I love it. I do cook and am a fairly good cook ~~ though not as good as these professionals are. I have messed up dishes often and have my embarrassing moments ~~ but not on the grand scale as these chefs. And I love the stories ~~ the wedding cake mishaps are my favorite ~~ especially Michel Richard's "Alibi" ~~ that one literally brought tears to my eyes. I can just see it all. Another favorite is "Our Big Brake" by Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. One that brought sighs to my heart is Paul Kahan's "(Not) Ready for My Close-up." Another one is Tamara Murphy's "For The Birds" ~~ I just lost myself in the giggles over a plate of grilled cheese sandwiches (Ah. A dream to come true would be having a chef cooking for me!). To be honest, I don't think there's a story in there that I didn't like. They all are funny and very human ~~ it brings a touch of humanness to the world's greatest cooks. And since I like to cook, I can definitely relate to their stories. And I love all of their stories. I cannot remember the last time I had so much fun reading a book!! However, don't read this while you're hungry ~~ some of their descriptions of food will make you hungry and if you're like me, that doesn't have a modern up to date kitchen or pantry ~~ you'll find yourself raiding something wishing that you can finally taste what they are famous for making. A Ding Dong just won't do it. But maybe it will spur you to become a better chef in your own kitchen ~~ knowing that the greats are just as human as we all are. 10-18-07

This is one of the funniest books, I have read. I have lent it to many friends and we have had a good laugh at many of the stories. It's nice to see that professional chefs can also have disasters in the kitchen.

This is a must have for home cooks, would-be chefs, and people who just love the kitchen. In this humorous collection of stories, many chefs that have no reached the pinnacle of their careers share tales and snippets of life that include moments they were less than perfect. How many of us have ruined a dish by putting too much salt in the pot, or burned a turkey (or served one raw)? Turns out those sins are mild compared to some of the things these gods of food have done. So many of the stories are just funny, you'll find yourself laughing out loud. Sometimes when you watch cooking shows, or eat at a 5 star restaurant, it's easy to be intimidated by Chefs that seem to have perfected this craft. But this book will remind you that they have their off days as well, and that the gods of cuisine are just as human as the rest of us. Highly recommended for everyone. Even if you don't cook, or aren't a foodie, this book is just funny.

I am a professional chef of nearly forty years standing. Reading this was like reading my autobiography. The stories captured the essence of the profession's dark side: awful grinding labor, maniacally insane co-workers, impossible demands of customers.....and the short lived and highly addictive secret joys of overcoming all that to create a kind of elusive art. I would make this mandatory reading for all aspiring chefs.....better for them than Escoffier!

I read the excerpts from this collection in the New York Times Magazine and went and bought the book, I was so delighted with them. Dan Barber's piece about working for David Bouley and learning to "talk to the fish" was hilarious; It had never occurred to me that you have to listen to the food cooking as much as taste, see and smell it, to know if it's cooked properly. I was surprised to read all these readers comments slamming Gabrielle Hamilton's piece; I actually thought she showed uncustomary sensitivity for a chef, even letting this candidate through the door when he hadn't been straight up with her about being blind. Marcus Samuelson's piece about being a black man in a white kitchen was powerful and refreshingly thoughtful in contrast to the raucousness of many of the other pieces. I plan to give this to all my friends who devoured KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL, it has the same exuberance and behind the scenes details that bring down to earth what always looks so safe and easy on those cooking shows.