
Life, on the Line
A Chef's Story of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, and Redefining the Way We Eat
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $18.91
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Johnny Heller
About this listen
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, positioned firmly in the world's culinary spotlight, Achatz was diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell carcinoma - tongue cancer.
The prognosis was grim, and doctors agreed that the only course of action was to remove the cancerous tissue, which included his entire tongue. Desperate to preserve his quality of life, Grant undertook an alternative treatment of aggressive chemotherapy and radiation. But the choice came at a cost. Skin peeled from the inside of Grant's mouth and throat, he rapidly lost weight, and most alarmingly, he lost his sense of taste. Tapping into the discipline, passion, and focus of being a chef, Grant rarely missed a day of work. He trained his chefs to mimic his palate and learned how to cook with his other senses. As Kokonas was able to attest, the food was never better. Five months later, Grant was declared cancer-free, and just a few months following, he received the James Beard Foundation Outstanding Chef in America Award.
Life, on the Line tells the story of a culinary trailblazer's love affair with cooking, but it is also a book about survival, about nurturing creativity, and about profound friendship. Already much-anticipated by followers of progressive cuisine, Grant and Nick's gripping narrative is filled with stories from the world's most renowned kitchens - the French Laundry, Charlie Trotter's, el Bulli - and sure to expand the audience that made Alinea the number-one selling restaurant cookbook in America last year.
©2011 Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas (P)2011 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Devil in the Kitchen
- Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef
- By: Marco Pierre White, James Steen
- Narrated by: Timothy Bentinck
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Devil in the Kitchen, White tells the story behind his ascent from working-class roots to culinary greatness, leaving no dish unserved as he relays raucous and revealing tales featuring some of the biggest names in the food world and beyond, including: Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsay, Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Michael Caine, Damien Hirst, and even Prince Charles.
-
-
A chef / restaurateur must.
- By Brandon on 07-18-16
By: Marco Pierre White, and others
-
32 Yolks
- From My Mother's Table to Working the Line
- By: Eric Ripert, Veronica Chambers
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an industry where celebrity chefs are known as much for their salty talk and quick tempers as their food, Eric Ripert stands out. The winner of four James Beard Awards, co-owner and chef of a world-renowned restaurant, and recipient of countless Michelin stars, Ripert embodies elegance and culinary perfection. But before the accolades, before he even knew how to make a proper hollandaise sauce, Eric Ripert was a lonely young boy in the south of France whose life was falling apart.
-
-
Every aspiring cook needs to read this
- By PatrickV on 07-01-16
By: Eric Ripert, and others
-
Sous Chef
- 24 Hours on the Line
- By: Michael Gibney
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this urgent and unique book, chef Michael Gibney uses 24 hours to animate the intricate camaraderie and culinary choreography in an upscale New York restaurant kitchen. Here listeners will find all the details, in rapid-fire succession, of what it takes to deliver an exceptional plate of food - the journey to excellence by way of exhaustion. Told in second-person narrative, Sous Chef is an immersive, adrenaline-fueled run that offers a fly-on-the-wall perspective on the food service industry, allowing listeners to briefly inhabit the hidden world behind the kitchen doors, in real time.
-
-
Only as good as your last plate.
- By Norma Miles on 02-21-19
By: Michael Gibney
-
Letters to a Young Chef
- By: Daniel Boulud
- Narrated by: Mario Brassard
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
It is a easy reading book.
- By Pechika on 05-18-21
By: Daniel Boulud
-
Ritz and Escoffier
- The Hotelier, The Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class
- By: Luke Barr
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early August 1889, César Ritz, a Swiss hotelier highly regarded for his exquisite taste, found himself at the Savoy Hotel in London. He had come at the request of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the financier of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operas, who had modernized theater and was now looking to create the world's best hotel. D'Oyly Carte soon seduced Ritz to move to London with his team, which included Auguste Escoffier, the chef de cuisine known for his elevated, original dishes.
-
-
Like Cesar Ritz, a real dandy
- By BenYL on 04-24-18
By: Luke Barr
-
Humble Pie
- By: Gordon Ramsay
- Narrated by: Gordon Ramsay
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Do wish it was unabridged though. . .
