"Marcus Samuelsson was only three years old when he, his mother, and his sister--all battling tuberculosis--walked seventy-five miles to a hospital in the Ethiopian capital city of Addis Adaba. Tragically, his mother succumbed to the disease shortly after she arrived, but Marcus and his sister recovered, and one year later they were welcomed into a loving middle-class white family in Goteborg, Sweden. It was there that Marcus's new grandmother, Helga, sparked in him a lifelong passion for food and cooking with her pan-fried Herring, her freshly baked bread, and her signature roast chicken. from a very early age, there was little question what Marcus was going to be when he grew up.
"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 came together at Aquavit, earning him a coveted New York Times three-star rating at the age of twenty-four. But Samuelsson's career of 'chasing flavors,' as he calls it, had only just begun--in the intervening years, there have been White House state dinners, career crises, reality show triumphs and, most important, the opening of the beloved Red Rooster in Harlem. At Red Rooster, Samuelsson has fulfilled his dream of creating a truly diverse, multiracial dining room--a place where presidents and prime ministers rub elbows with jazz musicians, aspiring artists, bus drivers, and nurses. It is a place where an orphan from Ethiopia, raised in Sweden, living in America, can feel at home.
"With disarming honesty and intimacy, Samuelsson also opens up about his failures--the price of ambition, in human terms--and recounts his emotional journey, as a grown man, to meet the father he never knew. Yes, Chef is a tale of personal discovery, unshakable determination, and the passionate, playful pursuit of flavors--one man's struggle to find a place for himself in the kitchen, and in the world."
Here's another one we read for my "Topics in Literature: Food" course this past semester; however, this was one that I really enjoyed. I cannot say enough about how Marcus Samuelsson's love for food absolutely permeated every letter in this book. His passion was exciting and his story was supremely interesting. We spent a few weeks discussing this story and I think I touched on some really good points so -- in lieu of a simple review -- I'd like to share some of my comments with you.
The women in his life played a huge role on his path to becoming a master chef. They each provided him with unwaivering support in their own ways. I believe the person who did this the most was his grandmother. This is clearly evidenced in chapter three, titled "Swedish Fish." Samuelsson writes, "My love for food did not come from my mother," which begs the question of where, exactly, he got his passion (15). Shortly after this, Samuelsson describes Saturday dinners at his grandmother's home, and the answer is clear. "I loved Saturdays as a kid...Saturdays meant the best meal we would have all week because dinner was almost always at my grandparents' house...[Grandmother] would pull out a stool and set me to string rhubarb or shell peas or pluck a chicken. I'm not sure why mu sisters never joined us in our Saturday cooking sessions; and, at the time, I didn't care. I was only too happy to have Mormor to myself" (23). This close bond was what helped spark and nurture the love for food and cooking that brought Marcus his later success. Who knows how different his career might have been -- where he might have ended up -- if Mormor had not been there to do so.
In addition, how actively Samuelsson sought out inspiration was a pleasant surprise. He made sure to go ashore every chance he got during his stint on the cruise ship. He writes, "New flavors were what I was after, and in almost every port of call, I smelled or tasted something I'd never tasted before. I'd have four hours to go ashore, and I'd go by myself unless Paul or Susan wanted to taf along...Under the protective layer of my skin, I went unnoticed, which allowed me to observe and relish the most beautiful aspect of port culture: the street food" (158).
There was a very interesting correlation between the military and a kitchen in my reading of this book and my experiences with "chef shows" that have become so popular, but I was still struck by the hierarchy of the kitchens in which Marcus Samuelsson worked in throughout Yes, Chef. The strict schedule, precision, and respect for superiors was remarkable. To me, it was also like life on a ship, with the head chef as the captain and various tiers below him each doing his own assigned task. The common thread is the enforcement of a strict hierarchy in one way or another. Another extreme in the kitchen is the passion. Samuelsson never waivers in his dedication to his cooking. He is always trying to experiment and better himself through his cooking. He devotes his life to it. "I was interested in chasing flavors," writes Samuelsson, "I wanted to shake things up and see what happened. What if I took this piece of turbot, put Parmesan on top, put it in the salamander to speed-melt the cheese, then finished it with an orange chutney? I didn't know if mixing French fish, Italian cheese, and Indian Caribbean flavors would be food, but I wanted to try it" (157). And try he did. These were the experiments he kept in his journal and helped him to become the chef he did. It was all about his passion to try new things, and his dedication to the craft.
