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FOOD AND THE CITY

New York\u2019s Professional Chefs, Restaurateurs, Line Cooks,Street Vendors, and Purveyors Talk About What They Do and Why They Do It

By Ina Yalof

When many of us think New York City, we think food\u2014from the latest ethnic discovery to the culinary innovations of cutting-edge chefs to the comfort foods we grew up eating. In FOOD AND THE CITY: New York\u2019s Professional Chefs, Restaurateurs, Line Cooks, Street Vendors, and Purveyors Talk About What They Do and Why They Do It (G. P. Putnam\u2019s Sons: on sale May 31, 2016), journalist and bestselling author Ina Yalof\u2019s pens a delectable journey inside the city\u2019s pulsating food scene. From Zabar\u2019s deli counter to the Pierre Hotel, from Harlem Shake to RedFarm, Yalof captures the stories of the people who have made this industry their lives.

The stories they tell, while each unique, nonetheless share common threads: hard work, creativity, and most of all a passion for food. Much like the folks in the food industry in your city!

Yalof takes readers into the kitchens, dining rooms, and even wine cellars of a cross section of the city\u2019s eateries\u2014from casual to posh, from diners to five-star hotels. She talks to chefs who have risen from dishwasher and line cook to the pinnacle of their profession. From their singular stories, readers glean essential truths about what it takes to operate a successful restaurant in one of the most demanding markets in the world\u2014whether maintaining the legendary reputation of the \u201c21\u201d Club, making the catering run on time at the Pierre Hotel, or serving eggs and blue-plate specials on upper Broadway.

Yalof also takes us into a complex behind-the-scenes world as she visits butchers, cheesemongers, and bakers. She ventures far afield to food purveyors most New Yorkers rarely think about: a caterer tasked with feeding a large, hungry, transient film crew; a firefighter who cooks for the rest of his Rescue Company; and the executive director of Nutritional Services at Rikers Island, where the NYC Department of Correction prepares 47,000 meals a day. Whether Yalof\u2019s destination is Zabar\u2019s, Chinatown, or the kitchen of Brooklyn\u2019s Sucre Mort Pralines, the stories she unearths create an unforgettable gallery of New Yorkers who embody its culinary heart and soul.

Praised by culinary geniuses Marcus Samuelsson, Daniel Boulud, and Eric Ripert, FOOD AND THE CITY is a fascinating oral history from an unforgettable gallery of New Yorkers who embody its culinary heart and soul. It is full of delicious insights, inspiring stories, and singular anecdotes that together paint a vibrant picture of metropolitan food culture. To name just a few:
\u2022Dominique Ansel explains what great good fortune led him to make the first Cronut
\u2022Ghaya Oliveira, who came to New York as a young Tunisian stockbroker, recounts her hardscrabble yet swift trajectory from dishwasher to executive pastry chef at Daniel
\u2022Restaurateur Ed Schoenfeld describes his journey from nice Jewish boy from Brooklyn to New York\u2019s indisputable Chinese food maven
\u2022Old-schoolers like David Fox, third-generation owner of Fox\u2019s U-bet syrup,
\u2022and the outspoken Upper West Side butcher Schatzie,
\u2022plus new kids on the block like Patrick Collins, sous chef at The Dutch,
\u2022and Brooklyn artisan Lauren Clark of Sucre Mort Pralines

\u201cEach story in this book inspires me with the turn of the page,\u201d says Marcus Samuelsson, James Beard Award\u2013winning chef and New York Times\u2013bestselling author of Marcus Off Duty and Yes, Chef. \u201cThese are stories of passion, motivation, hardship, and resilience. Ina Yalof has captured the ingredients for success in the New York City restaurant scene while weaving tales that showcase the unwavering spirit of our fellow New Yorkers.\u201d

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Ina Yalof has been writing books and articles about such diverse subjects as medicine, science, religion, and happiness for more than thirty years. Her books include the widely acclaimed oral history Life and Death: The Story of a Hospital, What It Means to Be Jewish, How I Write (coauthored with Janet Evanovich), and What Happy Women Know. Yalof\u2019s articles have appeared in numerous national publications, including GQ, Harper\u2019s Bazaar, and New York magazine. She lives and eats in New York City.