Brigade de cuisine john mcphee biography
John mcfee biography.
| Saul Steinberg, illustration for John McPhee's "Brigade de Cuisine" |
I’m curious why newyorker.com changed the title of John McPhee’s classic “Brigade de Cuisine” (The New Yorker, February 19, 1979) to “A Philosopher in the Kitchen.” The original title perfectly encapsulates the piece’s main theme – the art of an extraordinary chef who does the work of an “entire brigade de cuisine.” The new title seems to express a different theme – the chef’s metaphysical approach to cooking.
Except that in the case of this particular chef, when he’s really cruising, he doesn’t so much think as act by conditioned response (“ ‘You cook unconsciously,’ he says.
Brigade de cuisine john mcphee biography
‘You know what you’re going to do and you do it. When problems come along, your brain spits out the answer’ ”). So much for metaphysics. This isn’t a think piece; the best parts describe action. For e