SIX BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ WHILE YOU DEVOUR FX'S 'THE BEAR'

FX's The Bear is a brutally honest dramedy about the restaurant industry, family, and overcoming trauma. When big-time chef Carmy returns to his hometown of Chicago to run his family’s restaurant, his determination to forget his troubled past doesn’t quite go as planned when it’s put in front of his face. As he sees the damaging effects of his late brother’s addiction, Carmy is set on turning the struggling sandwich business into a fine dining experience—but the kitchen crew is just as intent on keeping everything the same. And Carmy will have to decide if he can take the heat.

It’s easy to be drawn to stories of rebels and outcasts; Restaurants are full of both. Professional kitchens have their own lingo, power dynamics, and set of behaviors that might look foreign to an outsider, making it a people-watcher’s dream. And then there’s the food!

So if you also want to immerse yourself in the thrilling (and often stressful) world of restaurants before diving into Season 4, or if you just need a cathartic story centered on a kitchen, here are six of my favorite books about the messy business of restaurant kitchens you have to check out.

Notes from a Young Black Chef by Kwame Onwuachi and Joshua David Stein

In this memoir, chef Kwame Onwuachi and restaurant critic Joshua David Stein come together to deliver the story of Onwuachi’s evolution from drug kingpin to the owner of a fine-dining restaurant by 27 years old. Onwuachi recounts the abuse and poverty he faced as a child that set him on a destructive path, but also the reprieve and creative outlet he found in food and cooking.

Follow Onwuachi through the prelude to opening his restaurant—from being sent to Nigeria, to his stint buying and selling drugs on his college campus. And discover how Onwuachi was able to make his comeback after reaching his lowest point, and the adversity and racism he had to cut through to make his mark on the restaurant world.

Something to Food About by Questlove and Ben Greenman

With a foreword from the late, great Anthony Bourdain comes a collection of stories about 10 innovative chefs changing the world, one kitchen at a time. Musician Questlove facilitates these conversations to discuss the recipes, origin stories, and idiosyncrasies of these renowned chefs. They declare that food isn’t just something to eat and experience, but it’s a journey through years of history.

From chefs like Nathan Myhrvold, Ryan Roadhouse, Dominique Crenn, and more, see into the minds of some of the greatest chefs in the United States, all intent on bringing flavor, style, and invention to a table near you.

A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson

Xavier Reynolds has seen better days — not only did his boyfriend dump him, but he lost out on his dream fellowship and was forced to move back home with his parents. But when a spot opens up for Xavier to join the fellowship, the nearing payment date has him willing to take any job he can get, even if it means working as a prep chef in Logan O’Hare’s kitchen.

Despite their initially rocky start, Xavier and Logan’s love for food and growing attraction to each other leave the kitchen sizzling hot. But will their differences get in the way of making their relationship—and recipes—work, or will they find that they actually complement each other like salt and pepper?

Memorial by Bryan Washington

When Benson and Mike begin to question their relationship, they take the opportunity to separate to decide if it’s the right thing to do going forward. While Mike, a Japanese American chef, leaves Houston to visit his dying father in Osaka, he puts his restaurant skills to use by taking over the bar his father runs. Meanwhile, Benson stays behind in Houston and Mike’s mother moves in with him. Though the two don’t see eye-to-eye on much, the connection they build is based on the love they share for Mike and the food they share with each other. As the two men find themselves with parents they can barely communicate with, the one thing that says everything that they can’t is what they eat together.

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

Lila Macapacal moves back to her hometown after her life goes haywire, and tasks herself with working in her aunt’s restaurant. Though Lila knows that the food her aunt serves is like no other, Derek Winter, food critic and Lila’s ex-boyfriend, makes it his mission to tear down Tita Rosie’s Kitchen, along with every other restaurant in town. But when Derek dies after eating their food, all fingers point to Lila. Taking the investigation into her own hands, Lila, her best friend, and her overbearing aunts all work to discover what shady business is going on in Shady Palms, and who’s really responsible. Carmy knows what it’s like to be at risk of losing a restaurant, and like him, Lila won’t let it go down without a fight.

My Ackee Tree, by Suzanne Barr, With Suzanne Hancock

Suzanne Barr knows there’s no wrong time to start cooking professionally. Grieving her mother’s death from cancer, Barr escapes to a retreat. By the time she returns to New York City, she knows she wants to be a chef. With passion and dedication, she enrolls in the Natural Gourmet Institute at 30. Entering the industry as a more experienced adult, she knows what she doesn’t want: military-like kitchens and abusive head chefs. From there, it’s an externship in Kauai and then to the Hamptons and Paris as a private chef. Through all of her travels in My Ackee Tree, Barr weaves together stories of her Jamaican heritage and her desire to create a tasty story all her own.

So, if, like me, you’re curious about how we started worshipping chefs as tastemakers in the first place, one of these reads just might enlighten you and, or, at the very least, get you prepped for Carmy's kitchen.