Eat a Peach: A Memoir

Eat a Peach: A Memoir

Hardcover
3.01

Durch das Verwenden dieser Links unterstützt du READO. Wir erhalten eine Vermittlungsprovision, ohne dass dir zusätzliche Kosten entstehen.

Beschreibung

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the chef behind Momofuku and star of Netflix’s Ugly Delicious—an intimate account of the making of a chef, the story of the modern restaurant world that he helped shape, and how he discovered that success can be much harder to understand than failure.

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: NPR, Fortune, Parade, The New York Public Library, Garden & Gun

In 2004, Momofuku Noodle Bar opened in a tiny, stark space in Manhattan’s East Village. Its young chef-owner, David Chang, worked the line, serving ramen and pork buns to a mix of fellow restaurant cooks and confused diners whose idea of ramen was instant noodles in Styrofoam cups. It would have been impossible to know it at the time—and certainly Chang would have bet against himself—but he, who had failed at almost every endeavor in his life, was about to become one of the most influential chefs of his generation, driven by the question, “What if the underground could become the mainstream?”

Chang grew up the youngest son of a deeply religious Korean American family in Virginia. Graduating college aimless and depressed, he fled the States for Japan, hoping to find some sense of belonging. While teaching English in a backwater town, he experienced the highs of his first full-blown manic episode, and began to think that the cooking and sharing of food could give him both purpose and agency in his life.

Full of grace, candor, grit, and humor, Eat a Peach chronicles Chang’s switchback path. He lays bare his mistakes and wonders about his extraordinary luck as he recounts the improbable series of events that led him to the top of his profession. He wrestles with his lifelong feelings of otherness and inadequacy, explores the mental illness that almost killed him, and finds hope in the shared value of deliciousness. Along the way, Chang gives us a penetrating look at restaurant life, in which he balances his deep love for the kitchen with unflinching honesty about the industry’s history of brutishness and its uncertain future.
Haupt-Genre
N/A
Sub-Genre
N/A
Format
Hardcover
Seitenzahl
304
Preis
18.99 €

Beiträge

1
Alle
3

Overall a decent read, however, this would have needed a much better editor. The first part is still quite good. There is a narrative thread and only a few minor detours that are not too distracting. The writing is simple and the language often colloquial, the tone conversational. However, at some point this “memoir“ / “guide“ becomes the overly dramatic rant of a rather unlikeable, arrogant, difficult, self-absorbed and self-important chef, who tries to teach his colleagues and the world a lesson in every possible subject, but then does the exact opposite of what he preaches - most of the time he mentions his suffering from bipolar disorder as an excuse. At one point he talks about the #metoo movement and gender equality in the restaurant industry. He highlights how unfair the industry is, how badly it treats women and admits that his own restaurants are not really an exception to the rule. He demands change but somehow arrives at the conclusion that his psychological disposition presents a problem for him personally: “I’m nowhere near as empathetic or aware as I want to be. I can’t promise that I’ll ever get there[…].” Well, Mr Chang, that’s not how you bring about change. You actually have to act and not just theorize and philosophize. Throughout the book, he takes himself way too seriously while the narrative makes clear that he is mostly a pretty average guy. Someone should have sat him down an told him: Mr Chang, you cook food for other people. That is really nice and your food is great. But, please, get over yourself !! When he writes about meeting and talking with Dr. Jim Kim, he gives readers a perfect summary of what I just said: “He [Dr. Kim] tangibly improved the lives of thousands of people throughout the world while working within a massive bureaucracy. I couldn’t keep a few restaurants afloat without devolving into biweekly crises.” He also keeps repeating how incredibly lucky he was and how pure chance is at the heart of his success. Yet, he never refrains from demeaning and devaluing other people inside and outside the restaurant business. It seems that he simply is incapable of learning his very obvious lessons. He constantly flagellates himself and plays down his role in the success stories of his restaurants while at the same time humble-bragging about what he and his teams did much better than other chefs and restaurant teams. What he lacks is true humility. So in the future, please, Chang, be humble.

Beitrag erstellen