Hopefully that didn't come off too wordy (or disjointed, since I mashed together several of my responses here). Overall, the story was wonderful and it really made me appreciate the life of a chef and admire Samuelsson for his own, individual struggles. His life is certainly unique and interesting!
I knew I'd seen Samuelsson's face somewhere before, but it wasn't until I read the story (and subsequently mentioned his name to my mother) that I realized we'd seen him on Top Chef. My mother was adamant that Samuelsson was a "know-it-all jerk," but I don't remember having that impression years ago when he'd competed. I'm kind of glad that I don't have such a vivid memory of his time on the show because I was completely able to enjoy his story without any preconceived notions about who he was as a person. I will admit that I feel like he gave up some things he should not have for his career, but I am not one to judge--I'm not someone who believes in criticizing when I have no idea what the situation was really like to live through. A couple of the passages geared toward pretentious, but not to the point where I didn't enjoy the read. As a huge Gordon Ramsay fan, I had a difficult time stomaching Samuelsson's comments about his fellow chef (though I am not disillusioned enough to think Ramsay is a teddy bear). Samuelsson tried to claim he wasn't bashing Ramsay, but I felt like it was a weak attempt not to do so (and I say that from the most objective way possible).
Overall, I highly recommend this story for anyone who wants an interesting memoir to read; anyone who loves cooking or wants an insight into life inside a kitchen; or someone who's simply interesting in reading about the background of a celebrity chef. This book has a bit of something for so many readers out there and I feel like so many people will enjoy it just as I did.
Here's another one we read for my "Topics in Literature: Food" course this past semester; however, this was one that I really enjoyed. I cannot say enough about how Marcus Samuelsson's love for food absolutely permeated every letter in this book. His passion was exciting and his story was supremely interesting. We spent a few weeks discussing this story and I think I touched on some really good points so -- in lieu of a simple review -- I'd like to share some of my comments with you.
It seems like -- even when he did not realize it when he was younger -- food was at the heart of pretty much everything he did. Even from very early on one of his favorite places to be was in the kitchen with Mormor, his mother's mother. He demonstrated a drive and passion for it even when he was a boy. On a fishing trip with his father, Marcus took great pride in being handed the task of preparing the meal: "'Marcus, if you don't cook, we don't eat,' my father joked. It was a joke, of course, because my father knew I needed no prompting to cook, which is probably why he let me take over the meal. This was my first time cooking on my own, as opposed to helping my grandmother or mother. Just as I had with the boats, I was eager to show I was a big man, that I didn't need anyone's help" (Samuelsson 33). This was when Marcus was only twelve-years-old; he was already showing the desire to prove himself that would carry him throughout his career. A few years after this fishing trip, he enrolled in cooking school. He grew bored with the classes, but, instead of giving up, he found ways to challenge himself. "To keep myself sharp," writes Samuelsson, "I turned each exercise into a little contest. Could I fill the pastry shell faster than any of my classmates? Could I wash and chop that dill faster than the teacher? Could I finish each squirt of whipped cream with the exact same curl?" (59). His whole world turned into this sort of competition revolving around food, which, I feel, is the biggest reason that he has had so much success in his career. He never gave up, never got discourage, approached every task with everything he had, and did not settle for simply being talented -- he strove to be innovative and unique.
