Big time “foodies” may enjoy this book, but it is too niche to recommend to a general audience. However, the last part of the book really picked up – I loved learning the history behind the NYC restaurants he was involved with, especially how he founded Red Rooster and made it a success against unfavorable odds. I also wish he had included more about his experience on “Top Chef Masters” – which would have helped this book appeal to a broader audience. Yes, Chef, his blandly titled but otherwise beautiful memoir, begins in rural Ethiopia, where he and his older sister were born to an impoverished woman named Ahnu. There are other books that describe culinary school and what it’s like to try to “make it” as an elite chef with much more vibrancy. The first part was repetitive and slow-moving, even though Samuelsson has a unique personal story (i.e. Nonfiction – Cooking/Memoir (Released June, 2012)īottom Line: Skip it…unless you love cooking and restaurants.Ĭhef Marcus Samuelsson shares his background as an Ethiopian orphan adopted by a Swedish family and his rise through the culinary world, culminating in a “Top Chef Masters” win and his own restaurant, Red Rooster. I originally reviewed Yes, Chef in November, 2013, but thought I would bring it out again for Weekend Cooking! Chef Marcus Samuelsson, the restaurateur behind NYC’s famed Red Rooster Harlem, is opening the doors this weekend to his anticipated first restaurant in Atlanta. This post is part of fellow book blogger, Beth Fish Reads‘, weekly meme (a “community” blog post, for all those non-bloggers out there) called Weekend Cooking. The Ultimate List of Family Drama Books Yes, Chef chronicles Marcus Samuelsson's remarkable journey from Helga's humble kitchen to some of the most demanding and cutthroat restaurants in Switzerland and France, from his grueling stints on cruise ships to his arrival in New York City, where his outsize talent and ambition finally come together at Aquavit, earning him a coveted New.

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Yes, Chef by Marcus Samuelsson