Exhilarating read

Let me start by saying that I am not a huge reader. I am a product of my mother and therefore I don't sit well. I don't drive in the backseat well and I certainly don't cuddle up to a good book very often. Cookbook yes but novel no.

When Alinea's chef/owner Grant Achatz & his business partner Nick Kokonas came out with this memoir, I couldn't get my hands on it fast enough.  Though I had heard of the rule-breaking cuisine at Alinea Restaurant in Chicago, I hadn't dined there or followed the Chef's life story (capital C b/c he deserves it). This is a book for the food lover and destination diner but also the non food lover that wants to delve deep into the life of chef. Chef Grant's story is full of humility, passion, triumph and grace. I felt my heart racing every time I picked up the book because I needed to know what was going to happen next faster than I could read.

As cliche as all of this may sound, this is a story about the pursuit of a passion, persistence, putting your time in, not giving up, exploration, hope, perfection and ultimately finding success in and out of the kitchen. I won't say much more because I don't want to spoil it. 

4 days later I was done with the book. It was my personal best!