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By Brianne Sperber
| Monday, April 21, 2014 - Off the Shelf
 “Even now, all these yearsafter… I sometimes think of myself
more as a failed soccer player than as an accomplished chef.”
Yes, Chef by Marcus
Samuelsson (Random House, Hardback US$27) is one of the most dazzling chef’s memoirs I’ve read. Marcus
Samuelsson shares the story of his journey from Ethiopian adoptee to
Swedish boyhood to world-renowned chef. Ever touching and always charming, Yes, Chef is a memoir
that anyone who has chased a dream—culinary or otherwise—can enjoy.
As we travel through his life—through various dishes and
cities—it becomes clear that Samuelsson’s upbringing sets him apart from
most celebrities and food icons. Born in Ethiopia to a woman who
essentially gave up her life to save him from tuberculosis, Samuelsson and
his sister were adopted by a Swedish family who could not have children of
their own. The family also included an older sister, Anna. Though Ethiopia
is not where he grew up or learned to cook, Samuelsson doesn’t lose sight
of his heritage and brings it to both his cooking and his life story. The
first chapter opens with him discussing the importance of the Ethiopian
spice mixture, berbere,
in his family’s history. When Samuelsson succeeds in creating his own berbere, it feels as
if he’s finally come “home.”
With the same elegant prose as Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone and
immersive kitchen scenes like those in Gabrielle Hamilton’s Blood, Bones, and Butter, Samuelsson
invites his reader into his kitchen and life. We feel the heat rise on the
cruise ship he is working on when one chef falls ill and Samuelsson and his
crew must work double duty; we see his sweat as he climbs the ranks in
Aquavit’s kitchen; and we smell the secret ingredients he searches for in
Chinatown. Though it feels like Samuelsson’s appearance on Bravo’s Top Chef is glossed
over, it’s done so tastefully and omitting such grand accomplishments keeps
the memoir modest and maintains the sense of a “coming of age” tale.
Beloved by everyone from the Obamas to Bill Clinton, Samulesson’s story is
as intriguing for food lovers as it is inspirating for anyone who has had
to persevere to achieve a dream.
Page-turning, atmospheric, and heartwarming, Yes, Chef is the
perfect next read for anyone who just can’t get enough of the Food Network,
celebrity chefs, or foodie memoirs.
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