From the Restaurant at the End of the Universe to the cabman's shelter in Ulysses, chef and author Michael Gibney reviews the best eating and drinking in books
Michael Gibney - theguardian.com,
The best taste … A scene from the Almedia theatre's adaptation of American Psycho. Photograph: Tristram Kenton
The world of cooking is a vast, enchanted province, full of interesting characters engaged in fascinating activities. Tattooed ballerinas dealing in flames and blades, red-eyed mad scientists obsessing over plates they've made. There is passion and addiction in the kitchen, aspiration and imagination. There is energy and exhaustion, discovery and defeat. There is triumph and failure and ugliness and love. There is everything we need for a wonderful story.
Artists of all sorts have been capitalising on the rich subject matter for centuries. A flip through any decent library reveals how, time and time again, authors turn to these motifs to complete their books' worlds.; whether it's Proust's madeleine or Emma Bovary's pineapple.
In writing Sous Chef, my rendition of a day in the life of a professional cook, I naively believed that I was onto something new. That I alone could see the jewels buried in the rough of my profession, and that I alone was equipped to tell a story that takes place there. I realised quickly, though, that I was wrong—that restaurants and bars, with all their nuance and beauty, abound in modern writing, and that I've merely added my own voice to a conversation that's been underway for quite some time. Some other authors have spoken up thus:
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Artists of all sorts have been capitalising on the rich subject matter for centuries. A flip through any decent library reveals how, time and time again, authors turn to these motifs to complete their books' worlds.; whether it's Proust's madeleine or Emma Bovary's pineapple.In writing Sous Chef, my rendition of a day in the life of a professional cook, I naively believed that I was onto something new. That I alone could see the jewels buried in the rough of my profession, and that I alone was equipped to tell a story that takes place there. I realised quickly, though, that I was wrong—that restaurants and bars, with all their nuance and beauty, abound in modern writing, and that I've merely added my own voice to a conversation that's been underway for quite some time. Some other authors have spoken up thus:
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