If. like me, you read a lot of food-related non-fiction, there won't be much new or exciting here, but it's an enjoyable read and worth a few hours of your time. ( )

The book started out good, but after awhile, it became repetitive and boring. Maybe I missed something, but the parts on Gavin Kaysen and David Waltuck detracted readers' attention from the real story and seemed unnecessary.

*I received this copy from the publisher in return for an honest, unbiased review.* ( )

Ok I consider myself a foodie and love reading books about chefs, cooking, food, etc. However, this book fell short and I made it to page 114 before giving it up. Boring completely boring. This book is not written by any chef but about a chef who opens a restaurant in NYC. Although it explains how to open a restaurant and the pitfalls of employees, etc., I just could not get into it.

This book is an inside look into the emotional and physical cost of starting a restaurant in, arguably, the most competitive market in the world, New York City. The chef, Jonah Miller is a 24 year old wunderkind attempting to open his dream restaurant, Huertas. The author has created a compelling read. Not only is the story about Jonah, but she also weaves in the experience of other chefs. By the end of the book, you are rooting for Jonah and his team. ( )

Generation Chef is a front row seat to the roller coaster ride of an up and coming chef opening his first restaurant. This is the story of Huertas. We get to come along the restaurant's journey with Chef Jonah Miller, as he chooses the location, misses opening dates, hires staff, and tries to live up to preopening hype. I related to his anxiety over every decision made throughout the first tumultuous year of business. The battle for a liquor license, the staff changes, trying keeping customers happy while keeping an eye on the bottom line. It was an engaging book that made me want to book a ticket to NYC and sit down to a meal at the restaurant. The fact that I COULD made it all the more mouth watering. I expect that when the book comes out in September, many readers will do exactly that... in the footsteps of Pete Wells, who reviewed the restaurant in 2014. An interesting book for anyone who likes to live vicariously in the Top Chef world of today's foodie culture. ( )

The book is a case study of the birth and first year life of a restaurant in New York City. Besides portraying the major players such that the reader feels connected and rooting for their success, the author presents the multitude of factors shaping the restaurant business today. ( )

Karen Stabiner's Generation Chef, a copy of which I was fortunate to receive through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers scheme, delighted me. The pacing is such that I could hardly put it down; the narrative is focused, with little extraneous material. The omniscient perspective is such that I have no idea how Stabiner maintained a sense of neutrality: She did not once insert herself into the narrative (refreshing, given the trends of recent "food lit"), but she could not have been witness to all of the events or the conversations she recounts word for word. The story focuses on the protagonists--the owner-operators of Huertas, a "Basque-inspired" restaurant in the East Village of New York City--during their first year of operation between 2014 and 2015. Nothing seems to be contrived (and, in fact, one can corroborate much of the background by perusing articles at ny.eater.com and the October 2014 New York Times review by Pete Wells), so I'm left with a curious--though not unpleasant--sense that this entire project was the brainchild of a publicist: or, perhaps, the idea of one of the co-founders. What better PR is there than to write up your "story" in a way that is motivating, inspiring, captivating? That the Huertas kitchen apparently lacks the drama that is stereotype in the industry (as reified by the literature and on the airwaves) is a testament to the style and personality of Jonah Miller, chef and co-founder. That the restaurant succeeded, given the odds, is--the story goes--testament also to the acumen of business partner and general manager Nate Adler. It's not a spoiler that the place succeeded: it's part of the message.

And the message, overall, is inspiring. Stabiner addresses ambition, talent, skills, excellence, creativity, expectations, and prescribed pathways within established professions. She speaks to the Millennial predilection (or so it seems) to skip steps, circumvent expectations, go for all or nothing. How does one build up a reputation? What is quality, anyway? From whence originates trust? How do you build and manage--and motivate--teams? The kinds of issues that ride beneath the surface of this narrative are germane to any collaborative work environment; the book could be classed as a "leadership" or "entrepreneurship" text. And Stabiner is so skilled with (what I presume were) interviews and with her clear chronology that the various characters--none of whom appear to be conceits or other devices for the story (as, again, is often the case with narrative nonfiction)--present their thoughts and perspectives in rational and clear-headed ways. The reader is not programmed to be on anyone's "side" (again, as happens in much food lit); but the reader is rooting for the team. I am tempted to label this work "masterful" in part because so few books that have come before it seem to have accomplished what this one has.

Now, I wonder, since I am commenting on advance uncorrected proofs, whether the author will add a preface of some sort that details her method. (An epilogue, not included, was identified as forthcoming.) If not, readers might just wonder: "What is this book?" The fact that I'm over 1,000 miles from New York City did not make me enjoy the book less--even though I can dine at Huertas only vicariously. (I've previously reviewed NYC-centric books wherein the authors turn their noses at anyone who'd deign not to live in the City. This book is decidedly not of that camp.) The part of me that unplugs itself from the Internet had wished that Stabiner had gotten permissions to reprint the whole reviews from which she cites--perhaps as appendices. But, again, the picture is portrayed so clearly in the text that one need not pick up a device to corroborate: or, at least, one isn't tempted to do so. I remain surprised at my willingness to find everything in the narrative so believable. That sense, ultimately, is a testament of the skill of the author and the apparently remarkable content with which she was working. Brava to the author--and congratulations to the Huertas enterprise.

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