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Wednesday 22 June 2011

Variety is the spice of life! And Four Kitchens has plenty of spice.

FOUR KITCHENS

Lauren Shockey

Published by Hachette Australia, August 2011, $32.99

Life behind the burner in New York, Hanoi, Tel Aviv and Paris

Out of uni, Lauren Shockey took an entry level job for a PR company that did a lot of work in the food industry. For a food-obsessed young woman it was a way she could combine her love of food with a career her parents approved of. It wasn't what she wanted so she quit the 9-to-5 grind, took out massive loans, and started cooking school. At the French Culinary Institute, Lauren learned to salt food properly, to cook fearlessly over high heat, and to knock back beers like a pro. She also learned that a real culinary education begins once you're actually working in a restaurant. After a somewhat disappointing apprenticeship in the French countryside, Lauren hatched a plan for her dream year: to apprentice in four kitchens around the world.

Starting in her hometown of New York City, where she worked under the famed chef Wylie Dufresne, she then headed to Vietnam with Didier Corlou, then to Israel, and back to France, each setting presenting its own set of challenges, from language barriers to stronger-than-usual resistance to a woman in a professional kitchen.

Lauren Shockey is now a food writer whose articles have appeared in many print and online publications including The Village Voice, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, and The Atlantic Food Channel, among many others. A graduate of The University of Chicago, Lauren also holds a diploma in Classic Culinary Arts from The French Culinary Institute and a Master of Arts in food studies from New York University.
 
www.hachette.com.au

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