bn.com
To learn what it takes to become a great chef, you can take the rigorous Certified Master Chef exam at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America (CIA to cognoscenti). Or you could read Michael Ruhlman's captivating book The Soul of a Chef. This diverting tome chronicles the passage of would-be master chefs through the grueling (and sometimes heartbreaking) requirements of the CIA regimen and provides behind-the-swinging-door portraits of chef stars Michael Symon and Thomas Keller.
Los Angeles Times
....The Soul of the Chef is a lively blend of reportage, reflection and recipes.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
In this follow-up to his cooking school odyssey, The Making of a Chef, Ruhlman examines what causes chefs to seek absolute perfection. The book is divided into three parts: in the first, Ruhlman observes the arduous Certified Master Chef exam at the Culinary Institute of America, which was the setting for his first book. The second segment focuses on Michael Symon, a rising star at Lola (in Cleveland) who was recently dubbed one of the 10 best chefs in America by Food & Wine. The third is dedicated to Thomas Keller, chef of California's esteemed French Laundry. While Ruhlman's play-by-play descriptions of chefs struggling to cook exactly as Escoffier dictated 90 years earlier can be exciting (and the stories of those who failed heartbreaking), they strongly echo his previous book's account of culinary education. The author fares better in his portrait of Keller's development into an exacting perfectionist. But even here Ruhlman often slips into simply writing about the process of working on The French Laundry Cookbook, to which he contributed the text, or repeating stories that appear in it. Overall this book makes a fine introduction to Ruhlman's writing, but readers of his previous books will be disappointed to find the chef reheating leftovers. (July) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
Library Journal
Writer and trained chef Ruhlman (The Making of a Chef) claims to be searching for the essence of what drives a great chef. In 1997, he attended the Certified Master Chef exam at the Culinary Institute of America, the most grueling, comprehensive, and controversial cooking test in America. He observes and interviewed, among others, Bryan Polcyn of Five Lakes Grill in Michigan. Next he moved to Cleveland to report on another star chef, Michael Symon of the Lola Bistro and Wine Bar. The third section of his book concerns Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in the Napa Valley, called by many the best chef working in America today. Each section of the book is fascinating in itself, especially the introductory section on the Certified Master Chef exam, an ordeal of almost hellish intensity. Unfortunately, his search for "the soul of a chef" is laid over what are essentially three separate pieces. Less than the sum of its part, the book will eventually test anyone's patience for reading page after page of menus and description of nouvelle cuisine creations. An appendix offers a selection of recipes from each chef profiled. Recommended for large public libraries.--Tom Cooper, St. Louis P.L., MO Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\
Internet Bookwatch
The author's prior Making Of A Chef became a cult classic in 1997; Soul of a Chef is a companion volume further
exploring the world of professional cooking, blending an autobiography with insights into what it takes to become a
top-ranking chef in the industry. From his experiences with three distinctive chefs to his attempts to understand culinary and
restaurant success and failure, Soul of a Chef is a revealing winner.
Anthony Bourdain
Ruhlman sets out to . . . delve so deeply into the
hearts and minds of a few select chefs that he may
discover the essence of haute cuisine. Amazingly
enough, he succeeds -- by turning his investigation
into an adventure story . . .
—The New York Times Book Review
Ruhlman sets out to perform a task even restaurant insiders would find difficult: to delve so deeply into the hearts and minds of a few select chefs that he may discover the essence of haute cuisine.
"Amazingly enough, he succeeds—by turning his investigation into an adventure story, a hold-your-breath-while-you-turn-the-page thriller that's also an anthropological study of the culture of cooking.” — Anthony Bourdain, The New York Times
