Yes Chef

Yes Chef

The popularity of TV shows such as Masterchef has resulted in a higher standard of home cooking, higher profiles for rock star chefs and the mistaken belief amongst many amateurs that chefs work on easy street. If they could only get a job in a white chef's coat and toque blanche, they could -get their money for nothing and their chips for free'.

Phillip McMillan's memoir, Yes Chef! The ungarnished confessions of an Australian chef, reveals the truth about life as a working chef – that containing food costs is actually the secret to career success – and why most chefs swear and drink and eventually suffer burn out.

Yes Chef! is an insider's frequently funny and often frightening foray behind the swinging doors of restaurants. Following the mandatory apprentice training, Phillip went on to become a sought-after chef in the highly competitive and physically demanding world of commercial kitchens.

In the spirit of an Australian -Kitchen Confidential', Phillip reveals the many and varied rivalries between chefs, thefts between restaurants, rumour-spreading and -friendly fire' that comprises the backroom hospitality scene.

During the course of this journey from dish-pig to sous chef in a five star casino, Phillip expanded his culinary repertoire from the leathery meat and over-boiled vegetables of his childhood and eggplant (his first encounter with an -exotic' food) to Asian-fusion and molecular degustation menus. His memoir is also a history of the evolution of Australian cuisine, especially in Sydney and Melbourne.

Although no book about food is considered complete without a recipe section, Phillip has gone one better: he has included a section of -Chef's Tips' for home cooks, for example how to make restaurant-quality roast potatoes and how to prevent a soufflé from flopping.

Phillip McMillan has been involved in the food industry his whole life. After leaving school he entered the wonderful world of commercial kitchens and has worked in a range of different locations including small restaurants, golf clubs, high-profile five-star resorts and casinos. He is married with children and lives in Melbourne, where he is a founding partner of a hospitality education, assessment and consultancy business.

Yes Chef! The ungarnished confessions of an Australian chef
Finch Publishing
Author: Phillip McMillan
ISBN: 9781921462818
Price: $29.95