Workhorse

My Sublime and Absurd Years in New York City's Restaurant Scene

Workhorse
Kim Reed
RRP:
NZ$ 44.99
Our Price:
NZ$ 35.99
Hardback
h238 x 164mm - 288pg
25 Nov 2021 US
International import eta 7-19 days
9780306875106
Out Of Stock
Currently no stock in-store, stock is sourced to your order
By day, Kim Reed was a social worker to the homebound elderly in Brooklyn Heights. By night, she scrambled into Manhattan to hostess at Babbo, where even the Pope would have had trouble scoring a reservation, and A-list celebrities squeezed through the jam-packed entryway like everyone else. Despite her whirlwind fifteen-hour workdays, Kim remained up to her eyeballs in grad school debt. Her training-problem solving, crisis intervention, dealing with unpredictable people and random situations-made her the ideal assistant for the volatile Joe Bastianich, a hard-partying, "What' s next? " food and wine entrepreneur. He rose to fame in Italy as a TV star while Kim planned parties, fielded calls, and negotiated deals from two phones on the go. Decadent food, summers in Milan, and a reservation racket that paid in designer bags and champagne were fun only inasmuch as they filled the void left by being always on call and on edge. In a blink, the years passed, and one day Kim looked up and realized that everything she wanted beyond her job-friends, a relationship, a family, a weekend without twenty ominous emails dropping into her inbox-was out of reach. Workhorse is a deep-dive into coming of age in the chaos of New York City' s foodie craze and an all-too-relatable look at what happens when your job takes over your identity, and when a scandal upends your understanding of where you work and what you do. . After spending years making the impossible possible for someone else, Kim realized she had to do the same for herself.
"Those who are fascinated by extreme subcultures, the business of restaurants and the life of executive assistants will find Workhorse a worthwhile read. "--Inside Higher Ed "Fascinating. "--Town & Country "Reed' s matter-of-fact memoir features tempting sides of Italian food, fashion, and wine. Her book' s main course is not only the ride-or-die job; it' s also a meditation on approaching midlife and the need for true friendship and love. "--Booklist "The candor of this memoir is just one sign of Reed' s personal transformation--a long, painful coming-of-age that led her to confront and break patterns that could have made her miserable for the rest of her life. A generously detailed, juicy restaurant industry tell-all and a cautionary tale for young workaholics. "--Kirkus Reviews "Exhilarating. . . . Reed describes a Devil Wears Prada-esque world. . . . The book' s saucy tone. . . offers a juicy behind-the-scenes look at the high life. . . a dark morality tale. "--Publishers Weekly "Workhorse is dynamite. Reading Kim Reed' s story was like taking a knife through the foot--a combination of excruciating pain and unbridled exhilaration. From the musty basements to the sleek office spaces to the cramped hustle on the floor of a popular West Village restaurant to the snow-crinkled traipsings around town, even down to taking the Q home to Park Slope, this is a hyper-realistic portrait of New York City restaurant life in the aughts. "--Michael Gibney, author of Sous Chef "Kim Reed spills the funniest, most raw and honest truth: you can have the Foo Fighters' manager on speed dial, spend your days at an Italian castle built for a prince, and still not have it mean anything at all when you come home to an empty bed after fifteen-hour days. Workhorse is a whirlwind look at the glitz and grind of the lowest rungs on the corporate ladder, and what happens when you realize you need to get out. " --Cat Marnell, New York Times bestselling author of How to Murder Your Life "Workhorse is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at a famous restaurant empire, and also the story of a young woman struggling to forge an identity for herself inside that seductive, stultifying workplace, and ultimately, beyond it. Kim Reed has definitely discovered her second act as a gifted storyteller. " --Jay McInerney, author of Bright Lights, Big City
Kim Reed began her tenure in the New York City restaurant scene at Babbo in 2001. A practicing social worker by day, she spent her evenings and weekends working in the Babbo hospitality department. In 2010, Reed took over the office of Joe Bastianich, international restaurateur, TV personality and co-founder of BBHG, and spent the next eight years traveling around the US and Europe while solving the unsolvable and predicting the unpredictable. Reed is the founder of the website The Abettor, a lifestyle blog known for interviews with assistants to exceptional individuals from all sectors. A recovering workaholic, Reed spends her time writing and serving on the Board of Directors of the nonprofit Heights and Hills in Brooklyn where she once practiced social work.
Status: Active
ISBN-13: 9780306875106
Published: 25 Nov 2021
Published In: United States
Imprint: Da Capo Press Inc
Publisher: Hachette Books
Format: Hardback
Height: 238mm
Width: 164mm
Spine: 28mm
Weight: 500g
Pages: 288

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