Restaurant Babylon

Babylon Confessions #8

by Imogen Edwards-Jones

In the bestselling tradition of Hotel Babylon, Imogen Edwards-Jones and her anonymous industry insider here lift the lid on the tricks of the trade which make the food industry tick. Whether it's the crazed excesses of cheffy lunacy, the vastly inflated prices required to make the whole thing profitable or the badly behaved customers and how the kitchen staff get their own back, there are stories here which will curl your hair, make you laugh out loud, and think twice before you pay that 15% service charge in future...

Genres: Nonfiction, Food, London

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2013

Reviews

[Canette Arille]

This book is funny, but only 4 stars, or 3 , because the book is not exactly what I expected. I don't go to restaurants because from the food, I can eat, there are only very few dishes in menu, but I was slightly surprised by what is included in this book. However, for a laugh on a boring, sad evening, the book is worth recommending :)

[Sarah Woodburn]

It was fascinating and amazing and really cheered me up as I've got the flu

[Tamsin Lim]

I really wanted to love this book. I put it on my birthday wishlist because I was hoping it'd offer an insight into the restaurant business as thrillingly visceral as Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential. Unfortunately, it was brimming with typos and followed exactly the same narrative formula as the other 'Babylon' books I've read, making it extremely predictable. It also failed to capitalise on the success of the other books in that it deviated from the usual system of integrating anecdotes about the industry into the context of each chapter - which resulted in many of the flashbacks and episodes feeling stilted, as if they'd been squeezed in for the sake of inclusion. Very disappointed. Hopefully Gabrielle Hamilton's 'Blood, Bones and Butter' will be the antidote to Restaurant Babylon!

[Tanja Berg]

This was a perfectly readable book, picked up at Dubai airport at 4 am in the morning without much thought. Given the circumstances, I could have been way worse off. I was a little worried, given some of the ratings. There are a few too many swear words for my liking, but other than that, there wasn't anything major tikcing me off. The narrative move easily enough. I gained a few insights - such as "lick and stick" - that I could have done without. Much of the content consisted of things I had heard of before and I didn't really gain any tremendous insight. However, it was entertaining enough not to hate.

[Becki]

These Babylon books are always fun - lots of anonymous anecdotes semi-fictionalised and condensed into 24hrs - in a the life of a restauranteur in this case. Everything from deaths at the table to fist fights between the chefs.

[Strona po stronie]

Honestly, it's like this one reality show type - rather disgusting, seems exaggerated, but when you're exhausted, sick or stressed - somehow you keep on watching.

The Author's writing style is good.

[Louise Wilson]

Must read for anyone working/ed in the hospitality industry! Encapsulates the life so well, and is funny in parts.

[Word Muncher]

If you ever want to know anything about the running of a restaurant, this is a fascinating book. There are some wild stories as well and the most fascinating tricks of the trade. It's a fast moving book with many aspects and lots of characters.

[Nešo Shonery]

Jedan dan u londonskom restoranu. Zaposleni će proći kroz  brojne komične, ali i traglčne sitaucaije. Knjiga je napisana u saradnji sa ljudima iz ugostiteljstva, koji su preneli svoje doživljaje. Izuzetno zabavno štivo.

[Neil]

Weird and in a way interesting.

[Helen Edwards]

Couldn't put it down

Having spent too many years working in hospitality I thoroughly enjoyed this read. A total must for anyone who's been in the trade.

[Alison]

I’ve read the other Babylon series and enjoyed. This follows the same format but it not as entertaining. No scandal no horror stories. Okay but nothing super duper

[Morteza]

Quiet amusing if you are in the know and in hospitality sector.

[Kate Neyts]

Definitely a good story witihin the "Babylon"-group, I had fun reading about the restaurant sector. The events over the span of 24 hours were a perfect timeline.

[Piotr Ferster]

nieźle wydane 8 pln

[Sally]

A dated exposé of the restaurant world, apparently gathered from anonymous insiders. Misogyny and every type of bad behaviour, however Kitchen Confidential this is not.

[Kat]

If you've read any of the other books in the Babylon series, this is more of the same. The last fifth slightly dragged but a quick, fun read.

[Jasmine]

I finished it in a day, it felt so real and life like to what I imagined a day working in a restaurant really would be like. So eye opening I hope there's sequels

[Darren]

Have you ever gone to a restaurant with high expectations and came out disappointed with a bit of an "was that it?"-attitude. Sadly this book left this reviewer in a bit of a quandary as the hype and expectation was not matched by the delivery. If it was a meat course, it would have been sent back to the kitchen with a few harsh words for the chef.

The concept should be compelling. A number of rather outlandish incidents taken from many top restaurants and their kitchens are anonymised and consolidated into an elongated diary-like book. You should be shocked, amazed and possibly cowered by the revelations within, creating a difficulty to look at another restaurant in the same light again. It is just the execution and the packaging of this book left a lot to be desired. To use a culinary analogy, it felt like it went off the boil or a meal, comprising of great ingredients, was somehow mangled into something less stellar in the kitchen.

After a while this reviewer found himself tuning out of the text that seemed to take an age to get to the point of a story. Clearly when you are mixing together a number of stories you need to get the balance right, to get the foundations in place, to make the flavours really shine. It just felt like this book tried but failed. It could be a good supermarket bread but it fails at being a truly wonderful artisanal handmade loaf that is really more-ish. You need to manage your expectations accordingly.

