Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential meets Ina Garten’s Be Ready When the Luck Happens in this deliciously reflective memoir of one woman as she recounts her journey of becoming an accomplished chef—the hard way.

The kitchen saved Kathy Watson’s life.

In the midst of a recession, Kathy is running two restaurants with the passion of a gastronome who grew up on freshly farmed food—and the limitations of a chef who has little formal culinary education. That lack of training, a perceived shortcoming, has her bowing to the misogynistic egos of destructive, hot-headed chefs in her own kitchens. All the while, her fear and insecurity trigger childhood memories of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of her mother—a relationship that she can’t seem to reckon with.

Then, one day, one of Kathy’s chefs walks out just before dinner service, forcing her to face off with one of her long-held fears: sautéing on the hot side. The experience breaks the cycle wide open—and thus begins Kathy’s journey to throw off years of abuse to become a woman she can love.

Including more than thirty recipes and a wealth of kitchen drama, Last Morning at Nora’s Table will satisfy your appetite for delicious food and back-of-the-house gossip. Swing a sauté pan up to the stove and dive in.

Book Club Guide: Here’s a guide for your book group. Kathy loves to attend book groups, and has sat in on more than 18 of them for her first book, Orphans of the Living. She will attend in person if she can, or via zoom. You can contact her here.

At a recent all-men’s book group, one of the leaders told her, “We always fight about books. This is the first time in years we have all agreed: We love Orphans of the Living.”