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Cooked: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras
Korean edition of COOKED: From the Streets to the Stove, from Cocaine to Foie Gras by Jeff Henderson. Remarkable journey of transforming from a street cocaine dealer to a talented, award-winning chef in Las Vegas with a passion for making good food. Translated by Na Seon Suk. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.
Kindle Edition
Published
(first published 2007)
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I wrote a review for this book for my job, so I'll keep this short. It's an engaging, quick read that seems to be the real deal as oppossed to all those fake memoirs that have been exposed lately. Jeff Henderson's story of going from a crack dealer to a prisoner to a top-rated chef is a truly inspiring story. His writing is a little rough, but it works. I'm also not too sure how good it is to essentially have a crack recipe in the book, but the fried chicken recipe looks good. I'm gonna try it.
Nov 15, 2008
Sarah
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
at-risk youth, people who work with at-risk youth, and people who like uplifting life stories.
Recommended to Sarah by:
TV
I bought this book because I had heard about Jeff Henderson's transition from drug dealer to convict to successful cheff and I thought I could use this book in my job because I teach in a prison. Something that has worried me about my students and their chances of chnging thier lives is the depth and totality of the the changes they need to make in order to stay out of prison.
Those of use who work with at-risk youth or with adjudicated youth talk a lot about choices and change but we never reall...more
Those of use who work with at-risk youth or with adjudicated youth talk a lot about choices and change but we never reall...more
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this book was a true quick read- although not for the normal reasons. it was easy to get through not because it was a page turner or a really great book, but rather it was a very simple, plain english, down to earth account of jeff henderson's life as a crack dealer in southern california, his subsequent fall and jail stint, and his eventual rise back up through the culinary world as a chef. it was pretty amazing to think that a person could have the drive to accomplish what he did after all he...more
I listened to the book read by the author, and that added another dimension, but this is a fascinating account of realities that are rarely admitted in mainstream literature or culture. Real life of a street dealer and hustler, of a prisoner in the federal system for years, and then in finding enough passion to not bog down in all that deadening and frustrating experience. This faces issues and values and tools for getting ahead in the world. It is a very strong motivator to use passion. I did n...more
I heard an interview with Jeff Henderson a few weeks ago about this autobiography & picked it up from the local library.
Jeff grew up in the Los Angeles area, becoming a successful drug dealer at a very young age (late teens/early 20's) before getting busted. While in prison, he discovered an interest in cooking. He worked in the prison kitchens, picking the brains of anyone he could; then, upon his release, he worked his way from dishwasher to head chef at four-star hotels. I'm not generall...more
Jeff grew up in the Los Angeles area, becoming a successful drug dealer at a very young age (late teens/early 20's) before getting busted. While in prison, he discovered an interest in cooking. He worked in the prison kitchens, picking the brains of anyone he could; then, upon his release, he worked his way from dishwasher to head chef at four-star hotels. I'm not generall...more
I read this book in one day flat, it was incredibly engaging (and I was having a bit of lazy day). I have a weakness for memoir, and what I appreciated about this particular story was it's lack of preach-i-ness. Henderson tells it like it is (or was), and his rise from prison to a successful chef was not a fairytale. It wasn't just one lucky break, it was hard work, determination, willingness to do what it took. He had a lot of grit and lot of heart, and did not sugar coat his life or downplay t...more
This is chef Jeff Henderson's autobiography, tracing his roots in a poor Southern Californian family to his outrageous success as a big-time crack dealer in the 80's, to his transformation during the 10 years he spent in Federal prison, where he discovered a passion for cooking, and his fight to rise to the top despite his lack of formal training in the culinary world once he was a free man again.
The book is extremely gritty in the first half or so. The average citizen would probably find the re...more
The book is extremely gritty in the first half or so. The average citizen would probably find the re...more
Do you like the word "motherfucker"? If so, this is the book for you! A tale of one man's redemption, it follows Henderson from the mean streets of San Diego through prison to becoming a "top chef". Laden with cliches and bad writing, it's only purpose appears to be to score an appearance on Oprah to share his tale.
While Chef Jeff has a compelling life story, his book has some weaknesses. He ends up coming off as an unreliable narrator (don't get me wrong - I'm not saying he did not, through hard work and dedication, pull himself off the streets and into a successful and legitimate career) since some details of his book don't ring true - possibly due to the problems with the writing and structure of the text. For example, it seems more than convenient that the vast majority of the times he interviewed at a...more
I really liked this story, but I'm really looking forward to my kids getting older so they can read this story about a man who didn't fall prey to our "victim culture" and bettered himself despite the trouble he got himself into.
