Eat a Peach: A Memoir by David Chang

I have had this book sitting on my shelf for a few years and have longed to carve out time to read it, which finally happened these last few weeks. I am a fan of David Chang — Kamil and I ate at Momofuku in NYC a few years ago, we both enjoyed Ugly Delicious on Netflix and find Chang to be one of the more down-to-earth celebrity chefs out there.

Reading this memoir deepened my understanding of Chang a lot, though I’ll admit I’m not sure it made me like him more or less — sometimes knowledge is tricky that way. I loved reading his writing, which sounds much like he talks– accessible, easy going, but also intense at the same time. Chang has no problem detailing his flawed decisions, even takes on the “Me Too” movement at the end of the book– brave, no doubt.

Whenever I read books about food or chefs or anything in between, it makes me want to open a restaurant even more. Chang’s advice is “Don’t open a restaurant unless you have to,” which I think I might…

I appreciate that he did things ‘his way’ and continues to do so with incredible success, though not without the cost of his own mental health and a really incredible amount of stress. I wonder if opening a restaurant could be less stressful than his experience but it seems like a general consensus that this necessary service — people love being fed — is an industry riddled with complexities that reach far beyond many other pursuits.

I found this NY Times article about the memoir that might be of interest and is more relevant than my meandering above: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/24/books/review/david-chang-eat-a-peach.html

I’m glad Chang wrote this book even if he wasn’t sure about it. It’s a solid read and if you like a memoir, this one is yummy and full of food facts and mentions of other fun chefs and food people out there you’ve probably bumped into if you’re into the food world.