I feel like Marcus would not have made it to where he is today without such dedication to the kitchen. It seems that most of the good things (outside of his family) happen to him in relation to the kitchen or food. The kitchen is and always has been his realm. Even when he thought soccer would be his life, he had been there in the kitchen with his grandmother, learning from her and carrying that gift with him always. The women in his life vary quite a bit in their roles in his life, but each, in her own way, helps support his determination and goals. His mother never told him he could not do something. His sisters, Anna and Linda, got him something very special for his seventeenth birthday. "It was a brand-new cook's knife with an eight-inch-long carbon steel blade. This was the multipurpose knife every chef needs, with a blade thin enough to chop herbs, but a wide flat surface for crushing or picking up food. Better still, it was the Rolls-Royce of knives, brand-wise, made by the French company Sabatier" (64). ***Slight spoiler alert*** Even Brigitta, the woman Marcus sleeps with while on an outting with friends, helps him by telling him she expected nothing even though she was pregnant with his child. Marcus, under the guidance of his parents, ended up sending money to Brigitta and their child, but she never pressured him into marriage or claiming the child as his own, thus allowing him to pursue his career. ***End spoiler***The women in his life played a huge role on his path to becoming a master chef. They each provided him with unwaivering support in their own ways. I believe the person who did this the most was his grandmother. This is clearly evidenced in chapter three, titled "Swedish Fish." Samuelsson writes, "My love for food did not come from my mother," which begs the question of where, exactly, he got his passion (15). Shortly after this, Samuelsson describes Saturday dinners at his grandmother's home, and the answer is clear. "I loved Saturdays as a kid...Saturdays meant the best meal we would have all week because dinner was almost always at my grandparents' house...[Grandmother] would pull out a stool and set me to string rhubarb or shell peas or pluck a chicken. I'm not sure why mu sisters never joined us in our Saturday cooking sessions; and, at the time, I didn't care. I was only too happy to have Mormor to myself" (23). This close bond was what helped spark and nurture the love for food and cooking that brought Marcus his later success. Who knows how different his career might have been -- where he might have ended up -- if Mormor had not been there to do so.
In addition, how actively Samuelsson sought out inspiration was a pleasant surprise. He made sure to go ashore every chance he got during his stint on the cruise ship. He writes, "New flavors were what I was after, and in almost every port of call, I smelled or tasted something I'd never tasted before. I'd have four hours to go ashore, and I'd go by myself unless Paul or Susan wanted to taf along...Under the protective layer of my skin, I went unnoticed, which allowed me to observe and relish the most beautiful aspect of port culture: the street food" (158).
There was a very interesting correlation between the military and a kitchen in my reading of this book and my experiences with "chef shows" that have become so popular, but I was still struck by the hierarchy of the kitchens in which Marcus Samuelsson worked in throughout Yes, Chef. The strict schedule, precision, and respect for superiors was remarkable. To me, it was also like life on a ship, with the head chef as the captain and various tiers below him each doing his own assigned task. The common thread is the enforcement of a strict hierarchy in one way or another. Another extreme in the kitchen is the passion. Samuelsson never waivers in his dedication to his cooking. He is always trying to experiment and better himself through his cooking. He devotes his life to it. "I was interested in chasing flavors," writes Samuelsson, "I wanted to shake things up and see what happened. What if I took this piece of turbot, put Parmesan on top, put it in the salamander to speed-melt the cheese, then finished it with an orange chutney? I didn't know if mixing French fish, Italian cheese, and Indian Caribbean flavors would be food, but I wanted to try it" (157). And try he did. These were the experiments he kept in his journal and helped him to become the chef he did. It was all about his passion to try new things, and his dedication to the craft.
Hopefully that didn't come off too wordy (or disjointed, since I mashed together several of my responses here). Overall, the story was wonderful and it really made me appreciate the life of a chef and admire Samuelsson for his own, individual struggles. His life is certainly unique and interesting!
I knew I'd seen Samuelsson's face somewhere before, but it wasn't until I read the story (and subsequently mentioned his name to my mother) that I realized we'd seen him on Top Chef. My mother was adamant that Samuelsson was a "know-it-all jerk," but I don't remember having that impression years ago when he'd competed. I'm kind of glad that I don't have such a vivid memory of his time on the show because I was completely able to enjoy his story without any preconceived notions about who he was as a person. I will admit that I feel like he gave up some things he should not have for his career, but I am not one to judge--I'm not someone who believes in criticizing when I have no idea what the situation was really like to live through. A couple of the passages geared toward pretentious, but not to the point where I didn't enjoy the read. As a huge Gordon Ramsay fan, I had a difficult time stomaching Samuelsson's comments about his fellow chef (though I am not disillusioned enough to think Ramsay is a teddy bear). Samuelsson tried to claim he wasn't bashing Ramsay, but I felt like it was a weak attempt not to do so (and I say that from the most objective way possible).
Overall, I highly recommend this story for anyone who wants an interesting memoir to read; anyone who loves cooking or wants an insight into life inside a kitchen; or someone who's simply interesting in reading about the background of a celebrity chef. This book has a bit of something for so many readers out there and I feel like so many people will enjoy it just as I did.
Samuelsson, Marcus. Yes, Chef: A Memoir. New York: Random House, 2012. Print.
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