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)

Not just for inspiring chefs...

Authentic and colorful memoir about following passion & discovering what matters; inspiring on many levels!

Loved this memior...

Where does Yes, Chef rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

In the top 10.

What did you like best about this story?

I have been a fan of Chef Marcus for a while anyway. I found his story extremely interesting and so heartfelt and honest.

What does Marcus Samuelsson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Personally I loved his reading it himself. It made it very personal and I intimate, I doubt anyone else could have read it better.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I was simply immersed in his story and very interested to learn about both of his families and all the help and attention he brings to his original people. I also loved his relationship with his adopted family and their strength and warmth.

Any additional comments?

Loved his attention to food, and food fusion. I made the spice mixture myself and have become interested in Ethiopian food.

Excellent read. Marcus has led an interesting life

Chasing flavors might sound like a travel based food activity, but I never thought it would take so many twists and turns while being filled with every emotion known! Great read, I highly recommend it.

Terrific frank and insightful autobiography

Marcus Samuelsson does a brilliant job of navigating the journey through his life from Ethiopian orphan to one of America's best regarded and famous chefs. Samuelsson tells his story from the unique perspective a black man working in restaurant, club and cruise ship kitchens on three continents. His perspective is eye-opening, but, sadly, not surprising. The guy is a fighter whose weapons are top performance in every kitchen wherever he works. This is an inspiring story for anyone who likes to see the good guy win. It's definitely inspiring for black men and women who yearn to succeed in the restaurant industry. It's a model for a well told autobiography that shows the author warts and all. You gotta love the guy for owning his mistakes and working to make good on them. After seeing his show on PBS, I've wanted to meet him. After listening to his audiobook--well narrated by him, BTW--that desire is only heightened. Neat man and a real talent working to make a difference for black Americans.

Great Book

I have really liked Marcus Samuelsson ever since I started seeing him as a judge on Chopped, and so I was delighted to find this book. Hearing him tell his own story of how he came to be who he is was entertaining and fun.

I was able to pick up the story line easily after not listening for a few days, which was handy as I listen to audiobooks on dog walks for the most part.

If you like cooking and/or autobiographies, this book is for you!

Interesting and inspiring

Marcus' story of being born on one continent, raised in another and finding himself in a third is interesting and inspiring. His background has given him a good grasp on what is important in life and he lives to pursue those things. Yes, Chef, is more of a look at his life, than the restaurant industry, so if you are looking for an "industry insider" story, you won't find much of one here.

I listened to this book, narrated by the author. Occasionally the narration was hard for me to understand because of Marcus' accent, but it was well worth it to hear him tell his own tale.

Answers a lot of questions!

As a Food Network fan, Marcus Samuelsson had always intrigued me. A black chef from Sweden? A gentle, soft-spoken chef on Chopped? Something didn't add up! This book explains that, and more, and Marcus' reading was the icing on the Princesstårta, so to speak.

My DH and I had actually eaten at his restaurant (sent by our hotel concierge) in NYC many years ago and still talk about the wonderful experience we had. If only we had known who he was then! And until I read the book, I was still ignorant about his connection with Aquavit (embarrassing, but true)!

Marcus' story is sweet, intriguing, and brutally honest. Without his two mothers, he wouldn't be where he is today (literally and figuratively). And the fact that he doesn't hide his warts or make excuses for them, lets us be disappointed at times (encourages us to, in fact) is endearing. This is so much more than a book about a cook, and yet all the pieces add up to why he is such a popular, beloved, down-to-earth man who happens to be a world-reknowned chef. Even if you aren't interested in cooking, you will be fascinated by the very human Marcus Samuelsson.

Excellent

Thoroughly enjoyable and very interesting.
Well done. Can't wait to visit the Red Rooster!
(My review is complete. I'm irritated audible insists it has to be a certain length!!!)

A fascinating journey

This is a wide-ranging story of identity - finding your true North - with the added benefit of sharing the pursuit of a life in the kitchen. Chef Marcus does not blink when revealing the choices he made that had impact not only for him but others in his life. His narration was a powerful, authentic touch.

I laughed, I cried....

What a lovely read. I was corporate management, a realtor, a caterer and back to a kick as realtor. I love Marcus. I have crushed on him since he was on Inner Chef. I had the pleasure of meeting him last year at a speaking event. Took a selfie with him. ❤️ Love him more after reading/listening to this book. Grateful.