- By Tiffini on 04-16-10
By: Gordon Ramsay
-
The Devil in the Kitchen
- Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef
- By: Marco Pierre White, James Steen
- Narrated by: Timothy Bentinck
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Devil in the Kitchen, White tells the story behind his ascent from working-class roots to culinary greatness, leaving no dish unserved as he relays raucous and revealing tales featuring some of the biggest names in the food world and beyond, including: Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsay, Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Michael Caine, Damien Hirst, and even Prince Charles.
-
-
A chef / restaurateur must.
- By Brandon on 07-18-16
By: Marco Pierre White, and others
-
32 Yolks
- From My Mother's Table to Working the Line
- By: Eric Ripert, Veronica Chambers
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an industry where celebrity chefs are known as much for their salty talk and quick tempers as their food, Eric Ripert stands out. The winner of four James Beard Awards, co-owner and chef of a world-renowned restaurant, and recipient of countless Michelin stars, Ripert embodies elegance and culinary perfection. But before the accolades, before he even knew how to make a proper hollandaise sauce, Eric Ripert was a lonely young boy in the south of France whose life was falling apart.
-
-
Every aspiring cook needs to read this
- By PatrickV on 07-01-16
By: Eric Ripert, and others
-
Sous Chef
- 24 Hours on the Line
- By: Michael Gibney
- Narrated by: Fred Berman
- Length: 5 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this urgent and unique book, chef Michael Gibney uses 24 hours to animate the intricate camaraderie and culinary choreography in an upscale New York restaurant kitchen. Here listeners will find all the details, in rapid-fire succession, of what it takes to deliver an exceptional plate of food - the journey to excellence by way of exhaustion. Told in second-person narrative, Sous Chef is an immersive, adrenaline-fueled run that offers a fly-on-the-wall perspective on the food service industry, allowing listeners to briefly inhabit the hidden world behind the kitchen doors, in real time.
-
-
Only as good as your last plate.
- By Norma Miles on 02-21-19
By: Michael Gibney
-
Letters to a Young Chef
- By: Daniel Boulud
- Narrated by: Mario Brassard
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
It is a easy reading book.
- By Pechika on 05-18-21
By: Daniel Boulud
-
Ritz and Escoffier
- The Hotelier, The Chef, and the Rise of the Leisure Class
- By: Luke Barr
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In early August 1889, César Ritz, a Swiss hotelier highly regarded for his exquisite taste, found himself at the Savoy Hotel in London. He had come at the request of Richard D'Oyly Carte, the financier of Gilbert & Sullivan's comic operas, who had modernized theater and was now looking to create the world's best hotel. D'Oyly Carte soon seduced Ritz to move to London with his team, which included Auguste Escoffier, the chef de cuisine known for his elevated, original dishes.
-
-
Like Cesar Ritz, a real dandy
- By BenYL on 04-24-18
By: Luke Barr
-
Humble Pie
- By: Gordon Ramsay
- Narrated by: Gordon Ramsay
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Do wish it was unabridged though. . .
- By Tiffini on 04-16-10
By: Gordon Ramsay
-
Eat a Peach
- A Memoir
- By: David Chang, Gabe Ulla
- Narrated by: David Chang
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the chef behind Momofuku and star of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious—an intimate account of the making of a chef, the story of the modern restaurant world that he helped shape, and how he discovered that success can be much harder to understand than failure. Full of grace, candor, grit, and humor, Eat a Peach chronicles David Chang’s switchback path. Along the way, Chang gives us a penetrating look at restaurant life, in which he balances his deep love for the kitchen with unflinching honesty about the industry’s history of brutishness and its uncertain future.
-
-
So many threads coming into a wonderful tapstery.
