Why I Cook

By: Tom Colicchio

Narrated by: Will Damron, Tom Colicchio

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.

Listeners are in for a treat as the talented Will Damron (who has read over 700 audiobooks) delivers an immersive account of Emmy Award-winning celebrity chef and beloved restaurateur Tom Colicchio’s life, challenges, and success.

With warmth and tenderness, Damron navigates the extraordinary personal journey that brought Tom 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, 60 recipes, and expertise that spans more than 40 years behind the stove, Why I Cook is the most personal look into Tom’s life yet as it chronicles the dishes and memories that shaped him as a person and chef.

The audio edition of Why I Cook includes an accompanying PDF and more than 30 minutes of bonus content, where Tom shares additional reflections on his early life, its connection to his professional career, his culinary experiments, and much more.

History of a Top Chef judge

I liked the book overall. I was attracted towards listening to this after listening to Padma lakshmi’s memoir. I only wish that the recipes were at the end of the book instead of in the middle of the book. I guess to me it just breaks up the narrative of the book.
If you are like me, who likes to listen and learn from other people’s lives, this book is for you . Narration it was really good as was the author note at the end.

Tom's journey

The long chapters. Listening to the book one chapter at a time, I could not put the book on hold in the middle of a long chapter.

I empathize with Tom’s ADHD

I followed along with the performance in the hard copy book and enjoyed the photos. Only noticed one word difference from the book. Tuscany vs Italy in one sentence. 🙂

Good story short on details, padded with recipes

The chapters where he tells his story are great but too short and scant on details. He alluded he neglected his son Dante, but does not say how or what happened as a result. There is little about top chef, which is part of 20 years of his life. I enjoyed his evocation of NYC in the 80s and his family stories and his description of his rise. He leaves a ton unsaid, and unexplored. By his own account, Danny Meyer tried to screw him over twice, but they departed amiably? Colin Powell said , If you are going to write a memoir, you have to put it all out there. Colicchio has put out a highly curated, abbreviated version of his life story. What’s there is very good, but leaves this reader feeling very short changed.

Honesty and openness from Chef Collichio is so real

Thank you, Chef for sharing your life and passion. Your openness about the struggles you faced while becoming an amazing chef are touching and real. Makes you more appealing and personable.