Heat An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany

A highly acclaimed writer and editor, Bill Buford left his job atTheNew Yorkerfor a most unlikely destination: the kitchen at Babbo, the revolutionary Italian restaurant created and ruled by superstar chef Mario Batali. Finally realizing a long-held desire to learn first-hand the experience of restaurant cooking, Buford soon finds himself drowning in improperly cubed carrots and scalding pasta water on his quest to learn the tricks of the trade. His love of Italian food then propels him on journeys further afield: to Italy, to discover the secrets of pasta-making and, finally, how to properly slaughter a pig. Throughout, Buford stunningly details the complex aspects of Italian cooking and its long history, creating an engrossing and visceral narrative stuffed with insight and humor.

Bill Buford is a staff writer for The New Yorker, where he was previously the fiction editor for eight years. He was
the editor-in-chief for Granta magazine for sixteen years and was also the publisher of Granta Books. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jessica Green.


From the Hardcover edition.