FINDING FREEDOM

A Cook’s Story Remaking A Life from Scratch
by Erin French

I recently heard Erin French being interviewed on NPR and my ears perked up. I realized that she is the chef/owner of The Lost Kitchen, a tiny, impossible-to-get-into restaurant in Freedom, Maine.  Ranked among the best restaurants in the United States, we live close enough to go there for dinner – if only we could get a reservation.  But the restaurant’s immense success isn’t the only reason French was being interviewed.  She recently released Finding Freedom in which she tells the back story to her success:  how she worked long years at her father’s diner; broke away to go to college; and returned home after her second year, pregnant and determined to raise the child on her own.  With grit and hard work, French learned the restaurant business from the ground up. She was ultimately able to parlay her understanding of food -- and how it connects people to each other --into creating a successful restaurant.  Along the way, she found love, got married and really “had it all.”  

And then French’s life crashed.  Eighteen-hour work days, pills, alcohol and a controlling husband ultimately forced her to an addiction center. While she was there, her husband took the restaurant from her and won custody of her son.  With gut-wrenching honesty, French pulls the reader into her personal and professional struggles. She chronicles her fight back from despair – eventually opening The Lost Kitchen.  It is an amazing story, told in an uplifting way.

Adding to the appeal ofFinding Freedom, are French’s revelations about her increased understanding of, and joy in, working with food. Beautifully written and truly inspired, you will love this book.(Liz)