Yes, Chef

A Memoir

By: Marcus Samuelsson

Narrated by: Marcus Samuelsson

Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

JAMES BEARD AWARD NOMINEE • NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY VOGUE • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

“One of the great culinary stories of our time.”—Dwight Garner, The New York Times

It begins with a simple ritual: Every Saturday afternoon, a boy who loves to cook walks to his grandmother’s house and helps her prepare a roast chicken for dinner. The grandmother is Swedish, a retired domestic. The boy is Ethiopian and adopted, and he will grow up to become the world-renowned chef Marcus Samuelsson. This book is his love letter to food and family in all its manifestations.

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 Göteborg, 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 come 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 fufilled 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.

Praise for Yes, Chef

“Such an interesting life, told with touching modesty and remarkable candor.”—Ruth Reichl

“Marcus Samuelsson has an incomparable story, a quiet bravery, and a lyrical and discreetly glittering style—in the kitchen and on the page. I liked this book so very, very much.”—Gabrielle Hamilton

“Plenty of celebrity chefs have a compelling story to tell, but none of them can top [this] one.”—The Wall Street Journal

“Red Rooster’s arrival in Harlem brought with it a chef who has reinvigorated and reimagined what it means to be American. In his famed dishes, and now in this memoir, Marcus Samuelsson tells a story that reaches past racial and national divides to the foundations of family, hope, and downright good food.”—President Bill Clinton

©2012 Marcus Samuelsson (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"The Red Rooster's arrival in Harlem brought with it a chef who has reinvigorated and reimagined what it means to be American. In his famed dishes, and now in this memoir, Marcus Samuelsson tells a story that reaches past racial and national divides to the foundations of family, hope, and downright good food." (President Bill Clinton)

"I've read a lot of chefs' books, but never anything like this one. Marcus Samuelsson has had such an interesting life, and he talks about it with touching modesty and remarkable candor. I couldn't put this book down." (Ruth Reichl, best-selling author of Tender at the Bone)

"Marcus Samuelsson has an incomparable story, a quiet bravery, and a lyrical and discreetly glittering style - in the kitchen and on the page. I liked this book so very, very much." (Gabrielle Hamilton, best-selling author of Blood, Bones, & Butter)

Loved every minute

Excellent story. Big crush on Marcus. He tells his story with passion and in great detail. Can almost taste… Can’t wait to visit The Rooster.

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Loved the book and the story of his incredible journey of perseverance!!. Can’t wait to visit NY and dine at the Red Rooster Harlem.

Second time listening. Wonderful life story.

Samuelson's life story is so touching and sweet. His experiences as a Black man in the culinary industry is a similar story told by Chef Aaron Sanchez. White supremacy.
Samuelson's contribution to Harlem can not be over looked or understated.
I believe Marcus Samuelsson is a great man.

An extraordinary life - an amazing chef!

Any additional comments?

I loved the book. Marcus Samuelson has loads of guts, grit and talent. His honesty about his life with all of its various twists and turns is both refreshing and inspiring. He has also awakened a flavor journey in me that is becoming something of a quest. Our lives are no where near the same but our desire to chase down the perfect bite and claim it with a signature resonates with me on a host of levels. I'll happily listen to this book again in the future.

Now one of my top 5

Loved it. Not just about food but culture, race, and family. It was eye opening and comforting at the same time. Checked out his African cookbook at the library yesterday.

Yes, Chef

I enjoyed this book so much, I did not want it to end! Thank you, Mr. Samuelsson for sharing your life and experience with me, the reader. I have such an appreciation for your craft, it is art! I look forward to visiting your restaurant Red Rooster Harlem on my next visit to NYC. I will have to make this a yearly tradition in my life when I come to the Big Apple!

One of my all time favorites

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely! I have no interest in cooking and I'm not a foodie, but I loved Marcus Samuelson's memoir. His passion for his profession, and his story of hard work and lucky breaks was so inspiring. His family odyssey and his love for his Swedish parents was moving, in a day and time when we hear so many stories of racism. The book was well written, and it was interesting to hear Samuelson's own voice.

Can't wait to go to Red Rooster!

What made the experience of listening to Yes, Chef the most enjoyable?

Hearing it told/read by Marcus Samuelsson himself~

Who was your favorite character and why?

There is only one, really...

Any additional comments?

Just a great story. A pleasure to listen to him read it himself.

Cool insight into the mind of a great chef

This was a great listen for the most part. Marcus' narration style was definitely unique, i.e. cadence and style, but I think it worked well in telling his story.
There are some rushed parts towards the end and seemingly unrelated segways that were confusing to the underlying themes but overall was a great listen.

Brilliant!

I never review a book but I had to review this book. It was beautifully honest . I wonderful listen. Please don't miss out!!