Backstage Pass: Catering to Music's Biggest Stars

Rating:
Summary: Light on the gossip, heavy on the recipes.
Review: "Backstage Pass", written by the owners of a catering company called Behind the Scenes, has one fatal flaw -- the people who wrote it still care about working in the industry. The best tell-all books are written by people who either have nothing to lose or don't care what anyone thinks. While each act has a personable anecdote, nobody mentioned in here is going to sue for defamation of character anytime soon. The only two possible exceptions would be the Grateful Dead and Natalie Cole. The Grateful Dead, who of course broke up after Jerry Garcia died, kept the catering crew running by demanding they fetch the band members whatever popped in their heads, whether it was on the arena premises or not. Natalie Cole not only refused to get out of her limo at a benefit show until some satisfactory financial arrangement was made, but ordered enough things for her dressing room to feed an army and then only drank a bottle of water. But these tidbits are few and far between. Admittedly, these are people who spend most of their time preparing and serving foods, and thus don't exactly get to mix and mingle with the stars as much as they'd probably like to, but I still have the feeling that there's a lot being held back. For example, after Kurt Cobain of Nirvana was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome, he'd provide the caterers with a list of things that he could eat. Just as often it'd get ignored, and Kurt would arrive at the arena faced with a backstage filled with food and could eat none of it. This would cause Courtney Love, his wife, to tear the caterers a new one. (At least according to the Nirvana biography "Come As You Are".) Did Behind the Scenes deal with Nirvana? Do they have a take on this? You'll never know from reading this book. (And that's just one example I can think of, I'm sure there are many more.) Most of the book is taken up by recipes, which look like they might be delicious, but many are geared to serve a lot of people. (Not really a surprise, after all, they have to serve the artists and the crew, which can easily run over a hundred people.) But unless you're making enough for a party or a big family, the recipes make way too much food for the average person, couple, or small family. (For example, one recipe for meatloaf requires 6 lbs. of meat, and three different kinds of meat at that. And there's a lot more to the meatloaf than just the meat.)While "Backstage Pass" offers a few helpful hints, cooking terms, and conversion tables (which are helpful), they offer no insight on how to cut down a recipe. Think about it, if a person doesn't know what "al dente" means, they're definitely not going to know how to cut down a recipe, especially since at these quantities, it can run into some expense. Nor do they offer any hints on what foods can be substituted for other foods. The recipes are definitely a bit more ambitious than your novice cook may be able to handle. On the whole, I'd recommend borrowing this, rather than buying it. The tell-all parts are skimpy and the recipes may simply be too complex or too plentiful portionwise for the casual cook.

Rating:
Summary: DINE LIKE THE STARS !
Review: These are great receipes for parties! - Putting a party together, especially the food, has always been a high anxiety event for me. This book groups menus into simple and easy plans. Just follow along and you'll have yourself a guaranteed hit! There is a variety of menu styles to choose from. I personally tried two and they both went over fabulously. None of my friends believed I cooked the meal. They were convinced I sent for take-out! I had, but not for the food . . . for the book!

Rating:
Summary: Great recipes, interesting stories!
Review: This book is chock full of great recipes!!! Having been a band crew member backstage and having tasted the culinary delights of Behind the Scenes Catering in the past. I was very excited to hear they were putting out a cookbook. Their recipes tasted as good at home as they were backstage. The recipes were very easy to follow with two glossaries in the back listing cooking and backstage terms. All the recipes serve 8 which can easily be cut in half or quarter depending upon your group. The backstage stories were interesting. Yes, this isn't a "tell all" book, but a "tell some" book. Do we really always need the filthest stories for interesting reading? I don't think so. This book gives personal insight into 41 top musical groups; how they behave backstage and what they like to eat. It's gives the recipes for all dishes served and includes the special personal items each artist requests, food or otherwise. How do certain artists keep their figure? Who drinks juice, who drinks whiskey before going onstage? The old saying, "You are what you eat" really holds true! It was interesting for me to compare the dietary regime of certain artists with how they look. Backstage Pass really is two books in one. First, a celebrity behind the scenes look. Secondly, a great cookbook. I enjoyed reading this book very much and am anxious to try more of the recipes listed!