Accidentally on Purpose
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4.6 • 9 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER | INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER | TIME's Most Anticipated Books of 2025 | New York Post's 30 Best Books for Spring | Amazon's Best Books of the Month | BookRiot's Best Books of April | Queerty's Spring 2025 LGBTQ+ Books | Town & Country's Must-Read Books of Spring 2025
From chef and Emmy-nominated host of Top Chef comes a tender, clear-eyed memoir charting a journey full of purpose, belonging, and real love—a “recipe for a life worth living” (Stacy London).
Kristen Kish never could have imagined people on the street knowing her name—not when she was a carefree softball-tossing kid, in high school working at a pretzel stand, and not even when she finally found her true calling as a chef. In those early days, becoming a chef meant tethering oneself to a restaurant and working in the back of a kitchen, not a television set. But working in the spotlight happened naturally, even if the attention was totally unanticipated. And like most things in Kristen’s life, the road was so much more winding and complicated than it may have appeared from the outside.
From growing up as an adoptee in the Midwest, to trying to fit in with all the other girls who were busy dating boys, winning Top Chef to becoming its Emmy-nominated host years later, or even coming out and finding love when she least expected it, Kristen learned that, unlike a map, no set of plans or definitions can dictate or explain a life.
In Accidentally on Purpose, what defines Kristen’s story aren’t the missteps or even the pleasant surprises that crop up but how she learned to find her voice and use it. Curveballs will come. Accidents happen. And for Kristen, when she digs deep, that's when things get really interesting.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In this thoughtful memoir, Kristen Kish reveals how she went from suburban-mall food courts to celebrity chef fame. The Top Chef host details how her relatively idyllic Michigan childhood, periodic modeling gigs, and long hours working in Chicago and Boston restaurants plastered over the anxiety and self-doubt that kept her from living authentically. Her tales of misogyny and jealousy within the restaurant industry are, sadly, unsurprising, and her discussion about why she was afraid to come out as a lesbian until well into her adulthood is heartbreaking. More fun are the behind-the-scenes details of making the cooking shows that have brought her fame. That her own childhood love of those programs is what initially spurred her culinary journey brings everything full circle. Accidentally on Purpose shows a person gradually growing into their own skin to become a powerful force for empathy, inclusion, and opportunity.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In her delightful debut memoir, Top Chef host Kish (It's All in the Sauce, a children's cookbook) covers her early experiences in the kitchen and the path to her TV breakthrough. Born in 1983 Seoul and adopted by American parents in Michigan, Kish details a mostly ordinary childhood laced with spaghetti with red sauce and Creamsicle sodas. Encouraged by her mother to explore her affinity for cooking as a teenager, Kish paid a visit to Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago. After enrolling in and graduating from the culinary school, Kish moved to Boston, where she worked under chef Barbara Lynch at Stir and dabbled in cocaine and alcohol while finding her footing in the pressure-filled world of fine dining. Her winning run on Top Chef gets a lot of play in the narrative, as do inspiring encounters with the likes of Emeril Lagasse and Padma Lakshmi, whom Kish replaced as host of Top Chef in 2023. Also touching are sections about Kish coming out as gay to her family and friends after her professional success bolstered her confidence. Self-assured yet down-to-earth, Kish's account will resonate with aspiring chefs and Top Chef fans alike.
Customer Reviews
Could Not Put It Down
A beautiful raw and honest view of a very poignant, reflective and deeply- humble human journey.