The Recipe: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Ingredients of Greatness

"Always be hungry, Owen," the Chef said softly. "Don't ever let life just wash over you. Savor it--every smell, every taste, every sound. That's Rule One, Owen: Taste everything."

Owen Devon used to have a pretty good life. At least until a few months ago, when disaster struck his family. Now his grades are plunging and his life is spiraling out of control. To make matters worse, he's just been tagged for vandalism--and to repay the damage, he's being put to work for the crusty old owner of the local diner.

But there's a lot about the old man that Owen doesn't know--and in this diner's cramped little kitchen, he's going to learn a lot more than how to cook an excellent meal....

From eight-time Culinary Olympian Chef Charles Carroll and New York Times bestselling author John David Mann (The Go-Giver) comes a tale of heartbreak and redemption, the story of a boy who learns to overcome tragedy and carve out a life of excellence and honor through cooking lessons at the hands of a retired chef. Blending poignant story-telling with vivid culinary detail, The Recipe offers readers a compelling recipe for personal greatness.

Throughout the story the reader also learns key cooking concepts, cutting techniques, and other practical secrets of the kitchen. Includes a complete set of recipes for dishes cooked in the story.

About the Author
Carroll, Charles M.: - CHEF CHARLES CARROLL (chefcharlescarroll.com) is an eight-time Culinary Olympian who travels the world speaking on championship thinking and personal greatness. He has shared the stage with such figures as former world heavyweight champion George Foreman, Chef Robert Irvine (Restaurant Impossible), Chef Graham Kerr (The Galloping Gourmet), and Chef Rick Tramonto (Iron Chef America). He was named one of the year's Great Country Inn Chefs by the James Beard Foundation (1993) and is past president of the World Association of Chefs Societies, with over 10 million members in 105 countries. Among his titles and distinctions, Chef Carroll has been inducted into the World Master Chefs Association, the American Academy of Chefs, the Confrerie de la Chaine des Rotisseurs, and the Honorable order of the Golden Toque. For his work with U.S. troops abroad, Chef Carroll was personally commended by U.S. presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. In 2013 he was awarded the Honorable Order of Saint Martin by the U.S. Army. Chef Carroll currently serves as Executive Chef of Houston's River Oaks Country Club.Mann, John David: - JOHN DAVID MANN (johndavidmann.com) is coauthor of the national bestselling classic The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea, which has sold more than half a million copies in more than two dozen languages. Winner of the Axiom Business Book Award's Gold Medal in 2008, The Go-Giver has been hailed as "the most important parable about business-and life-of our time" by bestselling author and Wharton professor Adam Grant; "a small book that packs a huge idea" by bestselling author Daniel Pink; "a good description of many of the most amazing people I've encountered" by Arianna Huffington; and "a must-read by anyone who wants to change the world" by talk show host Glenn Beck. Inc. magazine named it one of the 18 Most Motivational Books of All Time. His other titles include the New York Times bestsellers Flash Foresight (with Daniel Burrus) and The Red Circle (with Brandon Webb) and the national bestsellers Among Heroes (with Brandon Webb), The Slight Edge (with Jeff Olson), and Real Leadership (with John Addison). His 2011 Take the Lead (with Betsy Myers) was named by Tom Peters and The Washington Post as Best Leadership Book of 2011.