It is a shame that the great ingredients have been allowed to spoil. That is frustrating and a bit of a waste. Maybe with a different chef on a different day this could have been a winner, yet it sadly felt like an average, formulaic dish, left under the salamander warming lights for too long, trying to rely on past glories and successes instead of pushing the envelope in its own right. There are some rays of sunlight and hope but sadly the overall packaging just didn't gel here.

At half the price and with a faster tempo it could have been a great little read but in its current form it would be hard to recommend unless you absolutely will try it.

Restaurant Babylon, written by Imogen Edwards-Jones and published by Bantam Press. ISBN 9780593069905, 320 pages. Typical price: GBP14.99. YYY.


// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //

[Steve Horsfall]

This was my favourite Babylon book since Air Babylon. The anecdotes flow thick and fast as narrated by a fictional London restaurant owner with two premises to manage; he works and plays hard with the best of them whilst trying to keep his staff in order, i.e. stop them fighting or making sure they don’t drop dead with exhaustion . Of course there are lot of good quips about the now infamous TV chefs, particularly Marco & Gordon. I certainly learned a lot about how food is marked up, the vital celebrity footfall, the power of the food critic (one good review can put your children through Private School) and the general behind-the-scenes debauchery of sex and drugs. My lasting memory though is the dead man in the wheelchair – to say anymore would be a spoiler.

[Caro]

I don't know why it has such a low rating. I had never read the books of the Babylon Series but if they are all in the same style I must say they are pretty good. I am planning to read the complete series. The story is funny and insightful it gives you an interesting perspective of the life inside a restaurant and how they work. I have a background in restaurants myself and know some people that have been in the business for over 30 years and despite the fact that they are not the same high- class restaurants as the ones in the book you have the feeling that you understand where the author & authors are going with it. Is a good read for everybody who knows or want to know about restaurants.

[Scott]

Like the other books in the Babylon series, in this case a restaurant, bar and bistro are covered in all their operational aspects over a year. Again condensed into 24 hours.
Anonymous yet again contributes but though the establishments and staff are fictional, the incidents are real.
It makes you consider both sides of the counter and whether you are as great a customer as you like to think you are.
Similar books have been written and I admit, I wasn't overly impressed. Covering 24 hours from 6 a.m. in hourly periods, by 7 a.m. I was hooked.
Considering the running expenses of the establishments, You relise why dining out can be so expensive. Though not as bad as Hotel Babylon.
Thoroughly enjoyed it and recommended.

[Kara]

Little saucy anecdotes sprinkled along a typical day at a restaurant do lend me a magnifying glass into the steamy kitchen affairs around the clock. It fascinates me how both front of house and back of house play a role in the running of an f&b enterprise. Certain secrets, which are still subject to my own verification, are not what you normally find in the menu but they turn out to have a more compelling effect on your dining experience than the wine you sip or lobster you splurge on. The constant mention of Gordon Ramsay both in flattering spotlight and seemingly trashtalking nudges me at the right spot, which is a plus point. Overall, consider this a good read for your good eat.

[Louise Armstrong]

Very funny. The writer sounds just the way you'd expect a hard-working chef/restaurant owner to sound. Lots of anecdotes, and that feeling of capturing the madness of a busy, extreme life.

A couple of useful tips as well. The house wine usually is a reasonable deal for the customer because they have ordered a lot of it to get a good price & will pass it on. Also, beware of 'double' specials. If there's lamb on the menu and lamb on the special, it probably means they over ordered the lamb & need to get rid of it. It's not a tasty wonder that chef couldn't resist at all.

[Kingfan30]

This follows the same format as the rest of the Babylon books, so if you liked those, you will like this. My hubby was a chef for several years and some of what comes up in this, is what he's told me in the past, such as the specials board, some of it is special, but some of it is because they have stock going out of date shortly and they need to shift it. An interesting insight that provided an entertaining read.

[Alexandra]

As some of the other reviews have already said, it feels too much like the other "Babylon" books. (I've read all except "Fashion".) Maybe it's time for me to give up the series.

There was just no surprise, and all the scandals felt like stories I've read in chef biographies, as well as in a Hotel Babylon, and the dead body angle has been explored in Air Babylon as well.

[Paul]

A good book to read but I felt the latter part of the book was better than the earlier parts where there was just too much action involved. Of course some of the events are put into the 24 time frame so I'm sure it'll be different in real life. Would have been better if there were more examples or maybe more about the Michelin reviews.

[Daphne Ho]

Maybe been reading too many Babylon series, not very exciting. Did not reveal as much insiders information as I expected. Chefs boozing and food almost rotten as daily specials doesn't seem like new news to me!

[Livinginthecastle]

The assimilation of facts and figures into the action wasn't as well done as other Babylon books and the name dropping of restaurants I had no clue about (I can only afford to go to chain restaurants) got a bit annoying, but overall it was interesting.

[Nadya]

This is the first Babylon book that I have read. the format is definitely interesting, easy to follow and give insight into the restaurant business. Don't expect to learn a lot from it but there are some simple things explained in the book that are just fun to know.