Yes, Chef: A Memoir by Marcus Samuelsson

Marcus Samuelsson is one of those celebrity chefs you see more and more frequently on cable. His international background and cool, almost intellectual demeanor may set him apart from the others, but his Swedish background is what fascinated me. Adopted at an early age from Ethiopia, he grew up in Göteborg, Sweden, where his Swedish mormor infected him with her enthusiasm for cooking.

His disciplined pursuit of a culinary dream took him to Switzerland, Austria, France, New York, (and many other destinations as he worked on a cruise ship), where he added to his lexicon of tastes and flavors that inspire his reimaginings of classics and inform his new creations.

Yes, Chef shows how difficult it is to make it as a successful chef, perhaps even more so in the U.S. in what traditionally has been a domain dominated by white males. Marcus Samuelsson proves that being a chef, even a celebrity chef, involves an extreme amount of hard work and dedication. His is a fascinating story, told with intelligence and humanity.

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