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Life, On The Line: A Chef's Story Of Chasing Greatness, Facing Death, And Redefining The Way We Eat (2011)

by Grant Achatz(Favorite Author)

4.03 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1592406017 (ISBN13: 9781592406012)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Gotham

review 1: Grant Achatz, chef at the world famous Alinea restaurant in Chicago, recounts his journey of becoming a chef, opening his own restaurant and the battle with tongue cancer that nearly took his ability to taste. I found the book very interesting overall and I feel like I got a much better understanding of fine dining, restaurant life and being a chef. However, I just can't fathom spending upwards of $165 a person for a meal. I get all the work that goes into the dishes and that it is an art, but that cost makes my eyes bug out. I would also have to say I don't think I would like Grant Achatz very much if I ever met him. He seems very intense and so into his craft that it comes at the expense of his personal relationships. The truth is, he kind of comes off as a pretentious j... moreerk. I also got a bit bored when reading the detailed plans for building Alinea, Achatz's restaurant. I felt like the book could have done with more editing. At the same time, I felt like I could have used more detail about his struggle with tongue cancer. It felt like he glossed over this and for me that was the most interesting part. I know that there are foodies out there that will love this, but for me it was just okay.ND Women Connect Book Club August 2014
review 2: The story outline makes for a great back cover....but sadly the magic is not translated to the book. Despite his talent and his battles, the chef comes across as very blessed, blessed to have had the opportunities and specially the mentoring of Thomas Keller. A book about him should be an interesting read. The rest is simply a chronological list of events without delving too deeply on the whys and hows, which are the key ingredients to a great biography. The sudden introduction of another point of view seems unnecessary and probably was put in so that the author could distance himself from certain events he did not want to talk about. Most of it seems like a 'I came, I saw and I conquered' kind of story. I am sure there must have been umpteen struggles and difficulties and failures but none of those are discussed. Could have been a great story.... less

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