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Audiobooks > Biography & Autobiography >  Personal Memoirs > Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef

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Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef Audiobook, by Gabrielle Hamilton Extended Sample Click for printable size audiobook cover
Author: Gabrielle Hamilton Narrator: Gabrielle Hamilton Publisher: Penguin Random House Format: Unabridged Audiobook Delivery: Instant Download Audio Length: Release Date: March 2011 ISBN: 9781415943748
3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 3.00 (13,968 ratings) (rate this audio book)
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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK
 
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Miami Herald • Newsday • The Huffington Post • Financial Times • GQ • Slate • Men’s Journal • Washington Examiner • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus Reviews • National Post • The Toronto Star • BookPage • Bookreporter

“I wanted the lettuce and eggs at room temperature . . . the butter-and-sugar sandwiches we ate after school for snack . . . the marrow bones my mother made us eat as kids that I grew to crave as an adult. . . . There would be no ‘conceptual’ or ‘intellectual’ food, just the salty, sweet, starchy, brothy, crispy things that one craves when one is actually hungry. In ecstatic farewell to my years of corporate catering, we would never serve anything but a martini in a martini glass. Preferably gin.”
 
Before Gabrielle Hamilton opened her acclaimed New York restaurant Prune, she spent twenty fierce, hard-living years trying to find purpose and meaning in her life. Above all she sought family, particularly the thrill and the magnificence of the one from her childhood that, in her adult years, eluded her. Hamilton’s ease and comfort in a kitchen were instilled in her at an early age when her parents hosted grand parties, often for more than one hundred friends and neighbors. The smells of spit-roasted lamb, apple wood smoke, and rosemary garlic marinade became as necessary to her as her own skin.

Blood, Bones & Butter follows an unconventional journey through the many kitchens Hamilton has inhabited through the years: the rural kitchen of her childhood, where her adored mother stood over the six-burner with an oily wooden spoon in hand; the kitchens of France, Greece, and Turkey, where she was often fed by complete strangers and learned the essence of hospitality; the soulless catering factories that helped pay the rent; Hamilton’s own kitchen at Prune, with its many unexpected challenges; and the kitchen of her Italian mother-in-law, who serves as the link between Hamilton’s idyllic past and her own future family—the result of a difficult and prickly marriage that nonetheless yields rich and lasting dividends.

Blood, Bones & Butter is an unflinching and lyrical work. Gabrielle Hamilton’s story is told with uncommon honesty, grit, humor, and passion. By turns epic and intimate, it marks the debut of a tremendous literary talent.


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Quotes & Awards

  • “Read this book and prepare to clean your system of all that’s come before. It’s a game-changer and a truly great work by a great writer and great chef.”

    Anthony Bourdain

  • “Gabrielle Hamilton has changed the potential and raised the bar for all books about eating and cooking. Her nearly rabid love for all real food experience and her completely vulnerable, unprotected yet pure point of view unveils itself in both truth and inspiration. I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this. After that I will apply for the dishwasher job at Prune to learn from my new queen.”

    Mario Batali

  • “Hamilton unexpectedly started up her no-nonsense, comfort-food Prune in a charming space in the East Village in 1999. Hamilton can be refreshingly thorny (especially when it comes to her reluctance to embrace the ‘foodie’ world), yet she is also as frank and unpretentious as her menu-and speaks openly about marrying an Italian man (despite being a lesbian), mostly to cook with his priceless Old World mother in Italy.”

    Publishers Weekly (starred review)

  • “Add this to the shelf of chef memoirs but also recommend it to readers with a penchant for forthright, well-written memoirs in general.”

