Letter from Chef Ferdinand Metz

Dear Colleague:

I am happy to report that my book “From Many We are One” will finally be available as of December 8th at Amazon.com, in bookstores and libraries and featured in the press, on radio, and bloggers. We will also provide updates and purchase options on our social media platforms and this website. As a member of the broader foodservice and food manufacturing community you have, both individually and collectively contributed to the unprecedented rise of cooking in America, as chronicled in my book.

The proceeds from this book will allow the Metz/Wang Family Foundation (MWFF), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization to provide financial support to culinarians, for scholarships, education, and training. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our foundation, in cooperation with the American Culinary Federation and contributions from foodservice companies and individuals, has distributed over $90,000 in support of unemployed foodservice personnel. The earnings of this book will enhance the foundations’ ability to continue its mission.

The book chronicles the meandering road travelled by an immigrant chef, privileged to direct the fortunes of the CIA, the country’s most iconic culinary institution. A journey, marked by the ancient transfer of ingredients and techniques, facilitated by the trade routes provides an important historic perspective. 

Contemplating the Dormant Period as influenced by the post-depression area, reveal the domination of our eating culture attributed to the Dark Ages Of Food, while the Awakening of America’s Chefs in search of their culinary roots find collective validation by the culinary icons - Julia Child and James Beard

The Age of Enlightenment challenge and illuminate emerging trends, placing Nouvelle, Molecular, Fusion, California and American cuisines in their proper context, which ultimately, like a perfectly grafted consommé, gained clarity and substance.

“From Many We are One “charts the progression of chefs to the status of activists, entrepreneurs, and even celebrities, often flouting their own checkered past of widespread gender and ethnic discrimination, while marginalizing the merits and contributions of minorities, including women and African American Chefs.

This book examines and interrogates the impact and continued development of American Cuisine and its potential legacy, a universal challenge for future generations able and willing to influence its destiny.

Reminded of Brillat-Savarin’s words: “A Nations Is What It Eats” could serve as an inspirational beacon.