Blood, Bones & Butter

The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef

By: Gabrielle Hamilton

Narrated by: Gabrielle Hamilton

Length: 10 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best seller.

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, and 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 20 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 100 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.

©2011 Gabrielle Hamilton (P)2011 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“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)

Delicious. Her writing is completely delicious.

If you could sum up Blood, Bones & Butter in three words, what would they be?

Delicious, consuming, intriguing..

What did you like best about this story?

The stories about business and food preparation in her restaurant and her trips to Italy, but mostly her superb writing ability. The descriptiveness of her words, even when writing about banal things, was just like eating the best chocolate dessert ever, all the way through.

What about Gabrielle Hamilton’s performance did you like?

Loved it. loved her.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I wanted more. I didn't want it to end. I loved her in the end and wanted the story to keep going.

Any additional comments?

more please..

More Like "Scattershot Education"

Great book!
Hamilton learned her chef-ing from sources hither and yon. She soaked up her information by osmosis, trial, and error. This book is about those trials and errors, triumphs and...maybe not tragedies, more like mishaps.
Hamilton does a great job reading her own book, too.

Don't Miss This Book!

This is the most interesting and compelling book I have read since Cutting For Stone, my all time favorite, ever. There are many reader reviews that express discomfort with the rougher parts of the author's life. This is certainly understandable but don't let that stop you from enjoying this finely written and exquisite memoir. The professional reviews attached to the publisher's summary are all right-on. Read and enjoy!

Sad story of a successful chef who labored hard.

If you enjoy Italian food and choose to learn more about how to prepare it, i suggest you find a good Italian cook book. This is not a cook book. The story is a partial biography. Many ingredients included in her life and food are mentioned as she struggles to build her reputation along with the reputation of her restaurant. Her personal life, formal education and lessons learned along the way all seem overwhelming and for the most part sad. I would like to visit her restaurant, but I don't recommend the book if you are looking for uplifting entertainment.

I've never been to Prune . . .

. . . but I have spent 10 audiobook hours in Gabrielle Hamilton's world, and they were 10 of the best hours of my life. More about family and food than food for food sake is what makes this one of the most compelling autobiographies out there.

Wonderfully written

Hamilton is candid about her early lost years, and I enjoyed her path to Prune and her indefatigable energy.

SPOILER: However, she lost me emotionally when, an out lesbian, she married a man and had babies she clearly had limited time for, then tried to win his family, language barriers NOT aside. So sad.

Individual courage, not necessarily best choices

What did you love best about Blood, Bones & Butter?

Protagonist rallied repeatedly from difficult situations, always remembering the things that mattered most to her from her childhood and family (mother particularly). The fact that the happiness came full circle over many years gave a satisfying summary.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Her experiences while working in the summer camp, and the misplaced trust in the other counselors. Least interesting - overly detailed description of too many aspects of the journey.

What three words best describe Gabrielle Hamilton’s voice?

Intriguing....uniform....calm

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No....because her reaction to almost every event was "that's the way it is" there was no one major "turning point" event, unless it was the divorce of the parents, or the description of the dead rat in the stairway behind the restaurant, that gave the book a suspenseful or extreme character.

Any additional comments?

Not a genre that I generally read, but it was touching in an indefinable way, and good to see that it finally had a satisfying resolution.

Honest, funny and memorable!

Would you listen to Blood, Bones & Butter again? Why?

To have a good chuckle.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Blood, Bones & Butter?

There are many- the overall feel of the truth of the story is the most memorable.

What does Gabrielle Hamilton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voice carries her feelings that simply reading the book could not convey.

Any additional comments?

Excellent book. I first became aware of G. Hamilton while listening to The Splendid Table. She has such a genuine personality, accepts herself as she is and only wants the "real thing" from everyone else in return. This book, and the author, offer a realness that is not usually found because few people have the courage to share it.

More than bargained for...

My New Audible Favourite

I was gripped by this audio book. Gabrielle has lived a fascinating life and so we are fortunate she can write so beautifully and share her colourful stories so vividly. I am in the camp that was delighted she was the reader. It was interesting how she juxtaposed different events in her life in a non-chronological manner > it kept the surprises coming. Her tone helped round out the words and give an even clearer picture of the woman she is. The book feels, at time, cathartic, and there is no denying that at sometimes I squirmed and other times I wished for nothing more than both she and her husband behave a little differently in the hope they could work things out and have a happy-ever-after-ending. Can you imagine > Hamilton suddenly morphing into romantic fantasy. Hah! Well, no, of course not. I am not sure she ever expected to be liked by her readers, but by the end of the book I wished she was a kick-arse friend of mine.

Entirely encompassing

Wow!!! I didn't mind walking the dog and doing yard work because I needed to continue listening. I am not entirely sure what drew me in, but....

I love that she thrived and is successful despite (or could it even be because of) what she went through.

I am a bit frustrated about not knowing the significance of the name Prune. I want to eat there.