Kitchen Gangster: 20 Years to fight, grind and build an empire

David Manal knew two things by the age of 15: he would never finish school, and he would never quit until he had a life of huge success and money. He just wasn’t sure yet how to make this happen.Born in Saudi Arabia as Ihsan Mohammed Manal Abdulatife Abdallah, David learned that he had to erase all his connections to his Arab life and take a new name to rise above his poor beginnings and carve a life for himself.From selling ice-lollies at a street stall in the dusty streets of Saudi Arabia to working in the back rooms and kitchens of hotels in Jordan, and finally, to owning the entertainment empire, Cafe La Plage in South Africa, this is the gritty, ruthless and breathtaking story of the 20-year climb of a self-made millionaire who has fought his way to the top.Book Extract: I worked out a long time ago that to live the high life, I had to change my identity and become the high life. So, I am not standing here as a Muslim, born in Saudi Arabia. I am not standing here as the son of a Palestinian schoolteacher who came from a long line of Syrian Arabs. I am not standing here as Ihsan Mohammed Manal Abdulatife Abdallah, the name I was given at birth. I left that poor, rough boy long behind me in the streets of Amman decades ago. I am not even standing here as David Manal, the name I took to erase all my connections to my Arab life.I am standing here as a rich, successful and ruthless businessman - fearless with money and about to open the best party in town again.