Call Me Chef, Dammit!: A Veteran’s Journey from the Rural South to the White House

“My clenched hands and stern smirk are meant to keep the doubters and haters at bay,” writes celebrity chef Rush in his bombastic debut. In profanity-laced prose that may as well be written in all caps, Rush—who found fame when a photo of his buff arms manning a grill at the White House went viral in 2018—recalls the brawn that went into his success. He grew up in Mississippi in the 1970s as a “sickly” and “quiet boy” who later joined the military, where he got hooked on culinary competitions and eventually worked his “ass off” in the Pentagon kitchen. For a while, he skated by on bluster, but in time he found mentors, began cooking for the White House in 1997, and became a mentor himself. Oscillating between encomiums (“Being Noticed + Success = Getting Hate”) and tough talk (“People always wanted me to kiss ass. And a guy like me just can’t do that”), the narrative seems to scoff at vulnerability. Disappointingly, though there’s much to admire in Rush’s career—particularly his efforts to promote suicide awareness and help those with PTSD—his story never gets beneath the surface. Some may wonder if this is just a promotional push for the author’s upcoming TV series. (Apr.)