- By Suzie on 09-12-20
By: David Chang, and others
-
The Apprentice
- My Life in the Kitchen
- By: Jacques Pépin
- Narrated by: Jacques Pépin, Michel Chevalier
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this captivating memoir, the man whom Julia Child has called "the best chef in America" tells the story of his rise from a frightened apprentice in an exacting Old World kitchen to an Emmy Award-winning superstar who taught millions of Americans how to cook and shaped the nation's tastes in the bargain. The Apprentice is the poignant and sometimes funny tale of a boy's coming of age. Beyond that, it is the story of America's culinary awakening and the transformation of food from an afterthought to a national preoccupation.
-
-
Jacques Pépin never has disappointed
- By Peter on 10-03-20
By: Jacques Pépin
-
Yes, Chef
- A Memoir
- By: Marcus Samuelsson
- Narrated by: Marcus Samuelsson
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A fun and inspiring civics lesson
- By loix on 06-27-12
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Surprisingly tender.
- By Sparkly on 10-09-12
By: Anthony Bourdain
-
Kitchen Confidential
- Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly
- By: Anthony Bourdain
- Narrated by: Anthony Bourdain
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Last summer, The New Yorker published chef Anthony Bourdain's shocking, "Don't Eat Before Reading This." Now, the author uses the same "take-no-prisoners" attitude in his deliciously funny and shockingly delectable audiobook, sure to delight gourmands and philistines alike.
-
-
Kitchen Confidential
- By Holly on 02-20-03
By: Anthony Bourdain
-
Ferran
- The Inside Story of El Bulli and the Man Who Reinvented Food
- By: Colman Andrews
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his lively, unprecedented close-up portrait of Ferran Adrià, award-winning food writer Colman Andrews traces this groundbreaking chef’s rise from resort hotel dishwasher to culinary deity, and the evolution of El Bulli from a German-owned beach bar into the establishment voted annually by an international jury to be “the world’s best restaurant”.
-
-
recasting needed
- By Marco I on 09-09-18
By: Colman Andrews
-
Blood, Bones & Butter
- The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
- By: Gabrielle Hamilton
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Hamilton
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A Little Prickly--But Yummy
- By Mel on 03-11-12
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
the reader makes the audiobook - unfortunately
- By Lawrie Thicke on 04-20-19
By: Andrew Friedman
-
Restaurant Man
- By: Joe Bastianich
- Narrated by: Joe Bastianich
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
If you liked Kitchen Confidential you'll...
- By J.D. McPherson on 02-19-16
By: Joe Bastianich
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
After listening to the bio of AB…
- By GwP on 09-30-21
By: Laurie Woolever
-
Back of the House
- The Secret Life of a Restaurant
- By: Scott Haas
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Truly horrible narration
- By Fidge on 03-28-15
By: Scott Haas
-
Notes from a Young Black Chef
- A Memoir
- By: Kwame Onwuachi, Joshua David Stein
- Narrated by: Kwame Onwuachi
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
By the time he was 27 years old, Kwame Onwuachi had opened - and closed - one of the most talked-about restaurants in America. He had launched his own catering company with $20,000 that he made from selling candy on the subway, yet he’d been told he would never make it on television because his cooking wasn’t “Southern” enough. In this inspiring memoir about the intersection of race, fame, and food, he shares the remarkable story of his culinary coming-of-age.
-
-
DC should be proud to have Chef Kwame
- By Jesse Wetzel on 04-26-19
By: Kwame Onwuachi, and others
Critic reviews
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Soul of a Chef
- The Journey Toward Perfection
- By: Michael Ruhlman
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his second in-depth foray into the world of professional cooking, Michael Ruhlman journeys into the heart of the profession. Observing the rigorous Certified Master Chef exam at the Culinary Institute of America, the most influential cooking school in the country, Ruhlman enters the lives and kitchens of rising star Michael Symon and the renowned Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. This fascinating audiobook will satisfy any listener's hunger for knowledge about cooking and food, the secrets of successful chefs, at what point cooking becomes an art form, and more.
-
-
Good Fun, Even if You Don't Cook!
