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maisilu24's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
absolutely fascinating and brilliantly told, i have such a renewed respect for the tireless work that goes into making it in the food industry
hil_knecht's review against another edition
5.0
I listened to this on audio which was excellent .
I have deliberately tried to read more books by BIPOC authors this year and my reading life is so much better for it.
Although Kwame Onwuachi was not even 30 at the time of publishing , he has lived a LIFE. I enjoyed listening about his ambitions and how he pulled himself out of a life of drugs.
I highly recommend this .
I have deliberately tried to read more books by BIPOC authors this year and my reading life is so much better for it.
Although Kwame Onwuachi was not even 30 at the time of publishing , he has lived a LIFE. I enjoyed listening about his ambitions and how he pulled himself out of a life of drugs.
I highly recommend this .
halthemonarch's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
4.0
I love an autobiography, and I love seeing success within my community. I don’t think Chef Kwame and I would get along personally, but I respect his professional hustle. This book by Onuwachi and Joshua Stein is an interesting peak behind the curtain at the grind and degradation culture of American kitchens, a splash of being othered in Nigeria and what it was like to be raised in two worlds, and at the beginning, a tale of digging one’s self out of one’s worst tendencies with passion. Onuwachi was a troublemaker, a financial strain on his mother, and a drug dealer before he went on TV, wrote a book, opened and closed a restaurant, and pledged to maintain his upward momentum. He says himself it’s no “rags to riches” story, but he’s a long way from where he started.
I enjoyed the writing style and I devoured this book in three or four sittings. Onuwachi paints himself in a brilliant (marketing) light; lauding his successes, his ability to go to high-class restaurants, and always finding a way to explain away his failures through a mix of humility and tactfully shifting the blame. The autobiographies of young people are often very different if the subject/proprietor gets the opportunity to update their views, and I can’t wait to follow Onuwachi’s blossoming career through occasionally logging into Twitter and see whether or not he writes anything else down the line. I wish he talked more about food, but that’s really a nitpick-- I’m not fancy enough to frequent the places he’s been so it would have been nice to live vicariously through his experiences AT those restaurants; I can’t be upset that an autobiography focused on the author, can I? In any case, I’m trying his oxtail recipe soon, and if it’s as good as it looks, I’m bumping my review up to five stars.
I enjoyed the writing style and I devoured this book in three or four sittings. Onuwachi paints himself in a brilliant (marketing) light; lauding his successes, his ability to go to high-class restaurants, and always finding a way to explain away his failures through a mix of humility and tactfully shifting the blame. The autobiographies of young people are often very different if the subject/proprietor gets the opportunity to update their views, and I can’t wait to follow Onuwachi’s blossoming career through occasionally logging into Twitter and see whether or not he writes anything else down the line. I wish he talked more about food, but that’s really a nitpick-- I’m not fancy enough to frequent the places he’s been so it would have been nice to live vicariously through his experiences AT those restaurants; I can’t be upset that an autobiography focused on the author, can I? In any case, I’m trying his oxtail recipe soon, and if it’s as good as it looks, I’m bumping my review up to five stars.
ksreenan's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book (likely in no small part because I loved how Kwame read his own book in the audio version). His writing is almost lyrical as he describes the food he eats and cooks, the streets he walked down, and the memories that brought him to where he is today. Hearing the author’s own emotion as he reads his words may have converted me to more audiobooks in the future, and I’d highly recommend the audiobook version to others.
In short, Kwame weaves together all his various evolutions with stories of his family and the people he met along the way, is blunt about both his shortfalls and his successes and raw talents, and generally tells a story that remains captivating even if you already know something of his story (and therefore how the book must end). Well worth the time of reading it!
In short, Kwame weaves together all his various evolutions with stories of his family and the people he met along the way, is blunt about both his shortfalls and his successes and raw talents, and generally tells a story that remains captivating even if you already know something of his story (and therefore how the book must end). Well worth the time of reading it!
happylilkt's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book as I hadn't heard of Kwame Onwuachi. If you like cooking memoirs, this is one to check out.
Like Ruth Reichl's memoir Save The Plums there are some failures and tell-all moments that are painful to read, but c'est la vie...
I thought the writing was some of the strongest I've seen in a jointly written memoir. Very impressed with the combined storytelling (still all in Onwuachi's voice).
Note: there is a recipe at the end of each chapter!
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book as I hadn't heard of Kwame Onwuachi. If you like cooking memoirs, this is one to check out.
Like Ruth Reichl's memoir Save The Plums there are some failures and tell-all moments that are painful to read, but c'est la vie...
I thought the writing was some of the strongest I've seen in a jointly written memoir. Very impressed with the combined storytelling (still all in Onwuachi's voice).
Note: there is a recipe at the end of each chapter!
lareinadehades's review against another edition
I went into this book hoping to like it. To cheer for Kwame, instead, I found an insufferable ego who has no problems calling his critics 'haters' within the first pages of the book. There seems to be little introspection done. I feel for the horrid childhood he had at the hands of his father; but ultimately, he still has some growing up to do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Racism