California Soul: An American Epic of Cooking and Survival

In this exhilarating saga of drugs, crime, and culinary passion, Corbin traces his remarkable rise from a life behind bars to a successful career as a chef. Born, quite literally, into the “drug game” (“my uncle used to carry me around and sell drugs out of my diaper”), Corbin’s cooking began with making crack in his teens, a skill that eventually grew into an enterprise with Corbin and his partner shipping drugs around the country. It wasn’t until Corbin landed in prison at age 23 that his culinary path began. Working in the prison kitchen, Corbin found an escape while also honing his craft: “I tried to tweak... until I got the best fucking spread you’d ever tried.” After six years in prison, Corbin was released in 2010, and got a job as a line cook at a high-end fast-food joint in his L.A. neighborhood. Though he went on to become the chef and face of Alta Adams, a fine-dining restaurant in the city, Corbin reveals his path to success as an ex-felon was far from easy, and it’s his brutally candid depiction of “what it’s like to grow up Black in America under some of the worst circumstances” that makes this story of perseverance hit hard. Readers shouldn’t miss this. (Aug.)