James Beard Award–winning journalists expose food industry secrets in “the Kitchen Confidential of the big-ticket catering world” (New York Times).
Hotbox reveals the real-life drama behind cavernous event spaces and soaring white tents, where cooking conditions have more in common with a mobile army hospital than a restaurant. Award-winning food writers the Lee brothers steeped themselves in the catering business for four years, learning the culture from the inside out. It’s a realm where you find eccentric characters, working in extreme conditions, who must produce magical events and instantly adapt when, for instance, the host’s toast runs a half-hour too long, a hail storm erupts, or a rolling rack of hundreds of ice cream desserts goes wheels-up.
Whether they’re dashing through black-tie fundraisers or celebrity-spotting at a Hamptons cookout, the Lee brothers guide you on a romp from the inner circle—the elite team of chefs using little more than their wits and Sterno to turn out lamb shanks for eight hundred—to the outer reaches of the industries that facilitate the most dazzling galas. You’ll never attend a party—or entertain on your own—in the same way after reading this book.
“Lively . . . [with] just the right combination of sophistication and self-deprecation [to] show us what really goes on behind the scenes.” —The Wall Street Journal
“An absorbing, immersive, appetizing tale, written with sharp intelligence and style.” —Susan Orlean, New York Times–bestselling author of The Library Book
“Brilliant, gleeful . . . full of tips and secrets.” —Bill Buford, national bestselling author of Heat
“[A] captivating tell-all.” —Publishers Weekly
