Litsy

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Joshua David Stein, Kwame Onwuachi

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This memoir shines a light not just on the chef‘s life, but on the cooking and restaurant world. From NYC to rural Nigeria, the Texas gulf, and DC. He‘s hustled everything from candy bars on the subway, weed in his short stint at college, and his externship at Per Se. A little bit Kitchen Confidential, a lot of credit to author Joshua David Stein who tells Chef Onwauachi‘s story in this compelling story of family, self reliance, and perseverance

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Soubhiville

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Kwame Onwuachi

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Having worked in a couple restaurants as a young adult and really disliking it, I am interested in how a person can be so passionate about becoming a chef.

Kwame reads his own audiobook, and tells his story of growing up and how he came to love cooking. The diversity of the foods he loves making and the family and places he associates with each one.

This book will make you hungry! But it‘s worth it.
(Look up content warnings)

Kerrbearlib Stacked! 9mo

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Robotswithpersonality

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Joshua David Stein, Kwame Onwuachi

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To boil this memoir down to 'a tale of triumph over adversity' feels like a disservice to all that Onwuachi shared. To give it 'happily ever after' vibes would, I think, risk readers closing the book and not thinking further about big problems that are not solved just because one Black man made it out of obscurity, gang violence, drugs, financial uncertainty, unstable and/or dangerous home life 1/?

Robotswithpersonality (not to suggest that this is THE one and only Black American experience).
I did look into the timeline between where the book ends and the publishing date, and the author bio included in the back of the book, which reinforces my belief that Onwuachi ended his story as written where and when he did to shine a stronger light on the racism, structural and individual, industrial and personal, that he has experienced. 2/? 2y

Robotswithpersonality While I was glad to see my curiousity satisfied about the journey a person goes on, from an interest in cooking to qualifying as a professional chef, I think the big takeaway is there are a few different ways to get there, and in this case it's infuriating to contemplate how many extra barriers there were in Onwuachi's early and later education and professional life, how often a lack of understanding existed, how often opportunities were that much harder to come by, how endless hustle was required because support was unavailable. 3/? 2y

Robotswithpersonality On the lighter side, I am so happy Onwuachi could recognize the toxic patterns of behaviour, the violent rage in his father and traditional fine-dining head chefs, that he did not want to bring into his life, his generation, his kitchen. That he found healing in cooking, and saw in it the ability to care for others while doing something that also comforted himself. 😌
I am grateful to him and his co-writer for creating a book whose message will stick with me. 4/5 2y

Robotswithpersonality 5/5 ⚠️ racism, mental/emotional and physical child abuse, animal death 2y

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Robotswithpersonality

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Joshua David Stein, Kwame Onwuachi

Rot in the restaurant system.

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Robotswithpersonality

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Joshua David Stein, Kwame Onwuachi

Today's favourite phrase. 😎🦗

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KathyWheeler

Top Chef: The Quickfire Cookbook | The Creators of Top Chef

1: Top Chef. I want to start Queen Charlotte.
2: The mountains but I rarely get to go. I love the beach, but prefer it in the fall and winter.
3. Trivial Pursuit

#WondrousWednesday

Eggs

Eggs #3 Oh I love that old game! 2y

KathyWheeler @Eggs When I was a kid, we had a similar game I loved called Go To the Head of the Class. Even as a kid, I liked those type of games. 2y

Eggs @KathyWheeler I remember Head of the Class! 2y

KathyWheeler @Eggs Yay! Someone else whose heard of it! When I‘ve mentioned it before, people look at me like I‘m making it up. 2y

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Sharpeipup

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Kwame Onwuachi

“Friendship is mostly fermentation. You just need the right conditions - physical proximity, natural warmth, and a little time - and affection takes root. “

Kimberlone Loved Kwame on Top Chef! 3y

Suzze Ooh! Kwame was one of the best Top Chef contestants. ❤️ 3y

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Cinfhen

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Joshua David Stein, Kwame Onwuachi

Picked up 2 more listens from the US Audible 2 for 1 Deal 💜Thanks for the suggestion @Megabooks {{Modern Love}}

Megabooks Fantastic!! I need to look again before it goes away. 5y

79 likes1 comment

WhatWouldJaneDo

Notes from a Young Black Chef: A Memoir | Joshua David Stein, Kwame Onwuachi

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Catching up: this may be the closest to "anti-racism" genre I've read in 2020. Great on audio, Chef Onwuachi is candid about the racism he's faced since elementary school through his professional career. Really loved the juxtaposition of his time living in Nigeria growing up to drive home how othering being Black in America could feel. Definitely have more reading to do on this topic! #integrateyourshelf @chasingom @Emilymdxn

Emilymdxn I really want to read this book, I hear nothing but good things about it! 5y

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