Everything is Under Control

‘What a beautiful, rich, poetic memoir this is. Phyllis writes of longing, suffering, family, and food with such delicate power. Like the best chefs, she knows how to make a masterpiece from a few simple ingredients: truth, poignancy, and love. A wonderful book.’ Elizabeth Gilbert, author of 10 million copy bestseller Eat, Pray, Love Bake. I bake for others. Belgian waffles, French toast, crêpes, chocolate chip cookies. When I cook, I am calm, I am confident. There is comfort in the logic.

Chef and award-winning writer Phyllis Grant’s life has been defined by food.

First, as a dancer struggling to find her place at Julliard, when banana muffins with inch-thick streusel are the fuel for another day of training. Then, a lowly junior chef in high-pressure NYC four-star kitchens, as she masters the tarte Tatin and ice cream custard.

Falling in love with her future husband and the garlicky tomato sauce he makes in his bare apartment.

The quesadillas she can’t stop eating in LA before she realises she’s pregnant.

These are the recipes that have accompanied Phyllis throughout the smooth and jagged stages of her life as she navigates the highs and lows of young adulthood, being a mother, and a career in the kitchen.

Written with the transparency of a diarist and including tried-and-true recipes from her chef’s table, Everything Is Under Control is a raw and riveting story about food, family, love and loss.