Out of the Frying Pan: A Chef's Memoir of Hot Kitchens, Single Motherhood, and the Family Meal - Hardcover

Clark, Gillian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0312366930 ISBN 13: 9780312366933

Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books, 2007

Synopsis

Describes how the author's long-standing ambition to attend culinary school and live on a country farm was shattered by an unexpected divorce, relating how she subsequently pursued her career goals from the bottom up while raising her daughters alone, in a personal account peppered with favorite recipes. 15,000 first printing.

About this title

About the Authors

Gillian Clark is a nationally known chef who runs the popular Washington, D.C., restaurant Colorado Kitchen. She is a commentator for NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered and has been featured on the Food Network as well as in The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Gillian Clark is a nationally known chef who runs the popular Washington, D.C., restaurant Colorado Kitchen. She is a commentator for NPR’s Weekend All Things Considered and has been featured on the Food Network as well as in The Washington Post and The New York Times.

From the Inside Flap

Out of the Frying Pan is an empowering memoir that traces Gillian Clark s rise from a beginner to a top chef. But managing a kitchen also taught her about parenting. With a wealth of experience and wisdom, and a healthy dash of humor, Gillian now shares her life s recipes, from the solutions she cooked up for parenting challenges to her favorite culinary creations.

In the prime of her life, Gillian Clark abandoned the corporate world to pursue her passion---making mouthwatering food with fresh, homegrown ingredients. When she became a single parent with two young daughters, though, Gillian had to reconsider her dreams. Moving to the country and running a small, artisanal farm were put on the back burner---supporting her family had to come first.

But Gillian s drive to make delicious food was relentless. She finished her culinary degree, survived the tedious prep work of her first cooking job and the difficulty of training during the day and raising two girls at night, and confronted the challenges of working her way up from the bottom in a profession where only the strongest survive.

Beating intense odds, Gillian is now head chef and proprietor of the successful and popular Colorado Kitchen, which is ranked among the top 100 restaurants in Washington, D.C. This puts her simple café in the company of the city s finest dining establishments.

Touching and joyful, Out of the Frying Pan rivals any parenting book and is also chock-full of more than forty delicious recipes, from her first soup of the day to her family s Sunday brunch waffles---even the pink medicine placebo she whipped up for one of her daughters.

Her inspirational advice on how she raised her daughters while never giving up her dream is a gem for parents and foodies alike and will fit at just about any table.

It s hard enough for a woman to find work in a restaurant kitchen, but when you throw in two young kids and single-mom status, I d call it near impossible. Not so for Gillian Clark. It s a great story that should be particularly inspiring to any young person starting out in the industry, with or without children. And she tosses in some of her famous home-cooked recipes as a bonus. --Sara Moulton, executive chef at Gourmet magazine, host of Food Network s Sara's Secrets, and food editor at Good Morning America

Clark s enthusiasm for drawing people to the table is engaging. Colorado Kitchen now often has a line around the block, and Clark thrives on being her own boss. The emphasis on family adds a personal dimension to this memoir about both comfort food and commitment to success. --Publishers Weekly

Gillian Clark is a nationally known chef who runs the popular Washington, D.C., restaurant Colorado Kitchen. She is a commentator for NPR s Weekend All Things Considered and has been featured on the Food Network as well as in The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0312366930
• ISBN 13: 9780312366933
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 288