With Alasdair Gill In conversation with Sean Wai Keung

The Portobello Bookshop is very excited to be hosting Alasdair Gill for an online-only discussion of his book Knives and Spoons . Gill is a chef and writer whose career has taken him from the pressure-cooker environment of London’s finest dining establishments to his current work as a private chef. The book delves into the world of intense restaurant life and explores his personal journey including the highs and lows of that lifestyle.

Gill will be in conversation with poet, food writer and performance artist Sean Wai Keung and it’s sure to be a brilliant evening with lots of fascinating insights! They will both join us remotely via Crowdcast for this online-only event.

From working in some of London’s most prestigious restaurants to scrubbing fat from kitchen floors, Alasdair Gill’s life as a chef has been a series of exhilarating highs and harrowing lows. But so too has his private life. Taking readers behind the swinging kitchen doors of London’s dining scene, he shows us the major contradictions in his life, from crossing paths with Anthony Bourdain and preparing dishes for the ultra wealthy to hiding in drug-fuelled kitchen dens and a wake-up call that nearly ended his life.

Knives and Spoons is a raw and honest look at the chaotic and often toxic world of professional kitchens, filled with fierce and unforgiving moments, but also a testament to the power of finding one’s craft and the long road to recovery.