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Dirt

Adventures in Lyon as a Chef in Training, Father, and Sleuth Looking for the Secret of French Cooking

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Dirt

Written by: Bill Buford
Narrated by: Bill Buford
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About this listen

“You can almost taste the food in Bill Buford’s Dirt, an engrossing, beautifully written memoir about his life as a cook in France.” (The Wall Street Journal)

What does it take to master French cooking? This is the question that drives Bill Buford to abandon his perfectly happy life in New York City and pack up and (with a wife and three-year-old twin sons in tow) move to Lyon, the so-called gastronomic capital of France. But what was meant to be six months in a new and very foreign city turns into a wild five-year digression from normal life, as Buford apprentices at Lyon’s best boulangerie, studies at a legendary culinary school, and cooks at a storied Michelin-starred restaurant, where he discovers the exacting (and incomprehensibly punishing) rigueur of the professional kitchen.

With his signature humor, sense of adventure, and masterful ability to bring an exotic and unknown world to life, Buford has written the definitive insider story of a city and its great culinary culture.

©2020 Bill Buford (P)2020 Random House Audio Culinary Adventures Europe Food & Wine Travel Writing & Commentary Western Europe Celebrity Witty Middle Ages Italy Food Writing Food Travel

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Profile Image for Riccardo Lo Monaco

Bill Buford writes my favourite books

I wish he could live forever and keep writing books like this one and Heat. There’s just so much good in it.

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Profile Image for Sean Veaudry

Amazing

This was amazing book overall and enjoyed it alot. Lots of great stories and history of Lyon and its food and culture.

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Profile Image for gentlereader

An amazing journey

Fascinating - even better that we experience everything in the author's voice. A masterwork of storytelling and honest self-examination that is both interesting and moving. How can we get great practices of food and urban living into our North American societies - as I am unable to move to France or Amsterdam? A brilliant book - Enjoy!

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