The hunger : a story of food, desire, and ambition

Title from PDF title page (viewed on June 10, 2009).

A page-turning memoir from the chef of The Waverly Inn, New York City's vaunted celebrity gathering spot

The Hunger is an insider's romp through the crazy life of the restaurant business, told by a journeyman chef who fought his way to the top. Trapped in a dead-end job, John DeLucie called it quits and invested his meager savings in a ten-week cooking class. Upon completion, armed with no professional experience and the barest of basic skills, he walked into the renowned gourmet shop Dean & DeLuca and asked for a job. The next day he found himself chopping forty pounds of onions in the prep-kitchen basement. A glamorous new chapter had begun. DeLucie worked his way up the bumpy NYC food chain, from executive chef at La Bottega to Nick & Toni's in East Hampton, eventually finding his way to The Waverly Inn, which he opened with publishing magnate Graydon Carter and several partners. It was here that John married his mastery of simple but unique flavors with Carter's A+ list of glitterati to create downtown's hottest eatery.

The Hunger tracks John though the pitfalls of cooking for a living, as well as the roller-coaster ride that became his personal life. Woven into the grit are the stories behind some of DeLucie's signature recipes, including New York's "Best High-End Burger" and the now famous truffled mac and cheese. Here is John's tale about food, desire, and appetite—and how one person overcame all odds to make it in the fiercely competitive world of food.

Title Page......Page 3 Dedication Page......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 Author's Note......Page 7 Introduction......Page 9 Prologue......Page 15 Office Space......Page 21 Happy All the Time......Page 26 Ingredients......Page 33 Was It Him?......Page 39 Trial by Salad......Page 44 Crossing Bloomingdale’s......Page 51 South by Southwest......Page 60 Benediction......Page 67 Twelve Smoking Ducks......Page 72 Blue Chili......Page 80 Gold Leaf and Turbot......Page 85 The Waverly Juice......Page 92 The Brothers Calamari......Page 100 Waltz for PJ......Page 106 Reluctant Patty......Page 114 Running from Stilettos......Page 121 Angst Hampton......Page 126 Food and Marriage......Page 134 The Conversation......Page 140 Park Babylon South......Page 145 French Roast......Page 154 Odd Pairing......Page 161 Under New Management......Page 168 More Butter......Page 175 Reduction......Page 183 Piatti Secondi......Page 192 The Man......Page 199 Mac & Jeez!......Page 209 Unhinged......Page 216 Adrenaline Junkie......Page 221 Coda......Page 231 Epilogue......Page 237 Acknowledgments......Page 248 About the Author......Page 250 Credits......Page 251 Copyright Notice......Page 252 About the Publisher......Page 253 "The Hunger" is an insider's romp through the crazy life of the restaurant business, told by a journeyman chef who fought his way to the top. Trapped in a dead-end job, John DeLucie called it quits and invested his meager savings in a ten-week cooking class. Upon completion, armed with no professional experience and the barest of basic skills, he walked into the renowned gourmet shop Dean & Deluca asked for a job. The next day he found himself chopping forty pounds of onions in the prep-kitchen basement. A glamorous new chapter had befun. DeLucie worked his way up the bumpy NYC food chain, from executive chef at La Bottega to Nick & Toni's in East Hampton, eventually finding his way to "The Waverly Inn", which he opened with publishing magnate Graydon Carter and several partners. It was here that John married his mastery of simple but unique flavors with Carter's A+ list of glitterati to create downtown's hottest eatery Hot grease, sharp knives, infidelity, and white truffles. The Hunger has all the right ingredients.The best memoir by a chef since Kitchen Confidential. Jay McInerney The Hunger is the page-turning memoir from John DeLucie, chef of THE celebrity hot spot restaurant in New York City, The Waverly Inn. With an introduction by Graydon Carter, legendary Editor of Vanity Fair , The Hunger is an unabashed celebration of hard work and the good life that Anthony Bourdain fans will simply eat upa feast for foodies that author Salman Rushdie calls, A delightful book.I recommend it to anyone interested in good foodand good stories. A Waverly Inn chef describes his risky decision to pursue a career in prepared foods at Dean & DeLuca, his successes and failures through a string of New York area restaurants, and his experiences with working at one of Greenwich Village's most exclusive celebrity hotspots, in an account that includes recipes for some of his signature dishes