# Luke Mangan's Autobiography



## waynus (May 29, 2010)

The Making of a Chef

Luke Mangan

An interesting autobiography that gives a real insight into the cooking industry, the writer describes himself as not so much as a culinary genius but as a hard worker dedicated to succeed. For those of us outside the industry the glamour that the current celebrity chef movement needs to be tempered by realistic exposure to the reality of cooking professionally.

The last thing this book does is glamorise the industry. On the other hand it does show what can be achieved with hard work and dedication. More than anything Mangan underlines that no matter what goes wrong you need to continue to try for the things you really want in life.

We follow the young man who likes to cook but doesn't really know what he wants to do. Mangan eventually does his apprenticeship as an alternative to staying on at school. He travels to the UK and talks himself into a number of top kitchens. His experiences and interest set him on the path to run his own business.

The stories of his business ventures are interesting, certainly showing that cooking good food is not the same as running a successful restaurant. Certainly if you are a fan of Luke Mangan's food, or curious to find out about a well known Australian food figure. Of course recipes for some of his more well known recipes are included.


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