Reading time: About 1 minute
I like to share interesting pieces of figurative language I encounter in my reading. I write today about some imagery from chef Marcus Samuelsson…
I’m a pretty dedicated amateur chef and baker. And not only do I cook a mean streak, I also love reading about other people with interest and expertise in the subject.
That explains why I read the memoir, Yes, Chef, by Marcus Samuelsson. But once I started the first page, I became enthralled by his story.
A black Ethiopian, Marcus Samuelsson lost his mother when he was three years old. She had died of a tuberculosis epidemic and the family was separated by the Ethiopian Civil War. Subsequently, he was adopted — with his sister — by a Swedish family. After becoming interested in cooking through his maternal grandmother in Sweden, Samuelsson studied at the Culinary Institute in Gothenburg where he was raised.
I noticed Samuelsson as a kind and articulate judge in a number of Food Network shows, but the book gave me a far more detailed understanding of his remarkable life. In it, he also displayed some strong figurative language. Here are my favourite examples”
- I woke up to a staticky voice on the PA system announcing our arrival in the port town of Frederikshavn and to the gentle bump of the boat as it kissed the side of the pier.
- What Giggs excelled at was breaking staff the way cowboys broke down wild horses.
- I would eventually learn that all chefs worth their mettle have their own styles and their own passions, but every single one of them can go from zero to asshole quicker than the average Joe.
- It’s amazing how universal the term whatever is. All around the world, teenagers toss it around like Frisbees.
