yes, chef

so, what with all this holocaust study going on (sarah's key, the boy in striped pajamas, anne frank...) i need to take breaks, read about something else, something they ironically starved without:  food.  the book on hold was "yes, chef" by marcus samuelsson and the reason it took two months was because 183 people wanted to read it first.  i have to say, that after only a few chapters, i can see why it is so popular.  marcus is adopted from ethiopia into a swedish family along with his sister linda and given an upbringing in soccer but also ultimately in cooking.  in middle school, he doesn't know it yet but dinners at his grandmother's home and expeditions on the swedish fishing boats will teach him the basics of food texturing and flavor that rival any lessons taught at chef school. "yes chef" is refreshing in the memoir genre because his writing is honest but never self-grandeurizing, bitter or overly dramatic (and he of all people would have reason to be, nearly dying of typhoid and being orphaned at age 3) as he weaves together the history that led him to where he is today:  everything from helping with michelle obama's fresh food campaign to the opening of "the red rooster" restaurant in harlem and many flavorful adventures of friendship in between.