Leslie Brenner

This look inside a well-known restaurant is a fun read, albeit repetitive, as writer Leslie Brenner observes, no holds barred, what goes on at Daniel, Daniel Boulud’s well-known French restaurant in New York City. Front of the house, back of the house, managers meetings, lunch service, dinner service, banquet service (with then-President Clinton, to boot).

“The seviche tonight involves sea scallops, oysters, and sea urchins, with osetra caviar, pink raddish, and celery leaves in a horseradish-lime oyster water. It’s Daniel all over: clear, pure flavours that sound as though they’ll make sense, though they’re unusual in combination. Synergistic, the flavours vibrate together, creating a dish in which the whole is a thousand times greater than the sum of its parts.”

I read this on the iPhone while walking wee reader in the mornings after breakfast and I read this before bedtime, that is, after dinner. Because this book should only be read on a full stomach, although the food it describes is not food that you can stomach every day. Visions of food – the fancy type, with truffles and foie gras – dance before your eyes in every chapter. There’s also the less fancy ‘family dinner’ or what the staff themselves eat, simpler fare like tacos carnitas or pasta and salad. While the front of house strives to create a serene and a pleasant environment for the diner (really, for the super rich or famous diner, since a meal for two runs in the hundreds), it is a tense, stressful environment in the kitchen. And how can it not be, with several hundred covers at dinners, special requests, tastings, daily specials, a la carte orders, demanding VIPs (celebrities, press – even a regular who disdains all of the amazing desserts and gets a special off-menu order of tarte tatin everytime) who get all sorts of complimentary things, everyday. And that elusive ‘fourth star’, that is, the New York Times food critic’s rating of the restaurant (not long after Daniel first opened in January 1999, the New York Times gave it 3 stars. Daniel gets its four-star rating in 2001).

The Fourth Star is an entertaining read. Especially for anyone who’s interested in what goes on behind the scenes of a restaurant.
… (meer)

Repetitive, sycophantic, but still interesting, to a point, hence two stars (a low two stars). You might think from this review that I have a green and envious soul. And so I might have!

How many times you can describe a 'typical' lunchtime in the same restaurant kitchen without sounding repetitive? It was interesting the first few times but this book drags on and on. There don't seem to be any interesting characters - everyone except for the evil maitre d' is 'just wonderful'. Daniel Boulud himself is a genius who travels a lot and. And? I was waiting for a bit more than that. Characterisation is limited to this cook is tall, this one is French, that one is a woman with permanent pms (ok, the author didn't say that, exactly). Some people go to market to buy provisions, others peel or chop them. Some staff like the place and stay, some get pissed off and leave after a year or even less. New people come. Yawn.

VIPS (which means anyone with a recognisable name or from the press) get free courses, free meals, the best tables and very special treatment. The (rich) unknowns pay their hundreds of dollars per meal to subsidise the restaurant being able to suck up to VIPS. That's it. Nothing else is said at all.

You know I hate it when the author is getting so much unpaid-benefit from the subject of the book, not just this book - any book, that they put all their critical faculties to one side. They feel so beholden and grateful and desperate for the fawningly-given attention and freebies that make them feel so important to continue.

There is a newspaper on the island where the social columnist is friends with all the expat upscale bar owners and eats and drinks in those places for free. Each one of them gets a mention every week and written up at least once a month, rarely is there even a mention of anywhere else. And its no good any other little cafe or bar no matter how excellent offering the reporter anything, no, he only likes upscale expat, if you aren't that, then you aren't even in his field of vision. This book is exactly the same.

One thing I did learn: if you are going to dine in an expensive restaurant it wouldn't hurt if when you booked you let it be known that you are From The Press. At the very least they wouldn't sit you near the bathrooms!… (meer)

The book is a natural transcription taken by the author as she shadowed the staff of the famous French restaurant and their quest to a get a fourth star from the New York Times. She spends time with each area of the restaurant, follows Daniel in his business transactions and reports the activity of the restaurant as it really happened, using direct quotes and transcription, particularly from the kitchen. The cast of characters are real, some popping in and out of the text, others leaving as they left the restaurant. The book is interesting, as are the lives of the principles. The premise is a bit weak but the strength of the people in it makes it a fun read. It might be of interest for cooking fans only however, as Brenner gets caught up in her quest to provide the dialogue as it actually was, to be a fly on the wall and many readers bight get bored. The scenes in the kitchen, while providing a colorful look at what service is in a popular busy French restaurant with a famous chef in New York, she tends to put so many scenes in that he material doesn’t contribute to the story. Her writing weakness manifests itself even in this case. It is a good format as it can fall back on the actual dialogue and people, but Brenner does tend to get caught up on some namedropping and access gloating at times. But for food fans, an interesting compliment to “Kitchen Confidential” though without the colorful humor of Mr. Bourdain.… (meer)

This book was the book that started my husband's restaurant book craze. We both loved this book, and it was one of the few books we actually read right after each other and discussed! The book documents the quest of Daniel Boulud's Manhattan restaurant (Daniel) to regain its coveted fourth star--the highest rank by the prestigious New York Times. The restaurant had enjoyed four stars for years but was demoted to three stars in 1999. This book documents the staff's efforts (both front of house and back of house) to win back that fourth star. The book offers you an inside view of what it takes to make a top-notch restaurant with world-class food. You'll never view a restaurant table as a table for two again (it is a "two top).… (meer)