by Kristen Kish
First published 2025
Kristen Kish never planned for a public life. She was a carefree kid tossing softballs in the Midwest, then a high schooler working at a pretzel stand, briefly a model, and finally a chef who thought her career would center on restaurants, not television sets. But life had other plans. The Korean adoptee found her calling in kitchens and unexpectedly became the season 10 winner of Top Chef, eventually rising to host the show herself. Along the way, she navigated the complexities of growing up adopted, struggled to fit in while other girls dated boys, and came out as an adult. She discovered love when she least expected it. Kish learned that no map or set of plans can dictate a life's direction. Accidents happen. Curveballs come. They often prove consequential. What matters isn't the missteps or pleasant surprises, but how you respond at those crucial intersections. Accidents don't have to conflict with purpose. As Kish approaches life's milestones with intention, both expected and unexpected ones, she realizes she can write her own definitions and chart her own course.
Genres: autobiography, biography-memoir, cooking, 21st-century, lgbt, adoption, food-writing, culinary
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unexpected-path
Period: 21st-century
352 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company