- By Gillian on 12-02-16
By: Michael Ruhlman
-
The Main Dish
- By: Michael Ruhlman
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Ruhlman, author of best-selling books about professional cooking and chefs and best-selling cookbooks with such chefs as Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert, and Michael Symon, turns his reporter's eye and engaging style on himself to answer the question "how on earth did I get here?" In an unlikely and unplanned series of chance connections, and work often motivated primarily by fear of poverty, he managed to carve a unique place for himself in the increasingly obsessive world of restaurants, chefs, and writers.
-
-
Awesome!
- By Meowley on 03-26-24
By: Michael Ruhlman
-
The Apprentice
- My Life in the Kitchen
- By: Jacques Pépin
- Narrated by: Jacques Pépin, Michel Chevalier
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this captivating memoir, the man whom Julia Child has called "the best chef in America" tells the story of his rise from a frightened apprentice in an exacting Old World kitchen to an Emmy Award-winning superstar who taught millions of Americans how to cook and shaped the nation's tastes in the bargain. The Apprentice is the poignant and sometimes funny tale of a boy's coming of age. Beyond that, it is the story of America's culinary awakening and the transformation of food from an afterthought to a national preoccupation.
-
-
Jacques Pépin never has disappointed
- By Peter on 10-03-20
By: Jacques Pépin
-
The Devil in the Kitchen
- Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef
- By: Marco Pierre White, James Steen
- Narrated by: Timothy Bentinck
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Devil in the Kitchen, White tells the story behind his ascent from working-class roots to culinary greatness, leaving no dish unserved as he relays raucous and revealing tales featuring some of the biggest names in the food world and beyond, including: Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsay, Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Michael Caine, Damien Hirst, and even Prince Charles.
-
-
A chef / restaurateur must.
- By Brandon on 07-18-16
By: Marco Pierre White, and others
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
the reader makes the audiobook - unfortunately
- By Lawrie Thicke on 04-20-19
By: Andrew Friedman
-
Yes, Chef
- A Memoir
- By: Marcus Samuelsson
- Narrated by: Marcus Samuelsson
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A fun and inspiring civics lesson
- By loix on 06-27-12
-
The Soul of a Chef
- The Journey Toward Perfection
- By: Michael Ruhlman
- Narrated by: Donald Corren
- Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In his second in-depth foray into the world of professional cooking, Michael Ruhlman journeys into the heart of the profession. Observing the rigorous Certified Master Chef exam at the Culinary Institute of America, the most influential cooking school in the country, Ruhlman enters the lives and kitchens of rising star Michael Symon and the renowned Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. This fascinating audiobook will satisfy any listener's hunger for knowledge about cooking and food, the secrets of successful chefs, at what point cooking becomes an art form, and more.
-
-
Good Fun, Even if You Don't Cook!
- By Gillian on 12-02-16
By: Michael Ruhlman
-
The Main Dish
- By: Michael Ruhlman
- Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins
- Length: 1 hr and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Ruhlman, author of best-selling books about professional cooking and chefs and best-selling cookbooks with such chefs as Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert, and Michael Symon, turns his reporter's eye and engaging style on himself to answer the question "how on earth did I get here?" In an unlikely and unplanned series of chance connections, and work often motivated primarily by fear of poverty, he managed to carve a unique place for himself in the increasingly obsessive world of restaurants, chefs, and writers.
-
-
Awesome!
- By Meowley on 03-26-24
By: Michael Ruhlman
-
The Apprentice
- My Life in the Kitchen
- By: Jacques Pépin
- Narrated by: Jacques Pépin, Michel Chevalier
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this captivating memoir, the man whom Julia Child has called "the best chef in America" tells the story of his rise from a frightened apprentice in an exacting Old World kitchen to an Emmy Award-winning superstar who taught millions of Americans how to cook and shaped the nation's tastes in the bargain. The Apprentice is the poignant and sometimes funny tale of a boy's coming of age. Beyond that, it is the story of America's culinary awakening and the transformation of food from an afterthought to a national preoccupation.
