Eat A Peach by David Chang

This is an unusual memoir, one filled with angst and fury, with a fair amount of philosophy and with a side of regret. He doesn't shy away from much, not even his chronic depression and suicidality. He does not come off as either likeable or visionary, but rather as a slave to his vision, a good sense of who he should work with, and a certain amount of luck. David Chang changed the way America eats. In 2004, Momofuku Noodle Bar, a ramen joint in NYC’s East Village, ushered in a style of restaurant that’s now recognizable everywhere: food that emphasized making memorable delicious intensely flavored food with little regard for existing conventions; unabashed loudness; and a maniacal attention to detail and deliciousness, perhaps best encapsulated in its signature dish, a pork-belly bun that would be imitated across the country. He comes off as someone who would be really impossible to work for, even in the world of the restaurant kitchen. All that anger has to go somewhere and often it falls all over their employees, and in this volume he reflects upon himself more than how he might have affected others. What Chang does effectively with this maneuver is reveal every storyteller’s role as an editor. Often, he points out what hindsight offers in the retelling of a story. And in some vignettes, when Chang recounts actions and events he’s now not proud of, he deems them worth fixing — but instead of addressing those he has harmed outright, he fervidly professes his guilt, then opts to write over them. He is a successful, driven, talented, difficult chef who would be a nightmare to work for, and who also offers yet another window into what it is to grow up Asian in the United States (spoiler alert--it is not great). All this said, if you have an interest in food, chef's, and food, this is well worth spending time with.