    Booklist
  • Magnificent. Simply the best memoir by a chef ever. Ever. Gabrielle Hamilton packs more heart, soul, and pure power into one beautifully crafted page than I’ve accomplished in my entire writing career. Blood, Bones & Butter is the work of an uncompromising chef and a prodigiously talented writer. I am choked with envy. Anthony Bourdain
  • Gabrielle Hamilton has changed the potential and raised the bar for all books about eating and cooking. Her nearly rabid love for all real food experience and her completely vulnerable, unprotected yet pure point of view unveils itself in both truth and inspiration. I will read this book to my children and then burn all the books I have written for pretending to be anything even close to this. After that I will apply for the dishwasher job at Prune to learn from my new queen. Mario Batali
  • I have long considered Gabrielle Hamilton a writer in cook’s clothing, and this deliciously complex and intriguing memoir proves the point. Her candor, courage, and craft make for a wonderful read but, even more, for an appreciation of her talent and dedication, which have resulted from her often trying but inspiring experiences. Her writing is every bit as delectable and satisfying as her food. Mimi Sheraton, food critic and author of The German Cookbook and Eating My Words
  • [A] lusty, rollicking, engaging-from-page-one memoir of the chef-owner of Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village. Hamilton opened her eating establishment without any prior experience in cheffing, but the life experiences she did have before that bold move, told here in honest detail, obviously made up for any deficiencies in heading up a restaurant and also provide material for an electric story that is interesting even if the author hadn’t become the chef-owner of a successful restaurant. An idyllic childhood turned sour when her parents divorced; her adolescence and young womanhood encompassed drugs, menial jobs, and lack of direction and initiative when it came to continued education. All’s well that ends well, however, and her story does indeed do that. Add this to the shelf of chef memoirs but also recommend it to readers with a penchant for forthright, well-written memoirs in general. Booklist
  • A New York Times bestseller
  • A USA Today bestseller
  • An Amazon Best Book of the Month, March 2011
  • Selected for the March 2011 Indie Next List
  • Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
  • Nominated for the Barnes & Noble Discover Award
  • One of the 2011 Newsday’s Favorite Books of the Year
  • A 2011 Huffington Post Best Book for Nonfiction
  • A 2011 Financial Times Best Book of the Year for Nonfiction
  • A 2011 Slate Magazine Best Book for Nonfiction
  • A 2011 Washington Examiner Best Book of the Year for Nonfiction
  • A 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Book for Nonfiction
  • One of the 2011 Kirkus Reviews’ Best Books for Nonfiction
  • A 2011 BookPage Best Book for Nonfiction
  • Winner of the 2012 Indies Choice Book Award for Nonfiction
  • A 2011 New York Times Book Review Notable Book

Listener Reviews

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  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Jane | 2/10/2014

    " Good memoir. I know the title tried to tie in both Hamilton's path top becoming a chef and her personal life but the transitions between cooking and personal life were clunky and left me with many questions. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Bianca | 2/9/2014

    " I feel bad giving this book a rating. How do you rate someone's memoir? I enjoyed reading the book however. And it made me really, really hungry for some really good food :O) "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Doreen | 1/29/2014

    " If you are a foodie and have worked in the food industry this is the best book ever. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Tom | 1/29/2014

    " Really great read. Hamilton is a gifted storyteller and really helps the reader experience her story. The challenges of being abandoned by her parents, years of struggling in kitchens (being a chef is not all glamorous), and finally of being a mother and wife and her struggle to feel part of a family. Given her years in 80s NYC and her balance of food as a creative outlet, it felt like I was reading Patti Smith mixed with Anthony Bourdain. Highly recommend. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Sandy | 1/27/2014

    " Not great, not awful. The author was very unlikeable by the end. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Adriennej | 1/20/2014

    " Loved this book! Highly recommend it for anyone who loves food... "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Jen | 1/16/2014

    " I like this less the more I read. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Stevie | 10/28/2013

    " I found the first two-thirds of this absorbing, but she kind of lost me with the Butter section. I wasn't all that interested in how she and her husband were incompatible, and far preferred her reflections on how her unusual upbringing (or lack thereof) influenced her career and cooking style. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Jane | 10/1/2013

    " I really enjoyed this book. Gabrielle, in my estimation, is clearly a narcissistic and deeply flawed person, but she definitely knows how to write and cook! "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Carley | 9/29/2013

    " I can't put this book down. Beautifully written memoir about being a chef and running her own restaurant in New York. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Maggie | 7/14/2013

