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I am not much of a reader. (Don’t tell any of my past students.) I love to read blogs, but do not reach out for books (or the Kindle app on my tablet) as often as I should.
So I have to be honest, I’m a bit surprised with myself that I’m writing about a book I read. Never thought that would happen . . .
However, when I discovered a new book written by another chef’s wife (who lives in Seattle of all places!!!!), how could I not read it?
Over the Memorial Day Weekend (OK really over 1 night of the weekend), I had the privilege of reading Delancey: a Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage, written by Molly Wizenberg. I have to say that her insight from being married to a chef and helping him open a restaurant gave me a much better understanding as to why my husband always says he doesn’t want to open his own restaurant.
People ask my chef/husband all the time if he ever wants to open his own place. His response is always no, which used to surprise me. He has helped open a couple restaurants as an Executive Chef and they have always gone well, so I never really understood why he wouldn’t want to open his own. We’ve talked about it a few times, but since we never had the financial means to do it and he always said no immediatly, I just left it at that.
Then I read Delancey.
Oh . . . I get it. It makes a lot more sense to me now! I will continue to support my chef/husband in that decision and he can just continue to help others open new places. It is still stressful, but definitely not quite the same as being the owner and chef! (And I can encourage and support him from the comfort of our home.)
It wasn’t easy to put the book down once I started. Thank goodness it wasn’t very long or I might have had to stay up all night. Not only did I love reading about the life of another chef’s wife, but a chef’s wife that lives in Seattle! I appreciate her honesty about the struggles and difficulties of not only opening a restaurant but maintaining one and how it impacted not only their marriage, but each of their lives individually.
I enjoyed reading about her time working the pantry station and laughed as I could just picture myself responding the same way she did in many situations. I love her obsession with clean glasses!
My favorite part of the entire book was a short paragraph about how people told her that their days in the restaurant sounded like days with a newborn baby and that she found comfort that they could somehow relate (but glad that the pizza dough always slept through the night.)
With the exception of a little bit of what I would call “restaurant language”, I enjoyed the book very much. So if you are a restaurant owner, chef, general manager or married to or dating one, you might want to pick up a copy and set aside a few hours. You won’t be disappointed. She does a great job of realistically portraying the life of a young couple getting started in the restaurant industry. You might even learn something new. I know I did.
Now I just need to get a babysitter and head up to Delancey for some pizza with my chef/husband!
Has anyone else read Delancey or Molly’s other book, A Homemade Life? She also has a blog called Orangette if you want to check it out as well. I would love to know your thoughts in the comments below.
I’m intrigued!! I’ll have to look into buying the book 🙂
Definitely!
She also has a podcast called Spilled Milk which is one of my favorites. Hilarious, but you also learn a ton (and feel super-smart when you know something they don’t).
I will have to check that out sometime when I have a moment of quiet. I wonder if she’ll still be broadcasting by the time that happens in our home. Lol! But seriously, thanks for the tip. I’ll make time to listen!