-
-
Jacques Pépin never has disappointed
- By Peter on 10-03-20
By: Jacques Pépin
-
The Devil in the Kitchen
- Sex, Pain, Madness, and the Making of a Great Chef
- By: Marco Pierre White, James Steen
- Narrated by: Timothy Bentinck
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Devil in the Kitchen, White tells the story behind his ascent from working-class roots to culinary greatness, leaving no dish unserved as he relays raucous and revealing tales featuring some of the biggest names in the food world and beyond, including: Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsay, Albert Roux, Raymond Blanc, Michael Caine, Damien Hirst, and even Prince Charles.
-
-
A chef / restaurateur must.
- By Brandon on 07-18-16
By: Marco Pierre White, and others
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
the reader makes the audiobook - unfortunately
- By Lawrie Thicke on 04-20-19
By: Andrew Friedman
-
Yes, Chef
- A Memoir
- By: Marcus Samuelsson
- Narrated by: Marcus Samuelsson
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A fun and inspiring civics lesson
- By loix on 06-27-12
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
gross noises
- By Slothflyer on 08-12-10
By: Anthony Bourdain, and others
-
On Spice
- Advice, Wisdom, and History with a Grain of Saltiness
- By: Caitlin PenzeyMoog
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 6 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Every home cook has thoughts on the right and wrong ways to use spices. These beliefs are passed down in family recipes and pronounced by television chefs, but where do such ideas come from? Many are little better than superstition, and most serve only to reinforce a cook's sense of superiority or cover for their insecurities. It doesn't have to be this way. These notes On Spice come from three generations of a family in the spice trade, and dozens upon dozens of their collected spice guides and stories.
-
-
Yummy!
- By amanda j green on 11-17-24
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
After listening to the bio of AB…
- By GwP on 09-30-21
By: Laurie Woolever
-
32 Yolks
- From My Mother's Table to Working the Line
- By: Eric Ripert, Veronica Chambers
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In an industry where celebrity chefs are known as much for their salty talk and quick tempers as their food, Eric Ripert stands out. The winner of four James Beard Awards, co-owner and chef of a world-renowned restaurant, and recipient of countless Michelin stars, Ripert embodies elegance and culinary perfection. But before the accolades, before he even knew how to make a proper hollandaise sauce, Eric Ripert was a lonely young boy in the south of France whose life was falling apart.
-
-
Every aspiring cook needs to read this
- By PatrickV on 07-01-16
By: Eric Ripert, and others
-
Serving Victoria
- Life in the Royal Household
- By: Kate Hubbard
- Narrated by: Kate Hubbard
- Length: 14 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
During her 63-year reign, Queen Victoria gathered around herself a household dedicated to her service. For some, royal employment was the defining experience of their lives; for others it came as an unwelcome duty or as a prelude to greater things. Serving Victoria follows the lives of six members of her household, from the governess to the royal children, from her maid of honor to her chaplain and her personal physician.
-
-
The the unrelenting time given to serving Queen Victoria.
- By Helene Bradley on 04-06-25
By: Kate Hubbard
-
The Taste of Empire
- How Britain's Quest for Food Shaped the Modern World
- By: Lizzie Collingham
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Taste of Empire, acclaimed historian Lizzie Collingham tells the story of how the British Empire's quest for food shaped the modern world. Told through 20 meals over the course of 450 years, from the Far East to the New World, Collingham explains how Africans taught Americans how to grow rice, how the East India Company turned opium into tea, and how Americans became the best-fed people in the world.
-
-
Overall really interesting and informative
- By Amazon Customer on 01-01-21
-
Restaurant Man
- By: Joe Bastianich
- Narrated by: Joe Bastianich
- Length: 8 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
If you liked Kitchen Confidential you'll...
- By J.D. McPherson on 02-19-16
By: Joe Bastianich
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Surprisingly tender.
- By Sparkly on 10-09-12
By: Anthony Bourdain
-
Matty Matheson: A Cookbook
- By: Matty Matheson
- Narrated by: Matty Matheson
- Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Matty Matheson is known as much for his amazing food as his love for life, positive mental attitude, and epic Instagram account. This debut cookbook is about Matty’s memories of the foods that have defined who he is. With a drive to share his zest for life, he creates dishes within these pages that reinterpret the flavors of his youth in Canada, as well as the restaurant fare for which he has become so well-known. This book is like cooking alongside Matty, sharing stories that are equal parts heartwarming and inappropriate while helping you cook dishes that are full of love.
