“YES, CHEF” by Marcus Samuelsson

For his first Thanksgiving Day in the White House, President Barack Obama invited chef Marcus Samuelsson to cook the festive dinner. It was his primary mandate as the President of the United States and at that party were invited a lot of Presidents from other countries.

Besides being an excellent chef, Marcus Samuelsson had a fascinating life story as well.

He was adopted by a Swedish family (“My father wanted a son. He didn’t care what color the boy was; he just wanted a boy he could teach to hike and fish.”), and he was taught by his Swedish grandmother how to cook.

“As I considered my options, I began to play around with the idea of being a chef. Cooking was something I loved and was good at.”

This decision came after his football coach told him that he was never going to be a good enough football player.

“Even now,…, I sometimes think of myself more as a failed soccer player than as an accomplished chef.”

So, Marcus decided to become a chef because in Sweden at thirteen years old, an adolescent must know what he wants to work.

“My father might have known next to nothing about fine dining, but he had ingrained in me a flawless work ethic: I knew to show up on time, to listen to instructions, and never to talk back to my bosses. And the hard work paid off.”

And with this work ethic, with talent and perseverance, Marcus Samuelsson was the youngest chef ever to receive a three-star Michelin.

“One of the reasons that people enjoy coming to a great restaurant is that when an extraordinary meal is placed in front of them, they feel honored, respected, and even a little bit loved.”

Publisher: Random House, 2012