Mise en Place – Memoir of a Girl Chef

A few words about the book

THE BOOK

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Marisa’s comfort zone is deep inside the restaurant kitchen alongside its dysfunctional characters and the abundance of booze and drugs.

But in the nineteen-seventies, girls baked or made salads. The heat and machismo of the hot line was not a place for a girl with a passion for food and the drive to be the best.

From Hawaii, to Portland and New Orleans, she struggles with her own shyness and the limited expectations for the only female in the kitchen. She finally becomes Chef, successfully managing high-volume restaurants at three World’s Fairs, but something is missing.

Still searching, as a burnt-out chef, she embarks on another male-dominated career.

Mise en Place —Memoir of a Girl Chef is a story about the determination to succeed in the face of personal handicaps and cultural norms.

THE BOOK

A few words about the book

Marisa’s comfort zone is deep inside the restaurant kitchen alongside its dysfunctional characters and the abundance of booze and drugs.

But in the nineteen-seventies, girls baked or made salads. The heat and machismo of the hot line was not a place for a girl with a passion for food and the drive to be the best.

Still searching, as a burnt-out chef, she embarks on another male-dominated career.

Mise en Place —Memoir of a Girl Chef is a story about the determination to succeed in the face of personal handicaps and cultural norms.

Book Reviews

“Kitchen designer and seasoned chef Mangani details her winding road from Hawaii to Florida, and from grueling work to a life of balance, an achievement she expresses moving gratitude for while inviting readers into her world today, of a daughter, a healthy male partner, and— miraculously —full two-day weekends off. Starting with her childhood in Hawaii, she threads her relationship with food throughout significant life events: ...”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Marisa Mangani

She almost cooked dinner for Bruce Springsteen
but sometimes life is not fair

Marisa Mangani was born and raised in Hawaii.

Finding her niche as a culinarian at a young age, she cooked her way to New Orleans and some of that city’s finest restaurants.

A pivot put Marisa in the kitchen at World Expo ’84, and from there she went on to manage high-volume international food concessions and restaurants at Expo ’86 in Vancouver and Expo ’88 in Brisbane.

She is one of the eight featured chefs in Thrillist’s “Why 8 Top Chefs Quit the Kitchen.”