Difficult to stomach the author's self-aggrandizations, esp. in the beginning sections of the book. An awful lot of huffing-and-puffing. Did admire his determination and focus. Also his ability to keep himself clean and resist getting involved with his "homies" after serving time. Brief reference to an aunt of his father's, Aunt Eleanor. Aunt Eleanor had money. She would financially help any member of the family if they were interested in getting an education. She would not contribute one cent t...more
Jul 16, 2009
Katie
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction-biography-memoir,
audiobook
Good story, but poorly written.
4 things Jeff Henderson is: an inspiration, an amazing chef, a role model for at-risk youth and a poster child for prison rehabilitation programs
2 things Jeff Henderson is NOT: an author, an audiobook reader
This book was in desperate need of an editor. Even in audio form, I wanted to take a red pen to this book and correct every ounce of bad grammar. Dialogue I can usually understand, but that was not the case here. This had a "nails on the chalkboard" effect for m...more
4 things Jeff Henderson is: an inspiration, an amazing chef, a role model for at-risk youth and a poster child for prison rehabilitation programs
2 things Jeff Henderson is NOT: an author, an audiobook reader
This book was in desperate need of an editor. Even in audio form, I wanted to take a red pen to this book and correct every ounce of bad grammar. Dialogue I can usually understand, but that was not the case here. This had a "nails on the chalkboard" effect for m...more
This book is about a man name jeff henderson he was a big time drug dealer he carried around three thousand dollars in a louis vutton bag everyday.Shortly after he got busted he severed 6years in jail.In the process of him being in jail he had come from a person who wash dishes to a cheif.Long after he served his time he became a cheif at a five star resuant.He got married and had three chidren.This book sends a lesson that you can change your life.This alson shows that just because you got mone...more
Jan 10, 2009
Heidi
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction-contemporary
Great story of an L.A. drug dealer who was taking in $35,000/wk and was busted and sentenced to 19 years. While in prison he learned to cook and when released, convinced an African-American chef to take a chance on him. The story is truly inspirational as Henderson tells of his journey to his current position as an executive chef at the Bellagio. He also examines his journey as an African-American man trying to navigate into the upper echelons of the culinary world. I originally thought this mig...more
This fellow came to talk to the youths in the Detention Center in St. Louis, where I work, about a year ago; sorry to say, I missed it, but I'm told that Mr. Henderson was quite inspiring. He gave out copies of his book to every kid in the Center, plus a lot of Staff, and that's where I got the copy I read. This is truly a story of metamorphosis, from street kid to obscenely rich drug dealer in his mid-20's to a Federal prisoner (where he learned the culinary trade) to a number of challenging co...more
Dec 29, 2008
Jessica
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
fans of the Chef Jeff Project TV show
Shelves:
cooking-food
I decided to read this book after I watched the Chef Jeff Project TV show on the Food Network. On the show Chef Jeff gives youth struggling with poverty/addiction/criminal past/etc. a chance to work in the food industry and try to turn their lives around like he did. So, in his biography Cooked he describes his childhood and how he got into dealing drugs, how he was eventually arrested and sentenced to 19 1/2 years in prison and how while serving his time he discovered cooking and found a way to...more
Jeff Henderson tells an inspirational story of triumph over the odds. While growing up in the inner city, he was attracted to the wealth of neighborhood hustlers. Soon he was running drugs himself and making huge sums of money. At 24 he was arrested and spent ten years in prison where, while working as a dishwasher in the prison kitchen, Jeff discovered a passion that ultimately saved him. Drawing on the same tenacity that ensured his succeed on the streets, Jeff relentlessly pursued his goal of...more
I mentioned in my last review how I prefer a memoir with an inspirational ending and I immediately remembered this book. Jeff Henderson was a coke dealer heading for the big time when he was busted and put in prison. He ended up in kitchen detail where he found a love for cooking. Upon his release he worked himself up from a dishwasher all the way to the head chef at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. A great book of how someone can change their life around. It also has a recipe for jailhouse fried chic...more
For a young man who had never read a book cover-to-cover until he went to prison, this isn't bad. Which is to say, it's not great, but what do you expect? It's an honest, straight-up account of a true reformation, and there's no doubting its veracity. It could easily have been a moralistic, preachy memoir, but instead it's just a simple story of a man with big passions -- for crime, or as it turns out, for cooking. There is an amorality implicit in the title that is borne out in the rest of the...more
