Nine Lives: A Chef's Journey from Chaos to Control
The age of 28 is pretty young to have already burned through several lives, but that’s exactly what happened to Baltzley, as chronicled in this revealing, rough-edged memoir. A fast-track chef with a dream job at a top Chicago restaurant, Baltzley left the kitchen to check into rehab. Although Anthony Bourdain fans will recognize Baltzley’s no-holds-barred style, this is less about spilling kitchen secrets than about skipping from binge to binge and job to job. Baltzley has a clear passion for food, which will attract readers drawn to the personalities behind the dishes, but his eye-openingly honest account of drug addiction clearly separates his story from most foodie memoirs. Baltzley’s journey takes him from crack dens and failed bouts of rehab to a place where he’s not strictly sober but can have a beer without craving a high. After following Baltzley on his breakneck trip through both high-end and middle-of-the-road restaurants across the country, readers will wonder what this unusual chef’s next life will bring. --Bridget Thoreson