Emma Frisch is an award-winning chef who has managed to build a name for herself as both a professional chef and celebrity chef. Born in segregated areas of Chicago, Emma grew up on the south side with a poor family and was an only child. She excelled at sports as a child and also pursued a degree in art at college, but career goals would focus on cooking before she had left college.
After several years of working in restaurants as a waiter and waitress, Emma decided that she wanted to pursue a career in food preparation and in particular, find her own niche. She attended classes at a cooking school run by Joanny Garcia in New York City. Following the completion of her training, Emma formed a partnership with a French chef, Paul Avent and together they created the acclaimed gastronomic adventure The Nanny’s Kitchen. Following the success of the first book, Emma decided to expand her work and open her own eatery, The Feast, in New York. The Feast has since become one of the most sought after restaurants in the world, frequented by celebrities and royalty alike and is rumoured to have been the inspiration for Gordon Banting and his infamous ‘Banting around the World’ diet.
In 2021 Emma released her second cookbook The Nanny’s Kitchen, an enthralling look into the lives of the people behind the internationally admired breakfast bowl. This second instalment of her cookbook series focused on her adventures travelling throughout Africa and the recipes she found there. While her first cookbook was well received, The Nanny’s Kitchen promises to be even more popular due to the intimate stories included within. The new cookbook has also received warm reviews from critics and readers alike and I feel that perhaps the lack of a children’s version may hinder its commercial success, but nevertheless, The Nanny’s Kitchen is an excellent read, full of recipes the whole family can enjoy, and as Emma has proved, can be very successful if you take the time to explore her many recipes.