My Life on a Plate: Recipes from Around the World

Kelis's love affair with food started as a child. A native New Yorker, her mother worked as a chef in her own catering business, run out of their home in Harlem. Driven by the speed and the intensity in the kitchen, Kelis's passion blossomed while watching her mother cook. It inspired her to roll up her sleeves, willing to do whatever anyone asked of her. Every detail was clear and defined: red lips, red nails, perfume, earrings and a military demeanor. Kelis felt that she was in the presence of a master when she was in the kitchen with her mother.

At age 17, Kelis signed her first recording contract and began to travel the world. She discovered local outdoor markets and tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurants and considered them the hidden treasures of her journeys. After 10 years in the music business, Kelis decided to attend the world-class cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu. Attending the renowned school gave Kelis the confidence to call herself a chef and to write her first cookbook.

My Life on a Plate tells Kelis's personal story through the food she creates. Her style has been molded by her culture, her travels, and all the people she met along the way. This book is a collection of her favorite recipes. It features a mix of foods from her Puerto Rican heritage, such as Pernil (Puerto Rican Pork Shoulder), Arroz con Gandules, and Shrimp Alcapurias, along with dishes she created after discovering them on her travels around the world---such as Malay Curry Chicken and Swedish Meatballs.