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Full Description
'Deeply thoughtful, unflinchingly honest and heartwarmingly original. Ben's unique creativity is clearly not limited to Attica.'
Hamish Blake
'Powerful, vulnerable, intense, full of love and some darkness too.'
Matty Matheson, chef, author, producer and actor
Chef and restaurateur Ben Shewry knows obsession well. Whether it's crispy-edged lasagne, saltwater crocodile ribs or the perfect potato, obsession is what motivates him and what makes him tick. It's also what has propelled his Melbourne restaurant Attica into the league of the most innovative, acclaimed dining experiences in the world, and one of the most vital in Australian history.
In this absorbing and wide-ranging memoir meets manifesto, Shewry applies his sometimes searing, sometimes comic eye to creative freedom in the kitchen, food journalism, sexism in hospitality, the fraud of the farm-to-table sustainability ethos, the cult of the chef, cooking as muse and the legendary Family Bolognese.
Raised on a farm in a close-knit rural New Zealand family, he shares how a childhood surrounded by nature and a reverence for First People's cultures has influenced his work, the values he lives by, and the meticulous, inventive multi-course menu that is synonymous with Attica. Uses for Obsession also tells the intimate, desperate story of how Attica survived 262 days with an empty dining room. How, during a time of epic hospitality transformation, it morphed into a takeaway food business, a merch shop and a summer camp. He was told it couldn't be done and that doubt both tortured and drove him.
At its heart, this is a positive story, an antidote to the macho chef culture that thrives on old ideas about leadership and success. Shewry prosecutes the compelling case for a new way forward. A bold blueprint for the restaurant - and workplace - of the future. One built on kindness, community, truth and a commitment to never giving up.
Contents
1. Prologue
2. The Soap Smells Nice
3. The Pursuit of Nothing in the Pursuit of Everything
4. New Uses for PowerPoint Presentations
5. In Defence of Waiters
6. Never Give Up
7. What Would Yo La Tango Do?
8. Bats and Hats
9. Cold Brown Toast
10. The Bottom of the Apple
11. Chipgate
12. A Guide to Getting Out of Tricky Situations
13. The Pig
14. A Letter to Ella
15. Eat the Problem
16. False Prophet
17. Definition of a Chef, from a Chef to a Chef
18. Staff Speeches
19. Evolve or Die
20. No Negative Attitude
21. This One Time, at Attica Summer Camp
22. Those Bloody Bimbullas
23. Epilogue
With Thanks
