Chen Yakov and his Thai mother immigrated to Connecticut after his father, a Russian consul general, was assassinated in Thailand. To make their ends meet, the mother-and-son duo opened a family restaurant in the unfamiliar town. 

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In his senior year at Columbia, Chen meets Ada, a Le Cordon Bleu graduate, at the dinky restaurant where he works on weekends. Mushroom and Marshmallow is the story of their culinary adventure.