How NY Times Bestselling Author Eddie Huang Writes

2026-07-23

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New York Times bestselling author, filmmaker, and decorated chef Eddie Huang spoke with us about his origins as a writer, the pivot from memoir to autofiction, and the personal transformation behind his debut novel COME UNDONE. Eddie Huang is a chef, restaurateur, food personality, filmmaker, and polmath widely recognized for his bestselling memoir, Fresh Off the Boat, which inspired the hit ABC sitcom of the same name. Anthony Bourdain wrote of the book, “Mercilessly funny and provocative, Fresh Off the Boat is also a s...

New York Times bestselling author, filmmaker, and decorated chef Eddie Huang spoke with us about his origins as a writer, the pivot from memoir to autofiction, and the personal transformation behind his debut novel COME UNDONE.

Eddie Huang is a chef, restaurateur, food personality, filmmaker, and polmath widely recognized for his bestselling memoir, Fresh Off the Boat, which inspired the hit ABC sitcom of the same name. Anthony Bourdain wrote of the book, “Mercilessly funny and provocative, Fresh Off the Boat is also a serious piece of work.”

Eddie recently published his fiction debut, Come Undone: A Novel, described as “a sharp, emotionally raw exploration of love, masculinity, and self-destruction.”

“A subversively funny first novel, the bestselling author of Fresh Off the Boat delivers a portrait of a haunted manchild and his messy search for love…”

Eddie is also a co-owner of BaoHaus, a restaurant in the East Village of Lower Manhattan, and was previously the host of “Huang's World” for Viceland. He wrote and directed the feature film Boogie (2021) and released the documentary Vice Is Broke (2024). He now co-hosts a popular lifestyle podcast alongside his wife, Natashia Perrotti, Canal Street Dreams.

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In this file Eddie Huang, Milena, and I discussed:

Why Good Will Hunting changed his life

The decade of self-doubt that followed runaway hit Fresh Off the Boat

How autofiction allowed him to access an emotional truth without the constraints of memoir

On not being Cormac McCarthy

What Anthony Bourdain's death meant to him personally

His key literary influences

And a lot more!

Show Notes:

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