Cooked

From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras

By: Jeff Henderson

Narrated by: Jeff Henderson

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

This riveting memoir is the incredible story of Jeff Henderson's rollercoaster ride from high-stakes cocaine dealer, to prison inmate, to world-class chef.

Barely old enough to drink legally, Henderson was clearing $35,000 per week as one of the most successful cocaine dealers in San Diego. But when he was 23, he was indicted on federal drug trafficking charges and sentenced to almost 20 years. Hardheaded, Henderson held firmly to his gritty street morals, until the day he was assigned to wash dishes in the prison kitchen. He immediately took an interest in food preparation and eventually determined that when he was released, he would become a chef, no matter what.

An extraordinary tale of crime, punishment, and redemption, Cooked is a glorious testament to the power of the human spirit when faced with seemingly impossible odds.

©2007 Jeff Henderson (P)2007 Recorded Books LLC

Critic reviews

"Cooked is alive with the visceral energy of street life, the sober reality of prison, and the drama and intensity of working in top restaurant kitchens. With extraordinary poise and clever insight, Jeff relates the astounding obstacles he overcame to be recognized as one of the best young chefs in America." (BlackNews.com)

Great book!

Great Bio, Fun, Exiting, Inspiring, and shows how anyone can turn their life around. Specially in the restaurant industry. oh! and it showed me how cooking inside a prison must feel like!

I really tried to finish this

So, I guess the polite description would be "Raw". That would be the only polite thing about this book. I have 2 complaints. First, the f-bomb. Don't rely on vulgarity to make a point. If you are going to write a book, use words and mix them up somewhat. Second, much of the book is given over to lists. lists of items he possessed, items he injested. Boring.

Too Thuggish Ruggish

I love cooking, and been to jail, so this book looked really cool to me. Unfortunately it's narrated by the author, who apparently feels he needs to speak gansta. 8 hours of a thug speak is just too much too handle. Props for getting out of jail and making it, but its a shame the his English didn't improve with his cooking.

This guy's book would maybe make a better read then listen. If your looking for something like Bourdain, this isn't it. Bourdain can talk shite, but still sound pleasing to the ear. This guy cant. I feel i wasted my money on this one.

Way too many "F" bombs to get past the 4th chapter

I just can't have that kind of foul language continuously in my ears. Why are so many books turning to this when there is a world of words just waiting to be enjoyed.

Hard to Listen To

This was my first book from Audible and it was horrible. Maybe if the author had not been reading the book and a professional narrator read it, it might have been a little more engaging. I found it almost impossible to listen to and I couldn't finish the book. Don't bother.

Cooked

This is very difficult to listen to. I can understand the emphasis on coming from the ghetto, but there is no need for the constant abusive language.

The personal honesty and pride is refreshing, but I would not recommend this.
A better read about someone pulling themselves up would be Humble Pie.

not very good

What would have made Cooked better?

Better english

What could Jeff Henderson have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Less thug talk more English language.

How could the performance have been better?

If the story was written better

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Cooked?

Not scenes just changed how it was written

Any additional comments?

With all the f-bombs and raw language the author can off as uneducated. I stopped listening half way through. Me and my friend who are cooks still laugh about this book. Its a joke.