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Those twenty odd pages left me not only enormously jealous but mouth wateringly curious. I wanted to try out some of those steaks. I wanted to learn more about how meat was aged and cooked. I wanted to actually try out some steak recipes! Too bad that most of the rest of the book barely tickled my taste buds in the same way.

Jan 22, Steve rated it really liked it. What I didn't like about this book - the title and the cover. Bad choices on both. Also, a self admitted obsessive personality, there are times I would have came near to throttling him if I was there for some of his hijinks. What I did like. I have been reading Duane since the mid '90's, and still hand out copies of his books on climbing and surfing to friends. He has a casual way of w What I didn't like about this book - the title and the cover.

He has a casual way of writing that I enjoy. But what I like the most about him is he lets it all hang out. How many writers do you know who would admit to being relieved that a pregnancy was terminated? Because this book is not just about obsessively cooking every recipe in a number of cookbooks, it is about growing up, and becoming an adult, a husband and a father.

And in the end it is about facing your own mortality. I also like his message to his readers - cooking at home does NOT make you a chef! Cooking for 4 or 6 or 8, or even 18, is nothing like putting in a shift on a Friday night at a busy restaurant. I agree on the worth of Chez Panisse "Vegetables" cookbook, but I am also glad he could take Alice Waters with a grain of salt.

CP is now, sadly, filled mostly with dot com, East Coast, trust fund babies. We already agreed on Ruhlman and Keller and others, so I trust him when he gives synopsis of other cooking titles, and have picked up a couple already for future reading. As above, there are times I just would have never wanted to ever see him again in my life not telling his friends about what a surfeit of truffles does to you, insisting to his wife that she is not allergic to shellfish , but our interests so intersect I am sure I would be back at his place again sometime. The LV steak trip is just over the top - I can't imagine eating that much in 36 hours!

At times I wonder how they paid their mortgage, let alone the food and wine bills. Oct 26, Stephen rated it it was ok. I really wanted to like this book; it is a pity things didn't work out. Daniel Duane is a food writer, with publications to prove it; he is also a man, with a wife and two daughters to prove it. There are a great many cooking memoirs written by women; not so many by men.

I have read sufficiently about chefs who cook during the eighth month of their pregnancy or who breast feed while frying on the line; in Duane's book, I was hoping for something a bit more masculine. The book is well written but I really wanted to like this book; it is a pity things didn't work out.


  1. A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession!
  2. De Gaulle avant de Gaulle (French Edition).
  3. Linking Diagenesis to Sequence Stratigraphy (Special Publication 45 of the IAS) (International Association Of Sedimentologists Series).

The book is well written but Duane is simply not a person who engages my interest. His exploits as a home carpenter, his relationship with his father, his reminiscences of being a surfer dude, his emotional reaction to a miscarriage, and his mania for cooking every recipe in certain cookbooks e. Alice Waters' Chez Panisse Vegetables , didn't connect well with my own experiences and learnings. Surely others will find the work more interesting.

Perhaps it would have been improved by the inclusion of some recipes, but Duane follows the recipes of others rather than creating his own. Food is something I need and like, but not something I obsess about. But as a novice when it comes to the kitchen, I wanted to see how guys view cooking since, traditionally, most have never been conditioned since birth to learn the skill.


  1. Sun of the Sleepless?
  2. Horse Latitudes;
  3. The Life History of Caroline Lyman Christensen.

To Daniel Duane, however, cooking is a bit more like an artistic endeavour bordering on obsession. I like how enthusiastic he is about cooking and gaining acceptance and validation for his skills as a cook, but that doesn't make up for the fact that I felt lik Food is something I need and like, but not something I obsess about. I like how enthusiastic he is about cooking and gaining acceptance and validation for his skills as a cook, but that doesn't make up for the fact that I felt like I was reading a series of articles instead of a memoir.

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Being new to food writing in general, I would have appreciated a bit more set-up to how he started to cook and less cooking theory stories. I really wish I could have connected more with him as a person so I could understand why he loves food so much. This was by no means a bad book, just that I had different expectations.

Still this was a quick and pleasant read. May 04, Naomi rated it did not like it. I was so excited that the publisher allowed me to review this book through Netgalley. As I got into the book, my excitement turned into disappointment.

How to Cook Like a Man

What could have been written as a really cool story as the storyline was really interesting almost came off as disorganized and wandering to where it was difficult to follow at times. There is also a underlying tone to the book which comes off periodically as being elitist. I was so disappointed with the premise of this book, it could have been I was so excited that the publisher allowed me to review this book through Netgalley.

