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Book Cover for: No Man Is an Island: A Memoir of Family and Haitian Cuisine, Tigeorges Laguerre

No Man Is an Island: A Memoir of Family and Haitian Cuisine

Tigeorges Laguerre

Shortlisted for the 2017 Gourmand International Cookbook Prize
Los Angeles Times Cookbook of the week

Jean-Marie Monfort Hébert Georges Fils "TiGeorges" Laguerre died at birth. But anyone who knows the gregarious, polylingual chef and restaurant owner realizes that it takes more than something like dying to keep this charismatic man down. Laguerre was revived, and in the decades since, has lived life to the fullest. His new memoir is a recipe for real talk and a hearty blend of food, family, and country. Laguerre spills secrets of his one-of-a-kind cuisine, talks about the life in Haiti, and shares his everyman's immigrant's journey from the Caribbean to New York, and then across the country to Los Angeles.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Rare Bird Books, a Vireo Book
  • Publish Date: Jan 12nd, 2016
  • Pages: 216
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 7.90in - 5.00in - 0.50in - 0.50lb
  • EAN: 9781942600251
  • Categories: Essays & NarrativesCultural, Ethnic & Regional - GeneralRegional & Ethnic - Caribbean & West Indian

About the Author

Born Jean-Marie Monfort Hébert Georges Fils "TiGeorges" Laguerre, TiGeorges is the the proprietor of the legendary TiGeorges' Chicken in Los Angeles. Originally from Haiti, TiGeorges immigrated to Los Angeles via Brooklyn to bring all the culture and customs of his Caribbean legacy to new worlds.

Jeremy Rosenberg is the Assistant Dean, Public Affairs and Special Events, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, and a former team member of Metabolic Studio. He writes about art, urban planning, policy, ideas, and much more. He lives in Los Angeles.

Chandler Wood is a comic book artist, illustrator, and storyboard artist. His work includes I Love Your Work, Conspiracy Zone, The 6th Day, and many others. He lives in Los Angeles.

Praise for this book

Los Angeles Times Cookbook of the week

"This isn't so much a cookbook as it is a memoir of a life spent cooking, from a chef whose life probably deserves not one, but a dozen memoirs....TiGeorges restaurant is a cultural center as much as a place to eat, where the Haitian community gathers, where musicians play and where Laguerre continues to make astonishing roast chicken on the grill he built at the front of the place, a contraption that looks more like a medieval catapult than a normal rotisserie. TiGeorges the author has created a kind of cultural center with this book, dishing out his food and his life in equal, colorful measure..."
--Amy Scattergood, Los Angeles Times

"Laguerre dives into the stories and memories behind these traditional foods in his autobiography, No Man Is an Island, co-authored by Jeremy Rosenberg and released this month by Rare Bird Books. A stream-of-consciousness account that feels more like a conversation with the gregarious restaurant owner than a memoir, the book is filled with oral recipes, facts about his food and country, and insights into his life and struggles."
--Sarah Bennett, LA Weekly