So you’ve watched every episode of Hell’s Kitchen and decided you want to be a professional chef? Before you get too wrapped up in the fantasy, be aware you are in for a lot of Salt, Sweat & Steam, as detailed in this memoir.
Brigid is a Trinidadian immigrant working on her undergraduate degree in North Carolina when she breaks up with her boyfriend. To get over him, she decides to get a degree at the Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York. Brigid has only minimal experience at a fine dining restaurant when she is thrust into a dog-eating-dog competition for greatness.
Similar to Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential, this is a compelling look into the brutal world of fine dining kitchens but from a student’s point of view. After reading Salt, Sweat & Steam, I can’t believe that there are not easier ways of becoming rich and famous. 4 stars!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an advanced review copy.