As a Mainer, I've been familiar with Erin French for several years, though never lucky enough to try her food. I knew a bit of her story from television profiles I'd seen over the years and knew she had faced challenges on her road to becoming a lauded cook/chef.
French's memoir is a bit uneven in terms of "coverage" of the people and events of her life. The first 50 or so pages are very repetitive accounts of her father and his diner. She learned to cook under the tutelage of her controlling and mercurial father, and began working for him at a very young age. The descriptions of the diner food are too detailed and too numerous - I felt this section of the book could have been achieved in far fewer pages. And while the reader gains a very clear image of who her father is, there is scant mention of her mother or sister in this portion of the book.
I became more interested in the book once reaching the stories of French's adult years starting from when she drops out of college after becoming accidentally pregnant. From there she is working to raise her son alone, enters a troubled marriage, suffers from addiction and depression, and reaches her eventual "salvation" in her current restaurant among a chosen family (as well as her actual mother and sister). Still, French glances over many areas - there is little to no mention of the high school boyfriend who is the biological father to her son and little mention of her sister aside from the fact of them not becoming close until working together. Her mother's story is fascinating but not elaborated upon beyond a handful of pages towards the end of the memoir.
Yet French does not shy away from writing about difficult feelings and poor choices. There are clear lines drawn between her marriage to an older and controlling man in which she feels trapped to her depression and suicidal ideation. Her emotional burden leads her to a very irresponsible physician who writes multiple prescriptions that lead her down a rabbit hole of dependency. It would be nearly impossible not to root for French as she claws herself out of a true rock bottom situation to her status today as one of the most lauded cooks/chefs in the country (I'd argue chef, though she refers to herself more humbly as a cook). Despite its uneven nature, it is an interesting read, particularly for those interested in addiction or food.
French's memoir is a bit uneven in terms of "coverage" of the people and events of her life. The first 50 or so pages are very repetitive accounts of her father and his diner. She learned to cook under the tutelage of her controlling and mercurial father, and began working for him at a very young age. The descriptions of the diner food are too detailed and too numerous - I felt this section of the book could have been achieved in far fewer pages. And while the reader gains a very clear image of who her father is, there is scant mention of her mother or sister in this portion of the book.
I became more interested in the book once reaching the stories of French's adult years starting from when she drops out of college after becoming accidentally pregnant. From there she is working to raise her son alone, enters a troubled marriage, suffers from addiction and depression, and reaches her eventual "salvation" in her current restaurant among a chosen family (as well as her actual mother and sister). Still, French glances over many areas - there is little to no mention of the high school boyfriend who is the biological father to her son and little mention of her sister aside from the fact of them not becoming close until working together. Her mother's story is fascinating but not elaborated upon beyond a handful of pages towards the end of the memoir.
Yet French does not shy away from writing about difficult feelings and poor choices. There are clear lines drawn between her marriage to an older and controlling man in which she feels trapped to her depression and suicidal ideation. Her emotional burden leads her to a very irresponsible physician who writes multiple prescriptions that lead her down a rabbit hole of dependency. It would be nearly impossible not to root for French as she claws herself out of a true rock bottom situation to her status today as one of the most lauded cooks/chefs in the country (I'd argue chef, though she refers to herself more humbly as a cook). Despite its uneven nature, it is an interesting read, particularly for those interested in addiction or food.