A remarkable memoir by Samuelsson, a very famous chef who was born in Ethiopia and adopted by a loving family in Sweden. He now makes his home in New York. This is the story of the struggle anyone has to succeed and build something for themselves. In addition, being a member of a small minority in a country where there might not be as many hang-ups about race but there are SOME.
His grandmother Helga starts him on his journey loving food and preparing it. Those early memories are so touching and he does a great job of describing them and how they shaped his life.
Samuelsson does a great job of explaining that working hard is the only way to make it in the culinary world. He traces his development from Helga's kitchen to high end restaurants in Switzerland, France, cruise ships and finally New York City where he is named executive chef at Aqavit, at the age of 24. His success continues as he cooks this first state dinner for the Obama administration and he opens a restaurant in his Harlem neighborhood.
This is a great book and it is hard not to fall in love with Samuelsson and his family. I listened to the audio version of this book which is read by the author. His voice added so much that I recommend it highly.
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