    " Excellent. Great story and very well written. Reminded me a lot of Mary Karr's memoir "Cherry." While it might not resonate as much with those who aren't in love with food and/or have worked in restaurants, I thoroughly enjoyed it "

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Gill | 2/20/2013

    " Really enjoyed this book in the beginning. but after 70-80% it went down in a negative spiral... "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Tama | 1/1/2013

    " Great memoir! You'll want to cook and eat while you read this - Ms. Hamilton really has a way with words, wonderfully descriptive stye. She brings the smallest details to life in your mind, and makes you feel every nuance of emotion. Not jsut about food, but about life. "

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Linnea | 10/24/2012

    " Another whiny cook/author who complains about how difficult their lives have been. Not my favorite. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Pam | 8/16/2012

    " Very well written. Interesting, until the last part of the book that focused on her marriage and trips to Italy to visit his family. She leaves us hanging at the point where they will be returning to the States from Italy. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Debra | 3/7/2012

    " Really enjoyed this book. Gabrielle Hamilton's life deserves a memoir. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Susan | 2/4/2012

    " Good writing, but narcissistic narrator who was not likable. Really liked Blood section, but it set me up to be very confused as to why she disowned her mother for 20 years. Third section was almost unbearable. Whine, whine, whine. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Katy | 12/21/2011

    " I loved this book so much I hated to finish it. Now all I want to do is cook! "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Ally | 9/30/2011

    " I had read the first chapter in the New Yorker and thought it was splendid, both as a culinary piece and as a memoir. The rest of the book turned out to be uneven. Loved heating about Prune, one of my favorite places; not interested in her bad marriage. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Melanie | 5/22/2011

    " This is a romp of a read. I loved it, it was real, gritty, smart and engaging the entire way through. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Barbara | 5/21/2011

    " Okay, she's a more than a little cranky and self-centered, but this was a gorgeously written memoir about food, family and figuring out how to live in the world. Fun that she lived in Ann Arbor for graduate school and credits the chef/owner of Zanzibar as one of her mentors. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Corinna | 5/21/2011

    " not a role model for my kids but fascinating how she evolved from wild child to chef. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Meredith | 5/19/2011

    " I got this book from the library after a long wait, but didn't have a chance to finish it before it was due. It was a good fast read which I will pick up again soon. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 siga | 5/17/2011

    " i really enjoyed the book, the writing style and her kookie life. what a story. a female anthony bourdain and that is very refreshing. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Leighton | 5/16/2011

    " I have read many memoirs by chefs who aspire to be writers. This is a memoir by a write who aspires to be a chef. An aspiration which she achieved as shown by her having won this years James Beard award
    "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Mike | 5/16/2011

    " Chefs' memoirs are always a great read, but this one is special. Every feeling is so honest and clear, and so much more than a cook's gushing description of their love affair with produce and meat. It's about wanting and yearning and trying to find the happy center. Loved it. "

  • 4 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 54 out of 5 Bethany | 5/15/2011

    " I finished this book while sitting in the car in the parking lot at work. It's the first time I have done that.

    Gabrielle Hamilton has a great story to tell about her life and food. She tells it in a captivating way. "

  • 3 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 53 out of 5 Joanne | 5/14/2011

    " This was a very interesting and enjoyable read! Not only a great cook, but Hamilton is also a good author!!!!!!!! Culinary and Literary delights! "

  • 2 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 52 out of 5 Megan | 5/14/2011

    " Maybe I just wasn't in the mood, but it didn't hold my interest for long. "

  • 5 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 55 out of 5 Kate | 5/13/2011

    " An amazing memoir of a chef/writer (could I be more jealous??). Wishing I was in NYC and could go and eat at Prune. Sigh. "

About the Author

Gabrielle Hamilton is the chef/owner of Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village. She received an MFA in fiction writing from the University of Michigan, and her work has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, GQ, Bon Appétit, Saveur, and Food & Wine. Hamilton has also authored the eight-week Chef Column in the New York Times, and her work has been anthologized in six volumes of Best Food Writing. She has appeared on The Martha Stewart Show and the Food Network, among other television programs. She lives in Manhattan with her two sons.