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Unwind The Empire He Built
86 The Chef follows a celebrity chef cracking under the weight of ambition, exhaustion, and emotional disconnection, who seeks the help of his little brother to escape. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I grew up during the heyday of Emeril Live and other seminal Food Network shows, and worked in some restaurants and catering kitchens. Ultimately, I pursued creative writing over culinary school, but cooking has always been an important part of my life. It just made sense that my first book would be rooted in that knowledge and passion.
The inspiration for this story came out of a single question- What would happen if one of the world’s most famous celebrity chefs needed to unwind the empire he built? I wanted to explore how one would go about that, and if those lengths would be funny or tragic, and if it could even be accomplished in the end. I can tell you that the book turned out completely differently than I thought when I first asked myself that question.
Your characters are wonderfully emotive and relatable. Were you able to use anything from your own life to inform their character development?
I am the middle of three boys, so there is certainly some experience written into the ways the Chapman brothers interact. My favorite scenes are when they are all together, like at the unnamed bar or the big family dinner at the end of the book. The characters themselves are, in a way, thought experiments on what my future could have been if I had chosen to pursue a career in food or cooking somehow. Not that I would have even sniffed the success or celebrity of Trey, but I could imagine a life where I was a food critic. And although I don’t have the constitution for crime, it’s fun to wonder what a life traveling the world and smuggling delicacies would be like.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Family was a major theme because it’s one of the reasons that drives the drastic moves Trey makes. But I also wanted to put a spotlight on ambition. There aren’t any checks on his ascent. Trey doesn’t pump the brakes at all when he’s building his empire, which is why he must go to such extraordinary lengths to get out of it. Jackson and Joey also tackle ambition, or lack of it. What do you want to do? Why is that important? What happens if it doesn’t work out? What happens if it does? Those are the questions they all eventually get around to asking themselves and answering.
What is the next book that you’re working on, and when can your fans expect it out?
I am in the process of writing a sequel to 86 The Chef. While some of the storylines are resolved, there is still a lot more to explore with the Chapman brothers. The biggest question being “What happens to Trey after he…” (I don’t want to spoil the ending of the original.) It will probably be available late summer or early fall. Fans can join the mailing list by emailing rooster@woosterstreetpublishing.com to be among the first to know.
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86 The Chef
Adam K. Watson’s 86 The Chef is a razor-sharp and soul-searching novel that follows Trey Chapman, a celebrity chef whose once-brilliant culinary empire is now cracking under the weight of ambition, exhaustion, and emotional disconnection. The book paints a vivid picture of the entire Chapman family, all tangled up in the food world. From Trey’s aging critic brother Jackson to the elusive fixer Joey, each with their own dreams, demons, and disappointments. Through a swirling cast of chefs, critics, smugglers, and hustlers, the story unpacks the tension between art and commerce, legacy and identity, all wrapped in the steamy and cutthroat chaos of the restaurant scene.
I loved how real this story felt. The writing is cinematic, funny, and biting. There’s this effortless flow to Watson’s sentences, some clipped, others lush, that mimics the chaos of a kitchen and the pacing of an exhausted heart. The characters are layered and messy, especially Trey, who is both brilliant and broken. Watching him claw his way through ego, fatigue, and physical pain was gut-wrenching but deeply compelling. I could feel the weight of his fame pulling him apart. And yet, the story never becomes a pity parade. It’s sharp, darkly funny, and full of those little observations that make you pause, laugh, or wince.
What really hooked me wasn’t the food, the fame, or the drama, it was the grief. Not loud, tear-soaked grief, but the quiet, creeping kind that sneaks in when success costs you yourself. Trey is a man haunted by what he’s lost, time, purpose, connection, and that quiet sadness echoes through every chapter. Watson’s ability to explore that without spelling it out or dragging it into melodrama is fantastic. The supporting characters, like Jackson and Erica, aren’t just props, they have their own bruises, their own bitterness, and it makes the world feel lived-in and raw. The whole book is a balancing act between fire and finesse, and it sticks the landing.
I’d recommend 86 The Chef to anyone who loves stories about ambition and the emotional collateral it leaves behind. Foodies will be thrilled by the behind-the-scenes grit of the industry, but it’s not just for chefs or food lovers. It’s for anyone who’s chased a dream and realized too late they were running from something else. This is a book about burnout, brilliance, and the blurry line between building an empire and losing your soul.
Pages: 285 | ASIN : B0F549F1RN
LITERARY TITAN 