Yes, Chef

April 2, 2012
Samuelsson, the chef and owner of Harlem’s famed Red Rooster restaurant, masterfully serves us a delicious banquet full of the ingredients that compose his own enchanting yet poignant story. When he was two, Samuelsson, his older sister, and his mother contracted tuberculosis in rural Ethiopia; after several days journey to the capital Addis Ababa, the three were admitted to a hospital. Samuelsson and his sister survived their mother, and they were soon adopted by a couple in Sweden. With the consummate skill of a master chef, Samuelsson cooks up a steaming stew of his life from his earliest cooking lessons at the hands of his grandmother to his various apprenticeships in Switzerland, France, and New York. From his grandmother’s food he learns rustic cooking and the ways that she knew intuitively how to create various textures in foods. When he’s 12 and on a fishing trip with his father, Samuelsson cooks his first meal and learns an important lesson about the beauty of food in context and how important it is to let the dishes be reflective of your surroundings. Samuelsson carries readers through his many failures and successes as a cook in restaurants like New York’s Aquavit and France’s Georges Blanc and in his relationships. Much like life, he delightfully points out, a great restaurant is more than just a series of services; it is a collection of meals and memories.

May 15, 2012
A compelling memoir from an acclaimed chef. Born in Ethiopia, the author was placed in an orphanage after his mother died from tuberculosis, and the Samuelsson family adopted him and his sister. After becoming a famous chef, the author sought out his roots in multiple visits to his birth country. During one of those visits, he reconnected with his father, and he has kept in touch with his birth family since then. In rich detail, the author tracks his rise as a chef, from the cooking classes at his vocational high school and his first internship, to his appearance on Bravo's Top Chef, which coincided with his cooking of the White House State Dinner after President Obama's inauguration. The author chronicles the long and grueling hours in the kitchen and looks at the stiff hierarchy that exists not only among the kitchen staff, but also among head chefs. It took Samuelsson several years of working at Aquavit (where he "became the youngest chef ever to receive a three-star rating from the New York Times") to be accepted as an equal chef by veterans, like Bobby Flay, already in the inner circle. In 2010, Samuelsson won Top Chef Masters, and he currently owns and runs Red Rooster Harlem in New York City. In addition to plenty of behind-the-scenes details, the author ably captures the feeling of being a young, single (he is now married), ambitious person in New York City. Samuelsson strikes a skillful balance between the personal and the professional--recommended for those interested in pursuing a career as a chef or those curious about the secrets behind high-end dining.

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January 1, 2012

Orphaned in Ethiopia, raised by an adoptive family in Sweden, and the youngest chef ever to be given three stars by the New York Times, James Beard Award-winning chef Samuelsson talks about eating (yes, food memoirs are sizzling) but also what it's like to be a black man in the white-white world of upscale cooking.

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2012
Even if he had not become one of the world's most celebrated chefs, Samuelsson would be the stuff of legend. Born into poverty in Ethiopia, the orphaned boy and his sister were adopted by a Swedish couple, who provided a nurturing home. Working side-by-side with his grandmother, he learned the best of Swedish cuisine. A stint in cooking school gave him entree to the continent's best kitchens and the discipline of French technique. Shortly after his arrival in New York, critics recognized his genius, and Swedish cooking became all the rage in Manhattan. Returning to his Ethiopian roots, he discovered that his father was still alive and that he had a family in Africa. He then went on to popularize African cuisine in America with the same passion he had devoted to Swedish food, and he now holds sway at a gastronomic temple in Harlem devoted to the myriad food traditions of Africa.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

Starred review from May 1, 2012

Among the many celebrity chefs who have written memoirs, Samuelsson, winner of the second season of Bravo's Top Chef Masters, stands out for his ability to layer effectively the stories of his globe-spanning life and career with evocative descriptions of meals (as readers of food writing expect). Although he was born in a remote Ethiopian village, his mother died of tuberculosis when he was three years old, and he and his sister were adopted by the Samuelssons from Goteborg, Sweden. He spent his childhood playing soccer, fishing with his father, and watching his grandmother cook. Samuelsson's passion and drive took him around the world to apprentice with the best. He finally landed in New York City, where he gained at Aquavit a coveted three-star New York Times review. VERDICT This distinctive and compelling memoir has all the elements of a good story: humor, travel, and a young individual overcoming obstacles via a passionate calling. Highly recommended for Samuelsson's many fans and lovers of culinary memoirs. [See Prepub Alert, 12/12/11.]--Ann Wilberton, Pace Univ. Lib., Brooklyn, NY

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.