Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll

An all-access history of the rise of the restaurant chef and the culinary culture of the 1970s and ’80s: “Fast, fun, and furious.” —The Wall Street Journal

Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll transports us back in time to witness the remarkable evolution of the American restaurant chef. Taking a rare coast-to-coast perspective, Andrew Friedman goes inside Chez Panisse and other Bay Area restaurants to show how the politically charged backdrop of Berkeley helped draw new talent to the profession; into the historically underrated community of Los Angeles chefs, including a young Wolfgang Puck and future stars such as Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken, and Nancy Silverton; and into the clash of cultures between established French chefs in New York City and the American game changers behind The Quilted Giraffe, The River Cafe, and other East Coast establishments. We also meet young cooks of the time, such as Tom Colicchio and Emeril Lagasse, who went on to become household names in their own right. Along the way, the chefs, their struggles, their cliques, and, of course, their restaurants are brought to life in vivid detail. As the ‘80s unspool, we see the profession and the culinary scene evolve—all as the industry-altering Food Network shimmers on the horizon.

Told largely in the words of the people who lived it, captured in over two hundred interviews with writers like Ruth Reichl and legends like Jeremiah Tower, Alice Waters, Jonathan Waxman, and Barry Wine, Chefs, Drugs and Rock & Roll offers an unparalleled 360-degree re-creation of the business and the times through the perspectives not only of the groundbreaking chefs but also of line cooks, front-of-house personnel, investors, and critics who had ringside seats to this extraordinary transformation.

“Friedman’s passion for the subject infuses every anecdote, detail, and interview, making this culinary narrative an engrossing experience.” —Publishers Weekly

“A lively, anecdotal romp through the rise of modern American cuisine from the early 1970s to the early ’90s.” —New York Post