-
-
Love Matty, Love that he narrated it
- By Zac on 07-17-19
By: Matty Matheson
-
In the Weeds
- Around the World and Behind the Scenes with Anthony Bourdain
- By: Tom Vitale
- Narrated by: Tom Vitale
- Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the nearly two years since Anthony Bourdain's death, no one else has come close to filling the void he left. His passion for and genuine curiosity about the people and cultures he visited made the world feel smaller and more connected. Despite his affable, confident, and trademark snarky TV persona, the real Tony was intensely private, deeply conflicted about his fame, and an enigma even to those close to him. Tony’s devoted crew knew him best, and no one else had a front-row seat for as long as his director and producer, Tom Vitale.
-
-
Even more than I expected
- By DA1234 on 11-25-21
By: Tom Vitale
-
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
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Starts strong tapers off
- By Craig Bryan on 01-02-21
By: Matt Goulding
-
Blood, Bones & Butter
- The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef
- By: Gabrielle Hamilton
- Narrated by: Gabrielle Hamilton
- Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A Little Prickly--But Yummy
- By Mel on 03-11-12
What listeners say about Life, on the Line
Highly rated for:
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Michael Stampar
- 07-08-23
What a story
Lived in his diners back yard and missed it. What drive. Know tongue cancer and he is a miracle. Cant wait to get to Alina some fast.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- NRo
- 03-30-25
Deliciously Good Read
This book is phenomenal. It’s about, but not limited to, a chef, the power of believing in yourself, goal setting, working relentlessly hard to achieve goals, managing setbacks, being a father, maintaining business relationships, accepting help, and how to be the best friend that every cancer warrior needs. There is a lot to learn from this story which is not yet over. I look forward to the next book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kindle Customer
- 09-22-18
A treat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A completely fascinating book! Getting into the mind of a truly innovative chef, his wise business partner the world of creating a ground-breaking restaurant was a treat. And living Grant's health challenges was equally amazing. A great listen on all levels. Thanks!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Justin Chase
- 05-02-21
Great story and great reality
The thing that made the book was that Grant narrated his side of things himself.
There are things that felt lopsided like his focus on his family in the beginning vs his focus on his own children and heather towards the end. Being a father myself it comes off a little cold but you get glimpses of his love for them throughout.
Can’t wait to visit his restaurant :)
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Luke92
- 07-14-20
Truly a Great Read!
I had the privilege to work for Chef Grant at the next restaurant. To see his passion up close and to read about makes me truly grateful. This book is a great read I strongly recommend to anyone who is in the culinary field to read this book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- noladel
- 04-01-21
Inspirational Story
This is one of the most emotional books I have ever heard. Grant Achatz’s story is one of dedication and determination. He is a brilliant chef and a man who fought cancer against all odds.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- Amazon Customer
- 10-19-18
addicted
Ima chef... it was inspiring, rise fall and rise again! wow just wow! So many similarities I saw in this book and my own. so many reasons to keep pushing... Thank you Grant.. Thank you
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- angelo caruso
- 11-12-18
Great book
Really enjoyed the book
Loved Chefs Passion
And determination in the kitchen and in life !!!!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- LEE
- 12-27-19
Bold experiments in high-end dining
Grant's story of helping run his family restaurant is compelling. And that's probably what helped him manage his Charlie Trotter experience. You have to be extra careful who you hire in these top restaurants, but you also have to be careful who you work for.
It's clear from the book that Grant helped to build up the sector of expensive dining and also create new experiences that other top restaurants weren't providing at the time.
I felt engaged throughout the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- JonWCHEFwork
- 03-21-17
inspirational
I am a chef by trade out of Austin, Texas. I absolutely loved this book. It reminded me of how precious life is and how u can't let anything get you down. Grant & Nick are idols to me and I hope one day I can have such an amazing success story. (minus the cancer).
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful