Filled with rampant egos, cutthroat kitchen politics, and settings ranging from Monte-Carlo to Paris and Napa Valley, The Seasoning of a Chef is a real and rare glimpse into the food industry.  More than anyone has until now, Doug Psaltis reveals vividly and honestly the hardships, sacrifices, and dreams of glory that are all part of becoming a great chef.

Doug began working at his grandfather’s diner in Queens, New York, when he was just ten years old—barely big enough to haul a sack of potatoes.  His next real restaurant job, following a brief stint in college and some time spent in Colorado kitchens, was in Huntington, Long Island, his hometown. 

Drivingly ambitious and hardworking, he would travel into Manhattan on his days off to work, often for twelve hours or more, without pay, in some of New York’s premiere restaurants.

He was eventually offered a regular job at David Bouley’s new acclaimed restaurant, Bouley Bakery, where he worked six days a week with double shifts, often leaving the house before dawn and returning home to grab a couple of hours of sleep before taking the train back into the city.

From there he went to Alain Ducasse New York, which eventually won four stars from the New York Times.  Doug caught Ducasse’s eye and was selected as the first American chef in the Ducasse empire, and the chef to lead the next Ducasse restaurant in New York, Mix. Running the kitchen of Mix was both a dream job and a formidable challenge.

Doug guided the restaurant in the face of mounting pressure and

tension from all sides—before an explosive conclusion. After leaving Mix, Doug was offered a job working for Thomas Keller at the French Laundry, arguably America's restaurant mecca, where he helped lead the kitchen with Keller.

Today, just past thirty, he is starting a whole new chapter in a remarkable career—a seasoned chef at last. 

Doug Psaltis is the Executive Chef of Country restaurant, which is opening this September in New York City. He has cooked in some of the world’s finest restaurants and with some of the most acclaimed chefs.

Read more about Doug.

Michael Psaltis is a writer and literary agent in New York City. He works with both fiction and nonfiction authors through his own literary agency, and also heads up a division of Regal Literary that is dedicated solely to food writers and cookbook authors. He and Doug are twins, and they live in Manhattan.