Deborah Schoeneman: 4% Famous

By JULIETTE ROSSANT What is your definition of a great beach read? So much fluffy foam and not many calories? Nothing to make you think deep thoughts? If that's your bill, then Deborah Schoeneman has a book for you: 4% Famous (Shaye Areheart, 2006). It's like -- it's like -- well, a whole book of the gossip column of your choice. That's no stretch, since Deborah worked as a gossip columnist and the novel is about the petty lives, loose loves, and nights out of three gossip columnists in the Big Apple. What's the appeal for Foodies? There is only word: "Marco," the up-and-coming Italian chef with whom heroine "Kate" falles in love. In real life Deborah dated chef Rocco DiSpirito , and in 4% Famous, he appears thinly and often flatteringly disguised as Marco Mancini, chef of the newly opened ficitonal "Coast" (get it? blending Union "Pacific" into Rocco's on 22nd Street?) and host of a short-lived TV show (read The Restaurant). Other chefs appear in the book by their real names -- Real chefs like Bobby Flay and Nobu Matsuhisa , Daniel Boulud and Eric Ripert -- but, poor Rocco! To be a chef, and have as your ex-girlfriend a gossip columnist who becomes a novelist! Worse, she very likely sold the book with an advance, based on the fact that Rocco was a rising TV star -- so, his show's falling star simply add grist to her mill. What's the title all about? Here is the main character, cub gossip reporter Kate, getting the low down from the more experienced and more wasted colleauge: "You should just want to be four percent famous... Any more and you know it can't last. (pp. 90-1) (And Rocco groans: zing!) Schoeneman is heavy on the cliche -- but this book is the stuff of gossip columns, after all. Not that the same tripe doesn't flourish in the restaurant PR world. For instance, after heroine Kate enjoys an oyster, chef Marco tells her, "'That's what I like to hear... That's what makes it worth it. Knowing that I'm making people happy." (p. 58) There are some good snapshots of wannabe chefs in action. One scene with Marco sounds very much like Todd English in Super Chef: 4% Famous (2006): Marco answers his cell phone and starts talking numbers with a Coast manager, simultaneously pulling out a Blackberry and sending an email. (p. 163) Super Chef (2004): Todd, 40-odd years old, sat in front with an electronic device in either ear. He juggled both devices with ease as he stared ahead through the windshield to ward off car sickness. He scrolled through email, called his CFO about a deal, and planned a menu for a benefit. (p. 89) You be the judge. Here's a better story. Once upon a time, way back in the last century, journalists aspired to become authors ("writers" they used to say, back in the day). They worked hard at their craft, day and night: they worked at becoming good writers. The sad story of our times is that nowadays many journalists are merely trying to become famous, even just 4% famous. What is 4% Famous? It's an overlong gossip column. Granted, you may be among the many who turn first to the gossip column in a newspaper or magazine, but once you've finished these grown-up "comics," you need something real to read, right? -- not 400% more gossip column. After a while, the impersonal "he said -- she said" formula becomes formulaic, repetitive, and dull. That's not to say there isn't an NBC not-ready-for-prime-time Food TV show within 4% Famous: you know, nice girl-columnist meets bad boy-chef... Then again, these days, TV shows don't even have scripts, so it's not like anyone will be worrying about somebody actually writing engaging plot line. Stay tuned. Book details: Publisher Amazon.com Barnes & Noble Related news: Village Voice New York Daily News Gawker Jossip Previous articles: Rocco Right Now Foie Gras War: Rocco Saves Seals Rossant on Rocco: New York Daily News Rocco DiSpirito: Super Duper Bowl "F" is for... "Rocco"? Xmas Spirits: "Club Rocco" Brand? Rocco DiSpirito Wins TV Turkey Dinner Rocco DiSpirito: Pretty in Pink? Rocco DiSpirito: Ridiculed in the Rainbow Room More Reality TV Chefs (or Less)? Video Killed the Radio Star: Can Radio Resurrect Rocco DiSpirito? Rocco DiSpirito: Be Warned by Me! Claude Troisgros: Riding de Rocco DiSpirito Star Rocco Barred from Reality TV Restaurant Rocco: Trapped in Reality TV's Twilight Zone? [Cookbook Reviews - complete] Technorati Tags: superchefblog, Juliette Rossant, super chef, celebrities, chefs, food, restaurants, cooking, branding, cuisine, blogging, food blogging --> back to superchefblog