I bought this for Shawn for his birthday because I thought it wound be a different twist on the typical kitchen story. The writing was pretty average and the first 3/4 of the book is about this guy's crack dealing history and time in jail. Then he talks about being the only black guy in kitchens and how he has to stare down everyone in the kitchen to 'get respect'. He goes from there to becoming the super professional chef running cafe belagio in Vegas. It was okay, but not having a crack sellin...more
I thought this book was a simple, uplifting story. It was an honest account of the author's life from the streets as a drug dealer to the lows of jail to the highs as an esteemed chef. I really appreciated that the author seemed to censor nothing. Told all his mistakes, not in a preachy way, but simply as a way let folks know how easy it is to end up where he did. This would be a great book for young people (whether considered "at-risk" or not) to read. He continued to be honest in his journey m...more
Cooked
Jeff Henderson
Memoir
271 pages
copyright: 2007
isbn: 978-0-06-115390-7
Jeff Henderson was just another inner-city black kid born into a world of poverty and limited options, where crime seemed to provide the only way to get out. Raised mostly by his single mother, who struggled just to keep food on the table, Jeff dreamed big. He had to get out and he soon did by turning to what so many in his community did: dealing drugs. But Jeff was no ordinary drug dealer; by twenty-one, he was one of the...more
Jeff Henderson
Memoir
271 pages
copyright: 2007
isbn: 978-0-06-115390-7
Jeff Henderson was just another inner-city black kid born into a world of poverty and limited options, where crime seemed to provide the only way to get out. Raised mostly by his single mother, who struggled just to keep food on the table, Jeff dreamed big. He had to get out and he soon did by turning to what so many in his community did: dealing drugs. But Jeff was no ordinary drug dealer; by twenty-one, he was one of the...more
Jun 16, 2008
James
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
the underdogs
Jeff Henderson was a major drug dealer in East La during the height of the crack cocaine epidemic in the 1980's. Between his teens and twenties he lived a lavish life style that included trips to Las Vegas and the Bahamas where he'd blow 30 thousand dollars a weekend. He'd take his homies to Jamaica as a reward for their loyalty and hard work. His goal was to make money and raise his family above the poverty he grew up in. He never equated the lives he affected with the crack he slung on the str...more
Cooked is a good story that's sure to interest kids who struggle with keeping on the straight and narrow. Henderson's life has a pretty amazing arc, from high-rollin' crack dealer, to convicted felon, to executive chef at a high-end restaurant. For me, he spent a little too much time on his dealing days and not enough on life in prison and afterwards. However, I think teens will be moved by the changes he made in his life and inspired by his hard work. Word to the wise for teachers and libraria...more
Aug 21, 2008
Garrett
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
biography-memoir,
drugs
Henderson was a crack dealer in San Diego who developed a passion for cooking while in prison and who later became a successful chef. In itself, it is an interesting story. But Henderson doesn't supply enough insight to move this beyond IHOP-level fare. It was a worthwhile story, but it could have been so much more. Maybe I'm stretching it to say that most of his reading audience has never dealt drugs or been incarcerated, yet he speaks so generally on these topics that we gain only small bits o...more
need for love from family and father, need for man training, put family at risk when side with fellow thugs, do time in own way, lose domino 8ball, respect in dining hall, religion as crutch, blame others for situation, Louis Farrakhan preached white man as devil, stay calm to engage, pride in pocket and chose for family, develop blueprint for life, get serious about future, a woman who did not rely on man.
Feb 27, 2013
Words Alive
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
adolescent-book-group
Jeff Henderson has presented a few times to our student population with Juvenile Court and Community Schools. Our students like his attitude and presence; he has a knack for addressing serious issues without being too preachy. His book is interesting, cataloging his life as a drug dealer, to prison to a successful cooking career.
Pretty tough reading, with details of what it is like to be in prison, the life of a drug dealer & his 'homies' and how he got to where he is now. Well written, but I didn't enjoy reading it, because of language. Yet that very language is part of the life he led, before becoming a chef and becoming redeemed. He's an amazing person.
While not the most eloquent or articulate of writers, Henderson tells his story - of how he started in the crack business - and how his experience in jail, and the people he met there and after, combined with his natural leadership and entrepreneurship, won him a coveted career in haute cuisine. Narrated by the author, I had to smirk at hearing his street talk discussing foi gras and the like.
So I was excited to read this book because I think the author's story is very interesting but sadly, I can only read some many "F" bombs before I had to put this down. Seriously, at least 3 on EVERY page. I know he's writing from his life and his heart but I'm a prude and can't handle that much language!
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