All or Nothing: One Chef's Appetite for the Extreme
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All or Nothing: One Chef's Appetite for the Extreme Hardcover – September 30, 2014
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“Jesse’s story of hitting rock bottom and working his way to the top is a must read.” (Marcus Samuelsson)
“Jesse Schenker has made his own success out of chaos, through sheer will and determination. A must read.” (Jonathan Waxman, chef and cookbook author)
“Go Ask Alice meets Kitchen Confidential… an engagingly written, compulsive read.” (Kathleen Squires, food writer, The Wall Street Journal, Zagat.com, Saveur)
“Warren Buffet famously said ‘Intensity is the price of excellence’… but it is also the foe of moderation! The same personality that makes for success makes for excess. The story of All or Nothing captures this great truth of life.” (Stephen B. Gullo, Ph.D., author of the national bestseller Thin Tastes Better)
“All or Nothing is a great read not only for young chefs but for anyone who wants to make a change for the better.” (Bill Telepan, chef/owner, Telepan & Telepan Local)
“Jesse Schenker has made his own success out of chaos, through sheer will and determination. A must read.” (Jonathan Waxman, chef and cookbook author)
“Go Ask Alice meets Kitchen Confidential… an engagingly written, compulsive read.” (Kathleen Squires, food writer, The Wall Street Journal, Zagat.com, Saveur)
“Warren Buffet famously said ‘Intensity is the price of excellence’… but it is also the foe of moderation! The same personality that makes for success makes for excess. The story of All or Nothing captures this great truth of life.” (Stephen B. Gullo, Ph.D., author of the national bestseller Thin Tastes Better)
“All or Nothing is a great read not only for young chefs but for anyone who wants to make a change for the better.” (Bill Telepan, chef/owner, Telepan & Telepan Local)
From the Back Cover
"Remember, it's not just about the food—it has to be an experience."
Thirty-one-year-old Jesse Schenker has rocketed to the top of the culinary world. An Iron Chef winner and a James Beard nominee, he was voted Best New Chef by New York magazine, and his acclaimed Recette was named Best New Restaurant by the New York Times. Manhattan magazine has called him "a boy wonder . . . young, hungry, and talented," while Zagat has hailed him as a "wunderkind." But Jesse's epic rise masks a little-known past filled with demons and obsession, genius and mania.
"For as long as I can remember, I've had this unquenchable thirst to keep moving, going, and doing. I've never felt comfortable in my own skin and have always needed an outlet for that uneasiness." Jesse first found that outlet in the South Florida kitchens where he showed great promise as a teenager, but it was in those same kitchens that he was introduced to the world of hard drugs. He was fourteen when he first got arrested and seventeen when he became physically addicted to Oxycontin. Becoming a high school dropout addicted to heroin and crack, alienated from his family and wanted by the cops, by the age of twenty-one Jesse had overdosed and nearly been beaten to death while robbing, cheating, and lying to everyone in his life.
After getting arrested and going to jail, Jesse got clean and slowly put back together the pieces of his fractured life, ultimately channeling the same energy that had earlier fueled his addiction into making a name for himself in the fast-paced, competitive New York restaurant scene. In this startling and down-to-earth memoir, he lays it all on the table for the first time, coming clean about his insatiable appetite for the extreme—which has led to his biggest triumphs and failures—and shares the shocking story of his turbulent life. All or Nothing is a candid exploration of the manic culture of some of the world's most celebrated kitchens. A drug-fueled, anxiety-ridden epic, it reads like a rollicking rock-and-roll memoir—with amazing food.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By
Beth
on September 30, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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I'm not a chef or true "foodie," but I love the food network and books like Kitchen Confidential. I thought this would be just another story about a chef dabbling in drugs, but instead I found a profound and truly inspiring book about the depths of addiction, the highs of creativity, and the thin line between genius and madness. Kudos to Jesse Schenker for bravely sharing his story - I think that addicts and non-addicts alike will be inspired by his beautifully written book to do better and live better. Highly recommend!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
Lindsay Davison
on September 30, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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Brave, raw, and beautifully told. A truly harrowing story about addiction. A must - read for food lovers, chefs, or parents/ friends/ family of anyone who has ever suffered from addiction. Schenker describes his addiction and eventual recovery in a way that exposes the disease of addiction for everyone to see what it truly is for the first time.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
C. Fine
on October 1, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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This book is incredibly fast-paced. Think Breaking Bad meets Anthony Bourdain! It reminds me of Scar Tissue. Anyone who wants to know what it is like to keep up in a kitchen and on the street when you are juggling addiction and ambition should read this book!
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By
Cori Lundy
on October 2, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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An incredible story of addiction, struggle, and survival. It's amazing he lived to tell it.
A truly inspiring tale and a must-read for all. Absolutely recommended!
A truly inspiring tale and a must-read for all. Absolutely recommended!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
seltzerdame
on October 8, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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This is a really great read! I'm a big fan of foodie memoirs, like everything that Bourdain writes. This is a great addition to the pantheon of chef memoirs. I was surprised (in a good way!) to find that Jesse was able to turn all of his hardships he encountered during his addiction days to give him the no-nonsense skills to launch 2 restaurants. Frankly, I am truly INSPIRED! to read his story! Definitely, a must read for memoir, food, and inspiration.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By
JHA
on October 3, 2014
Format: Hardcover
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What an amazing story -- Jesse Schenker transforms himself from homeless junkie to world-class chef with lots of twist and turns along the way. Jessie will take the reader on a heart-stopping roller coaster ride. Absolutely riveting - I read the book in one sitting.
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