Breaking the Hold and Raking the Gold: The Struggle of an Immigrant Boy on the Road to the American Dream

From a small poverty-ridden town in southern Italy, Joe Beato leaves for Switzerland at age 14 to break the hold and learn to be a chef. After four years of dedication and long hours, his apprenticeship is complete. At 18, his journey takes him to Canada, where he learns a new language and invigorates his passion for food, propelling his culinary career upward.

A few years later, he moves to America, starts a family and continues to work hard as he climbs the ladder to success. He becomes a renowned chef in one of Detroit's most prestigious hospitals and wins gold medals around the world in the Culinary Olympics and at other international and national gastronomical events.

Included in this book is a selection of the chef's personal recipes, as well as family and traditional recipes from southern Italy, where he has his roots.