Mike Battaglia

Sharp Knives & Skewers Mike Battaglia

If you're reading this, then you undoubtedly have an interest in the cheffing industry. Maybe you're curious. Maybe you like watching those bullshit reality cooking shows and they've sucked you in. You've most likely read other books on the subject of cheffing and cookery because maybe you like to cook yourself. Or maybe you've worked in the industry at one point or another-waitressing yourself through college, or catering for a wedding because your mate was short staffed and needed a favour. Either way, I'm not here to polish anyone's balls. I'm here to relieve myself of seventeen years of hard living before the grill. I've sweat, bled, burned, been to the ER more times than I can count to have something sewed back on or put back where it's supposed to be, fed thousands upon thousands of people, suffered my hang-overs with humility, performed magic, crashed and burned, and did the impossible when it was called upon me to do so. And I did it because I am a chef, and that's what chefs do. You want the reality of what it is to work as a chef, then buy this book. If you're looking for the sterilized Martha Stewart version, then I suggest you strap on your pretty little apron and check the fiction section. There are plenty of flower and butterfly accounts of cooking, but I'm here to tell you straight. It's a dirty business, full of colourful expletives, loads of bullshit, frustration, stress, ulcers, blood, tears, and the best damn rush to be had anywhere. But don't worry. This isn't my memoir. This isn't about me and what a great chef I am and how successful I was and blah blah blah. My ego was taken from me a long time ago for the good of the food. These are my observations, from what I've seen, what I've learned, and what I know of working in kitchens. Semper Fi. Loyalty to the food.