Memoir
Date Published: August 16, 2022
Publisher: River Grove Books
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.
“Mangani charts a deep dive through the roots of our modern American
food obsession with a highly personal tale of memory, character, flavor, and
place.” —Ian McNulty, Food Writer, The Times-Picayune/The New
Orleans Advocate
About the Author
MARISA MANGANI was born and raised in Hawaii and cooked her way to
Portland, New Orleans Vancouver and Australia. She now resides in Florida
where she runs her own commercial kitchen design company, Mise en Place
Design. She is one of the eight featured chefs in Thrillist’s
“Why 8 Top Chefs Quit the Kitchen.”
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