Why I Cook

About this book

From Emmy Award-winning chef Tom Colicchio--a cookbook and memoir that shares an exclusive look inside the mind and kitchen of the beloved restaurateur and TV personality. Tom Colicchio cooked his first recipe at 13 years old--a stuffed eggplant from an issue of Cuisine magazine that he picked up out of boredom--and it changed his life. Now for the first time ever, Tom recounts the extraordinary personal journey that brought him from his working-class Italian background in Elizabeth, New Jersey, to the award-winning kitchens of New York City's best restaurants, to the set of Top Chef and the stage of the Emmy Awards. Through 10 memoir chapters and 60 recipes, Why I Cook shares Tom's personal reflections of more than 40 years behind the stove. From pre-dawn fishing excursions with his grandfather to running the flat-top at the snack shack of the local swim club, to finding his way as a young chef in New York City, Tom chronicles the dishes and memories that have shaped him as a person and chef. Through these meaningful dishes, gorgeous recipe shots, and images from Tom's childhood, Why I Cook is the most personal look into Tom's life yet. Winner, IACP Award, Best Book of the Year in Literary Food WritingNamed a Best Book of 2024 by Amazon and Barnes & Noble Named a Best New Cookbook / Gift Book by Food & Wine, Harper's Bazaar, The New York Post, and more