Books To Read if You Love The Bear

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. 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.

Featured in The Bear Season 2. Remember when Richie served the deep-dish pizza? That was inspired by Will Guidara’s Unreasonable Hospitality, the must-read national bestseller that’s redefining hospitality and inspiring readers in every industry. Will Guidara was 26 when he took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, a struggling two-star brasserie. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant in the world. How did Guidara pull off this unprecedented transformation? Radical reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining room — and memorable, over-the-top, bespoke hospitality. Guidara’s team surprised a family who had never seen snow with a magical sledding trip to Central Park after their dinner; they filled a private dining room with sand, complete with mai-tais and beach chairs, to console a couple with a canceled vacation. Guidara urges us all to find the magic in what we do — for ourselves, the people we work with, and the people we serve.

As fast-paced as Carmy’s kitchen, an upscale New York City restaurant has just hired Tess — a front-of-house worker new to the restaurant business and the city. Her coworkers are only too keen to take her under their wing, and as Tess quickly learns the ropes of the industry, she also gets a lesson or two in the drugs and inappropriate relationships that can go along with it. Juxtaposed between the glamor of the restaurant and the grime of the city is the sweet and the bitter of Tess’s new life — but how long can she run on the high of the big city before she’s forced to slow down?

Like Carmy, riddled with his own ghosts is Patrick O’Hara — known to his family as Gay Uncle Patrick, or GUP. The former sitcom star is called to his uncle duties when his best friend Sara — his brother’s wife — passes away and his brother checks into a rehab facility. Bringing the kids to his home for three months means that Patrick can open them up to the finer things in life — and that Maisie and Grant can convince Patrick to open up his heart. Not only must he deal with the grief of losing his best friend, but he also needs to start processing the car accident that took his partner and left him stagnant in his career. As we see in The Bear, sometimes it’s the people you least expect that heal the pains of the past.

With a foreword from the late, great Anthony Bourdain comes this 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.

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?

Carmy knows a thing or two about hostile work environments, but Andy Sachs has faced the devil herself. Miranda Priestly might be known to the world as Runway magazine’s editor-in-chief, but her staff knows her as their tyrannical boss. Despite this, they all worship her — except for her newest assistant, Andrea Sachs. Andy feels destined to write for more “serious” publications, but first, she has to pay her dues. With the unspoken rule that anyone who works for Miranda for a year is guaranteed a job at any magazine, Andy is determined to stick it out. But when her overwhelming work life affects her personal relationships, Andy has to decide which is worth more — a chance at her dream job, or everything else that matters to her.

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.

After Emira Tucker is racially profiled and harassed for babysitting Briar, a white child, Alix Chamberlain sets out to make things right for her daughter’s nanny. After the video of Emira getting accused of kidnapping Briar goes viral, Emira’s story becomes news that she just wants to hide from. But when the video prompts secrets from the helpful Alix’s past to come out, Emira is now unsure of where they stand. With a desire to leave and start fresh but stuck with fulfilling her financial responsibilities, Emira doesn’t know how much longer she can keep this job knowing what she knows now. With suspicions and tension at an all-time high, Emira’s — like Carmy’s — work and personal drama becomes one and the same.

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.