Enjoyable as a memoir about a young woman's adventures cooking in four kitchens around the world. I liked how each chapter ended with recipes that were relevant to the experiences described. The missing stars are because I felt like it was missing eye-opening insight into the world of cooking or the cultures of the countries.

I applaud Lauren for knowing what she wanted and finding a way to pursue her dreams of wanting to be a chef. After Lauren’s disaster in France, some people would have thrown in the towel and been done but Lauren decided to try again only this time at three different locations. Lauren would apprenticeship. The first being in her home town of New York, than Tel Aviv, Israel and finally to Paris, France.

Lauren’s first stop…wd-50. Wylie Dufresne’s place. Anyone who is a foodie, works in the culinary world or is a fan of Top Chef is familiar with Wylie. Wylie is into molecular gastronomy. This technique is the movement to incorporate science and new techniques in the preparation and presentation of food. While, I didlikegetting the behind the scenes look into the restaurant world and Wylie’s place, I did wish that I could have learned some more about some of the different techniques Wylie was doing. The recipes though that came from his restaurant that appeared in this book sounded yummy.

In Tel Aviv, the people were really friendly and the restaurant that Lauren worked at had a more laid back approach. Paris, those people say it like it is and as Lauren learned sometimes you just have to take it like a man. Of course, I would imagine the chefs have to be serious as the food that they produce is great.

For anyone who is a foodie or just loves to cook and try new things, than you should check this book out. It will give you a nice brief look into the culinary world and as an added bonus you can try out some of the yummy recipes from each location that Lauren visited that are included in this book.

Just a fun, easy beach read with some good-looking recipes

Interesting, easy to read. Lauren does stage (unpaid apprenticeship) at four very different restaurants in the cities mentioned in the title. Each experience is unique. A great look behind the scenes.

I have recently started reading more and more different kind of memoirs and when I saw this one for review I decided to go for it. While it doesn't hold me rapt like my currently favorite, travel memoirs, it definitely added a different take to what I have been reading. I loved the author's attention to detail through out the story and even though the book ended the way it did you can feel the author's passion for food in every page.

I enjoyed the recipes from Ms. Shockey's travels, she includes quite a few beautiful looking recipes at the end of each chapter which will make this book for many a kitchen friend instead of a book to sit on the library shelf. I enjoyed meeting each new character with the author, she has a flare for people like she does for food.

Now, you are wondering why only three stars. The book is well written but just a good story. It didn't make me jump up and down and feel the emotions that the author felt as she traveled to a new place, made a new dish, or got hurt in her path to find love. I wanted these things but...they never showed.

This is one of those cases where the writer should have hired a ghost writer. Shockey manages to make almost anything boring, including her own perfection. I've read a lot of food memoirs and this was one of the least inspiring. She even includes recipes in an attempt to make the book more interesting, which makes minimal difference. Her writing style is just such a snorefest that it overrides anything else that might make this a worthwhile read. Don't bother.

I really want to give this 3 1/2 stars, most especially for the delicious recipes. A good read with an interesting revelation for me: this woman traveled many miles to have a similar experience to many other women who work in kitchens, so the problems that exist really are industry wide.

My personal favorite portions of the book took place Hanoi and Tel Aviv. You could feel what the author was talking about as though you were there with her as she experienced two very diverse cultures from her own. I plan to make quite a few of the recipes from these two sections! I will say that if you are at all squeamish you might want to avoid the part where they visit a restaurant that serves dog. I had to skim that part, it was really rather unnerving.

Interestingly, there was a sense that even though the author grew as a chef that there was some disconnect on an emotional growth level. Her awkwardness with men feels a bit odd to me, not saying it's unreal so much as her age doesn't fit that feeling for me. There are one or two situations it felt like she should have seen coming.

I do love her honesty in talking about the rampant sexism that exists for women in the kitchen and how her NY colleagues were good about bearing that in mind as not all of the chefs one might work with do. I also admire that she is very honest about loving to cook but no longer wanting to cook in restaurants. All in all I found this an enjoyable read, really worth it for the recipes alone!

As someone who works in kitchens, I found myself wanting to tell the author-repeatedly- that staging in a restaurant feels nothing like working there. She receives a lot of praise and seems to do well as an intern, but her self-congratulating tone gets old quickly.

She does do a good job of dispelling the notion that kitchen work is exciting or glamorous- it's often repetitive and tedious, especially for new initiates- and I think it's been a while since someone has made that point in print. She also raises some issues that any woman entering professional kitchen life will have to grapple with eventually (questions of family, hierarchy, work environment). Considering all the hype and excitement surrounding culinary careers right now, I think that overall this provides a pretty sober look at what the world is really like, and it would be good reading for anyone who is thinking about spending 40k+ on culinary school.

The brief sections that describe her romantic life- or lack thereof- don't seem to fit into the overall story, and I have to wonder if her editor asked for their inclusion to increase the 'human interest' aspect of the book. Similarly, her writing about friendships is the weakest and seems forced at times.

I was actually more interested in hearing about what she did when she decided to leave professional kitchens, but none of that transition was included in the book.

The first two sections were interesting but I lost interest by the time she left Vietnam and didn't really care about the last two sections of the book.

After finishing college, Lauren Shockey surprised her parents by going to culinary school. She decides that she will round out her cooking education by completing stages (kitchen internships) at four different restaurants with very different viewpoints. She begins her journey at Wylie Dufresne’s wd-50 in New York then travels to Vietnam to work at La Verticale. From Vietnam, Shockey then travels to Tel Aviv to work in Carmella Bistro. Finally, she ends her journey in Paris at Senderens. Shockey describes her time at wd-50 in great detail but her vastly different experience in Hanoi focuses little on the kitchen aspect and more on the local cuisine while Tel Aviv’s central focus becomes more about Shockey’s friends and personal exchanges. In Paris, the focus once again becomes the kitchen, but the transitions all lead up to Shockey’s conclusions at the end of her journey: enjoying food and cooking for others is not necessarily all it takes to make it in a restaurant career. It’s an expensive lesson to learn, but at least she has the kitchen skills to really impress her friends and loved ones! Four Kitchens is entertaining, but is missing a little of the wow factor other food memoirs out there offer. I did find Shockey to be very honest and insightful throughout the book, though.