Book Group: Serve the People

So what do you think of the book? I enjoyed the first part where she made friend with Chairman Wang and went to cooking school. It is hard to imagine a cooking school where your really don't cook much, though. I also find the difference between our current trend of celebrity chefs and the way chefs are viewed in China. I think it is similar to how we were 50 years ago in the States. Cooks made the food and it better be something traditional and familiar. Now we fall over ourselves for something different. So how long, do you think, before we see the rise of the Chinese celebrity chef (in China, not here.)

What disturbed me, being a former server, is the way the help is treated. I have a question for anybody who has ever waited tables. Can you even imagine having to live where you work and only making $100 a month? Shoot, I remember at the one restaurant I waited tables at we were upset if we didn't make $100 a night. Now I know a lot of servers in the states feel like they get disrespected a lot (trust me, there are a lot of jerks out there who do not realize that their female servers aren't on the menu) but at least our term for wait people isn't a synonym for prostitute.

Whew, now that I am off of that soapbox for a moment I can actually talk about the author. My thinking is that she had this book deal lined up, or at least the idea for the book, in her mind when she went about apprenticing with the various characters in the book. Although if I had the means and the time I wouldn't mind doing what she did and actually working with someone who specializes in their field. I think I would love to work with a pastry chef. Not one of those special occasion cake makers but someone who works in a smaller medium creating those desserts you see on T.V. If you had the means and the time who would you apprentice with? What would you most like to learn?