Eat a Peach by David Chang

First, I love the cover of the book. A tiny man rolls a giant peach up a mountain, a la Sisyphus. I’ve followed David Chang since he began publishing Lucky Peach magazine (I was a die-hard McSweeneys fan, and LP was one of their projects). The magazine was smart, irreverent, and even though I’m not immersed in the food world, the magazine made me feel like one of the cool kids. It was much like when I read Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. Even if you weren’t one of them, you just got it. And wanted to know more about it.

Sadly, Chang discusses the loss of his friend Bourdain and doesn’t shy from a very frank and critical look at his own mental health. In fact, his struggles with depression and other challenges are the main thrust of the book, which is not what I expected. Don’t get me wrong. There’s plenty of details about his approach to cooking and the restaurant business, but he gives equal weight to the problems that almost derailed his career.

While the cover is great, the introductory chapter of Eat a Peach is what thoroughly hooked me. Although I liked Chang, I’ve been burned recently by lackluster memoirs by people too young to have actually lived a life worth writing about. So, when Chang sets out in the intro with self-deprecating humor, I was nonplussed. But then he calls himself on it and proceeds to deconstruct the process of coming up with a cover image. I’ll leave those gems for you to uncover. Eat a Peach is a worthy read, whether you’re a chef, a foodie, or just think you’re cool.

Crown Publishing, Publication Date 9/8/20