Chef's Tales

by Michael Saxon

Leaving roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and the gray skies of England behind, a skinny young Michael Saxon traveled several continents acquiring his culinary skills and went on to become an executive chef in the five star hotel industry.

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was enthralled by this unusual, fascinating, and funny memoir where I learned what goes on behind the scenes of big posh hotels. Wow. Chef Saxon is a delightful, personable fellow who has had a lot of crazy experiences. The book is not much about the food, but about the adventures, not just in the hotel business but outside with friends, usually with the lower rung staff and area natives. I love how the chef enjoys exploring the local culture--down to the nitty gritty. Readers will be shocked to find the book is one anecdote and adventure after another, some just a paragraph long, and separated by hotel location. Not the usual structure of a memoir, and might be off-putting to those who require plot and conflict resolution, or at least chapter-long stories. But, I settled into the flow of little tales and raced through them to hear what else incredible happened. I especially loved the ending.

I recommend this amusing memoir for learning the upstairs-downstairs behind the high-end hotel business and about the peculiarities of life in different countries--and especially the stranger than fiction realities out there! Ha ha!