I was so disappointed with the premise of this book, it could have been such a winner, imo, but ended up coming off to the point of being a "flop" I have to say that if I didn't make the commitment to Bloomsbury books or had I purchased the book, it would have been returned.

View all 4 comments. Sep 30, Caitlin rated it really liked it. A lot of the reviews of this book criticize Duane as pompous so I was wary going into the book but I really, really liked it! I don't cook a lot more of a restaurant fanatic so the trials and tribulations of the kitchen were new and entertaining to me. And anything about a man getting into local, gourmet foods is a bit foreign to me and therefore kept me quite entertained. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Duane's foray to Vegas to try all the steakhouse steaks.

My friend and I do those kind A lot of the reviews of this book criticize Duane as pompous so I was wary going into the book but I really, really liked it! My friend and I do those kinds of foodie trips whenever we can and I was intrigued by the interesting steak facts! Sep 24, Nate Hendrix rated it it was amazing.

A new dad takes over the cooking for his family and chaos insues. He tackles some of the most difficult cookbooks out there, attempting to cook every recipe in each book. He learns a lot and has inspired me to try to improve my skills. He mentions several resturaunts that we will try to go to and several book I want to now read.

Several of the books he mentions I have already read and enjoyed.

Apr 05, Toby Murphy rated it really liked it. I devoured this book. It was a great journey into learning how to cook. It's a quick read. The high points really resonate with all readers and aspiring chefs. At times the writer spent more time name dropping and his experience does not seem all that relatable.

The moments of clarity as he learns his lessons work well. Sep 09, Christopher Farrell rated it liked it. Duane likes to use seven words when four would do, but I really enjoyed this book - his last chapter about him and Thomas Keller was just beautiful. The tale from surf bum burritos to high class cooking is a must read for foodies.

KIRKUS REVIEW

I can relate to this book more than when I first read it. Not because I got married or had a kid, but because I now cook more.

Thug Kitchen: Eat Like You Give A - Cookbook Review by Mary's Test Kitchen

I can readily see how cooking can become an obsession. You don't just want to do it, you want to feel that you are good at it and that you are doing it the right way. Jul 08, Tgaylord rated it did not like it. Apr 05, Ericka rated it liked it. Reads like an overly long glowing review of Chez Panisse and Alice Waters.

Very regional, nothing wrong with that. Interspersed w family anecdotes and notes on being a dad. Jun 07, Reneeantrosio rated it it was ok. I kept picking this up, wanting to read it, but it was rather tedious.

How to Cook Like a Man: A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession by Daniel Duane

On the other hand, I did finish it Jun 07, Lance rated it did not like it. Discussion of his life, and finding I am bored with it, can do better things in the time available. Oct 24, Neil Aring rated it it was ok. I lost interest quickly. More about obsession than cooking. Aug 26, Susan rated it liked it. Throughout the first half of this book I thought the author was obnoxious and felt sorry for his wife. Once he figured out food was for enjoyment and pleasing others he became more tolerable.

May 17, Amy Elizabeth rated it really liked it. I really enjoyed this book with its cookbook obsessed author doing some hilarious and driven menus of gluttony and expensive ingredients. Sep 08, Peg! Apr 22, Jesse is currently reading it. Really surprised to read so many negative GoodReads reviews on this book I am almost halfway through this book and think it's great. Really fun and kind of inspiring.

Mike rated it it was ok Aug 27, When Daniel Duane became a father, this San Francisco surfer and climber found himself trapped at home with no clue how to contribute. Inept at so many domestic tasks, and less than eager to change diapers, he took on dinner duty.

How to Cook Like a Man: A Memoir of Cookbook Obsession

Duane had a few tricks: But he had a biographical anomaly: Chef Alice Waters had been his preschool teacher. So he cracked one of her Chez Panisse cookbooks and cooked his way through it. And so it went with all seven of her other cookbooks, then on to those of other famous chefs-thousands of recipes in all, amounting to an epic eight-year cooking journey.

Butchering whole lambs at home, teaching himself to make classic veal stock, even hunting pigs in Maui and fishing for salmon in Alaska, Duane so thoroughly immersed himself in the modern food world that he met and cooked with a striking number of his heroes: Duane's inimitable voice carries us through, with humor and panache, even through a pair of personal tragedies. Here is a writer who can make chopping an onion sound fun and fascinating. But there is more at stake in his wonderful memoir: