Bill Buford, an acclaimed writer, decides to take a leap into the culinary world by diving head-first into the busy kitchen at Babbo, a prominent Italian restaurant in New York City. 'Heat' chronicles Buford's gastronomic journey from amateur home cook to a professional kitchen neophyte, where he's instantly submerged in a sea of kitchen chaos and the arduous learning curve of restaurant cookery. But Buford's quest doesn't stop at Babbo's kitchen. He ventures into the heart of Italy, driven by a passion to unravel the secrets of Italian cuisine. The reader is taken on an odyssey that encompasses pasta-making in the hills of Tuscany, lessons in butchery from Italy's most revered butcher, and the philosophical essence of Italian food. His narrative meshes the rough-and-tumble experience of a kitchen under siege with reflections on food's cultural significance and the mentorship of larger-than-life figures such as Mario Batali. 'Heat' serves as both a humorous self-examination and a shoutout to the toils and joys of the culinary craft that tell a deeper story about passion, perfection, and the art of food.