Book 755: Eat A Peach – David Chang w/ Gabe Ulla

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would when I requested it.*

I mean I knew I would enjoy it, because Chang’s philosophy on food (accessibility, universality) are things I identified with as we made our way through Ugly Delicious a while ago. I mean him summing up the book (to me at least) and his philosophy with this sold it to me:

Deliciousness is a meme. Its appeal is universal, and it will spread without consideration of borders or prejudice. (Chapter 20)

Add in we ate at Momofuku in Las Vegas for my birthday last winter (Instagram link) and tried Fuku in Boston a few summers ago and his food is good, of course I was going to read this and enjoy it. And we’ve totally had MilkBar in Cambridge which the owner started while working with Chang.

Aside from those things, I really liked that he writes how he talks on his show and the few episodes of his podcast I’ve heard. He’s matter of fact and super casual which I liked a lot. And I mean the intro was hilarious where he was umming and ahhhing to avoid starting the book, even if that’s a façade it made me laugh and like him that much more.

In case you can’t tell, I’m doing all this throat-clearing as a stall tactic. I’m delaying you from getting into the book, because honestly, I’m extremely nervous about you reading it. (Prologue)

The other thing I really took away from the book was that he faced a lot of mental health challenges that I’ve had a back seat to with my mother. From the depression and bipolar disorder to (bordering it seemed) alcoholism, been there done that and did not want the t-shirt. It was interesting to read a firsthand account of it and when I read his shout out to Kay Redfield Jamison below, who I read when my mom was still alive made me respect the therapist I was seeing back then even more since she recommended I read her works.

The only reference points I had for therapists were Frasier and Robin Williams in Good Will Hunting, and some light reading I’d done on depression and mania. (Camus was my first source. Later, I came to love William Styron’s Darkness Visible and eventually red everything by the psychologist Kay Redfield Jamison.) (Chapter 2)

The other pieces that made me like him as a person, as much as you can like someone you only know through a TV show and restaurants they own were his views on Chick-fil-a (specifically referring to them as chicken bigots) and then basically mocking them with an incredibly intelligent restaurant with the first iteration of Fuku as social commentary on anti-Asian racism.

I loathe Chick-fil-A as a company, yet I couldn’t resist giving them my business. On one visit to the chicken bigots, I was disappointed to hear we were the last customers of the night . . . I was far from the first person to look the other way when it came to patronizing Chick-fil-A. A lot of ostensibly decent people were willing to ignore the truth for a taste of deep-fried bird. I wanted to flip that phenomenon around to make our own point about culture. (Chapter 19)

And then there was the fact he was able to hold a mirror up to his own experiences in Chapter 21 and say look I’m not excusing these and I’m definitely not claiming I’m perfect now, but I’m learning and growing and that’s all I can offer I mean he’s a bigger man than most just being able to say that.

Recognizing my flaws doesn’t mean I’m ‘cured,’ nor does wishing that I’d done things differently. I still regress from time to time, but I’m trying to be the person I want to be. I’m trying to build a company that is better than I am and an environment where the next generation will have better answers to the questions we’re facing. (Chapter 21)

There were also great passages about his family and his relationship with his dad and brothers that just were great to read. The second half of the book was definitely a bit more scattered than the first half, but he acknowledges that and it all ties together in the end which is all you can ask for.

Recommendation: I thoroughly enjoyed this. Whether you’ve eaten at his restaurants, watched his shows, or listened to his podcast is immaterial. This is a fascinating look at an incredibly intelligent man and brilliant chef and the challenges he had to overcome to be where he is. It might get a little naval gazey at points, but Chang is fully aware of it and pulls you out of it pretty quick with a slap to his own face or a jolt to you as the reader!

*I received a copy of Eat A Peach from the publisher via NetGalley in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “I can convince myself of almost anything.”

Closing Line: “What are you gonna do with all that fruit?” (Not whited out as this is a work of nonfiction.)

Additional Quotes from Eat A Peach
“If you’re one of the many aspirants who have approached me for help, you know this. My answers to your concerns have likely made both of us dumber.” (Chapter 3)

“I hated work when I was younger. I was a poor student, a poor employee. But the kitchen was different. I found meaning in the repetitive tasks, as long as I did them with intent and purpose. All that peeling, plucking, slicing, and chopping could seem frivolous, but only if I let myself think that way. When everything else felt out of control, cooking was my North Star. It wouldn’t let me down. Putting something on a plate is a finite task. I could see the mise en place in front of me and the customer waiting in the dining room. I saw the pan, the stove, and the process that needed to be accomplished for the dish to make it into the dining room and onto the table. I saw sales numbers. I saw reviews. Each step provided a tangible point of contact. And with success came validation—not only of the work but of myself. One morning I had this simple idea to serve a pork bun—pork belly, hoisin, pickles, steamed bread—as an accompaniment to our ramen, and then we sold a thousand of them in a week. It’s an addictive feeling.” (Interlude)