Yes, Chef
Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson
Published: 2012
Narrated by: Marcus Samuelsson
Length: 11:47 (319 pages)
I really enjoy food-related writing and have started to dip my toe into chef memoirs these last couple of years. I love reading about what inspires people to take up cooking, what their first experiences are like, what foods and meals they remember from their childhoods, and what drives them to continue learning. I didn’t think I knew Marcus Samuelsson going into this, who apparently appears on American Food Network shows, but I realized once I started I have seen his restaurant, Red Rooster, featured on a couple of shows.
My main reason for picking this up was that I thought Samuelsson’s story was an interesting one. He was born in Ethiopia during a Tuberculosis epidemic and at the age of four contracted the disease, along with his mother and sister. His mother, unfortunately, did not survive, and he and his sister were adopted by a family in Sweden. He grew up there, and after being unable to play soccer professionally, started to pursue a career in cooking. This led him to kitchens throughout central and western Europe and eventually to Restaurant Aquavit in New York City where he was the youngest chef, at 23, to receive a three-star rating from The New York Times. The restaurant has since been awarded two Michelin stars.
He also writes about returning to Ethiopia as an adult, once his career was established, to learn about the food and culture of his original home and to eventually reunite with his estranged father. The book ends with him opening Red Rooster in Harlem, a high-end soul food restaurant – a controversial move to some but one that has clearly worked out well. He gets some flack for wanting to try to ‘elevate’ soul food and Ethiopian cuisine, partly due to him not being raised in either culture. I think the argument is that these cuisines are already delicious and don’t need to be dressed up to be sold to people who may not otherwise even take notice, seeing that as being insulting to the food and the people who cook it. Samuelsson is a fine-dining chef, however, and part of his argument is that high-end cooking shouldn’t be limited to French dishes and techniques, that all cultures have flavours that can stand side-by-side with these top Michelin star restaurants. I can see both sides to some extent, but I definitely think that the more food and innovation out there the better.
I really enjoyed following along as he developed an interest in cooking and worked his way through different kitchens. There’s no denying that he’s an ambitious man. The writing is good and the book is well-paced, something I’m sure his co-writer Veronica Chambers (who also co-wrote 32 Yolks) had a large part in. I love that he didn’t glorify that awful classic screaming chef cliché and instead wants to make kitchens a more professional and welcoming environment. He seems like a good dude, and his enthusiasm for learning about food really came through on every page of this.
10 Comments
Mae
Nice review! My culinary reading group read this book a few years ago. Like you, we love food memoirs, but also food history and other culinary books — we don’t read cookbooks, though. Have you read Alice Waters’ memoir? Or the big classic “Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris”? So many good ones (though there are also some terrible ones!)
best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Rob
Thank you! I haven’t read Alice Waters’ memoir or any of her cookbooks, actually. And I haven’t even heard of Between Meals. I’ve added both to my wishlist now!
wendyklik
I had the complete opposite reaction to this book. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Rob
Sorry to hear that! I had some issues with it, such as how he ignored his daughter for the first part of her life, but at least he didn’t try to justify that or pretend he did better than he did. Overall I thought it was quite good.
Claudia Riley
I totally enjoyed this book when we read it for Cook the Books Club. (http://honeyfromrock.blogspot.com/2015/09/pork-mofongo-yes-chef.html) I bought his African cookbook though, The Soul of a New Cuisine.
Rob
I was wondering about his cookbook. How’d you like it?
That Pork Mofongo sounds delicious, by the way.
Geoff W
I’m not so much about reading books about food (although one of Muriel Barbery’s did convince me to finally eat sushi), but watching food shows and documentaries is a must 😀 If you haven’t done it yet check out Ugly Delicious and the episode of 7 Days Out about 11 Madison Park, they’re wonderful.
Geoff W
Should’ve mentioned those are on Netflix.
Rob
I looooved Ugly Delicious! Big fan of anything David Chang does.
I’ve never heard of 7 Days Out. I’ll have to check that episode out, thanks!
Geoff W
We just stumbled across 7 Days Out and thoroughly the Westminster Dog Show episode and just kept going.