9 books like THE BEAR

After watching the first episode of the bearmy husband and I (both of whom have worked in kitchens) turned to each other and said, “This is the show they should have done when they did Confidential kitchen.” The OG of memoirs by popular chefs, this book has been the introduction for many readers to the idea that restaurant kitchens are an absolutely wild environment. The TV series based on this book was fun, but captured next to nothing of what makes the book so good. Read this one if you like the bearand especially if you find yourself inexplicably attracted to Richie.

Reflecting real life, most of the kitchen staff in the bear is black, Latin or both. Onwuachi’s memoir spans his life from teenage drug dealer to caterer to Excellent chef, and examines how unwelcoming the world of food is for a black chef (while most kitchens have at least one black worker, they’re rarely at the top of the chain). Read this one if Sydney is your favorite. There is also a YA adaptation.

Another memoir from a black leader, this one explores family in a unique way, as Samuelsson was orphaned in Ethiopia and adopted in Sweden. He starts talking about his two mothers and how they shaped his love of food.

This book blends poetry and prose to tell Chicago stories like only a “working class man” can. Cronberg is an artist who has held many jobs, including 33 years as a heavy machinery operator and a member of the Operating Engineers Union. Now retired, his stories show Chicago most of the characters in the bear would recognize.

My favorite episode of the bear (episode 7, “Review”) unfolds in real time, showing a terrible day at The Beef unfolding and tensions rising. It’s harder for a book to show events in real time, as reading speeds vary, but this verse novel comes pretty close. The subject matter is quite different – Will is going to kill the person who killed his brother Shawn, and the novel is set during his elevator ride there – but the tension is there and more.

A recurring theme in the bear is Michael’s addiction and death and how it affects Carmen, Richie, and Carmen’s sister, Natalie (“Sugar”), who begs her living brother to go to Al Anon. In Luck of the draw, addiction killed Aiden’s brother, and he must deal with his lingering resentments when former attorney Zoe, who represented the drug company in the family’s lawsuit, comes to seek relief from his guilt. There are also fake meetings, so sign me up!

A family restaurant. An unexpected and violent death. A chef who could work in a much fancier establishment. And in this case, a mystery. This time it’s a Chinese restaurant and the death of a father, but the sibling dynamics and restaurant environment are very much like those of the bear.

Eddie, formerly incarcerated, wants to get out of his old gang, but first he must find his father and uncover some family truths. And as long as he does, he wants to prove himself to Carmen, the chef of the Italian restaurant where he does the dishes, who perhaps believes in him. Although the setting is Los Angeles, it sounds very much like a story that could exist on the bear (if it was willing to be a little sexier on the surface).

Some chefs come to eat by accident. Some pursue a career because they are good at it. Some people live and breathe food, and that’s Emoni. A teenage mother who lives with her abuela, she dreams of being a chef but is focused on her high school education. Then she lands a place in an elective cooking class and suddenly she has opportunities. It is a charming and poetic novel about a young woman who knows who she is learning to realize an important part of herself.