Cooked

By twenty-one, Jeff Henderson was making up to $35,000 a week cooking and selling crack cocaine. By twenty-four, he had been sentenced to nineteen and a half years in prison on federal drug trafficking charges. It was an all-too-familiar story for a young man raised on the streets of South Central LA. But what happened next wasn't.

Once inside prison, Jeff Henderson worked his way up from dishwasher to chief prison cook, and when he was released in 1996, he had found his passion and his dream—he would become a professional chef. Barely five years out of federal prison, he was on his way to becoming an executive chef, as well as being a sought-after public speaker on human potential and a dedicated mentor to at-risk youth. A window into the streets and the fast-paced kitchens of world-renowned restaurants, Cooked is a very human story with a powerful message of commitment, redemption, and change.

“A really remarkable success story” (Oprah Winfrey, The Oprah Winfrey Show)

“A well-told redemptive story ... Henderson’s book details one brother’s determination to beat the odds and live his dream.” (Essence)

“[A] harrowing journey toward a life as a high-profile Las Vegas chef.” (USA Today)

“From hustler to high cuisine. . . . a gritty memoir.” (People)

“[A] raw, behind-the-scenes look at life in commercial kitchens [and] a personal story of redemption.” (Flint Journal)