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Accidentally on Purpose

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By Kristen Kish

Formats and Prices

Price

$30.00

Price

$39.00 CAD

Format

Format:

  1. Hardcover $30.00 $39.00 CAD
  2. ebook $14.99 $19.99 CAD
  3. Audiobook Download (Unabridged) $27.99

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A tender, cleareyed memoir, Accidentally on Purpose charts a journey full of purpose, belonging, and real love—a “recipe for a life worth living” (Stacy London).

Kristen Kish never could have imagined people on the street knowing her name—not when she was a carefree softball-tossing kid, in high school working at a pretzel stand, and not even when she finally found her true calling as a chef. In those early days, becoming a chef meant tethering oneself to a restaurant and working in the back of a kitchen, not a television set. But working in the spotlight happened naturally, even if the attention was totally unanticipated.  And like most things in Kristen’s life, the road was so much more winding and complicated than it may have appeared from the outside.
 
From growing up as an adoptee in the Midwest, to trying to fit in with all the other girls who were busy dating boys, to coming out and finding love when she least expected it, Kristen learned that, unlike a map, no set of plans or definitions can dictate or explain a life. In fact, accidents happen. Curveballs will come. And even the full-circle moments—like winning Top Chef to becoming its Emmy-nominated host years later—could have guaranteed these opportunities.
 
In Accidentally on Purpose, what defines Kristen’s story aren’t the missteps or even the pleasant surprises that crop up but how she learned to find her voice and use it. Because while accidents may be unexpected, they don’t have to be at odds with purpose. And as Kristen approaches life’s milestones, big and small, with intention, she realizes at those junctures—the ones beyond the borders of the map, behind-the-scenes, and off camera—are where the decisions and discoveries are made. Where the unexpected meets the intentional. And that’s where things get really interesting.

Genre:

  • "With her humble heart and calm intelligence, Kristen Kish discusses her life and career with candor and wonder, expresses her early sense of fear and shame, and relates points in time that reflect expectation, disappointment, and revelation. Like any great artist, she writes her story so we can know ours a bit better. Accidentally on Purpose is a recollection of what it means to become yourself, believe in your light, and allow life to help you chart your course rather than derail you. Kristen hasn't written a How-To guide. She's written a recipe for a life worth living: with purpose, curiosity, forgiveness, luck, and of course—what every recipe relies on—love."
    Stacy London, TV host, designer, stylist, and author
  • “Kristen Kish takes us on a journey filled with honesty and raw emotion. From a teenager feeling like an outsider to an empowered groundbreaker. Kristen leaves no crumbs! The world is a better place when people like Kristen stand in their truth a reminder everyone has a story.”
    Tamron Hall, Emmy-award winning TV host, journalist and bestselling author
  • "Accidentally on Purpose is a candid journey of life and lessons learned. Kristen Kish brings the reader to the 'table' with stories that are inspiring, raw, and real. I never wanted to finish it."
    Camila McConaughey, New York Times bestselling author of Just Try One Bite and founder of Women of Today
  • “I have always known Kristen Kish to be a person of deep emotional strength, intention, and focus. Over the last few years especially, I have come to understand more clearly what drives her. It’s never been about the end result, the lip service or the prospect of quick success. It has always been about the people she loves and what she can learn from her many unexpected adventures. Accidentally on Purpose shares her thrilling, at times heart-wrenching, and wildly serendipitous story, in her own words, for the very first time. Her unprecedented journey—from adoptee in small-town Michigan to household name and culinary icon—will move, humble, and entangle you in her warm, wide-open embrace.”
    Gail Simmons, TV Host, Food Expert, and Author of Bringing It Home

On Sale
Apr 22, 2025
Page Count
352 pages
Publisher
Little, Brown and Company
ISBN-13
9780316580915

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Kristen Kish

About the Author

Kristen Kish was born in South Korea and adopted into a family in Michigan. After attending Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago, she spent ten years in Boston in several high-profile restaurants. In 2012 Kristen competed on Bravo’s Top Chef where she won the coveted title. She co-hosted 36 Hours, a Travel Channel show with the New York Times. In October 2017, Kristen released her first cookbook, Kristen Kish Cooking: Recipes and Techniques and in 2018 she partnered with LINE Hotels to launch her first restaurant, Arlo Grey in Austin, TX. In 2023, Kristen became host of Bravo’s Top Chef for its 21st season, a full circle moment, rejoining the Top Chef family a full 10 years later. Kristen is the co-star of Fast Foodies, a co-host of Iron Chef: Quest for an Iron Legend and the host and producer of Restaurants at the End of the World.

Learn more about this author