| Title | : | The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0141001895 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780141001890 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 384 |
| Publication | : | First published June 26, 2000 |
The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection Reviews
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I read this book first. I should have read
The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the CIA first. It would have made more sense and been a great deal more enjoyable.
This book was written before the Food Network invented Masterchef and Chopped. Except they didn't invent them at all. "Masterchef" was a qualification offered by the Culinary Institute of America. It involved 10 days of cooking tests to chefs of the level that some owned restaurants. Some of the tests involved mystery baskets.
The book was good. The original competition which is still going every year costs a fortune to enter. It's like going to a bdsm club must be. You pay to enter and then you get whipped all night and go home feeling great, you could have taken more. Or else you wimp out and think you might try again some other time.
Finished end Dec. 2014 -
I had very mixed reactions to this book. I loved the first two sections (almost to a 5 star level) and really disliked the final third. The first section focused on chefs trying to pass the Certified Master Chef exam given by the Culinary Institute of America. 10 days of grueling cooking, judging, and trying to live up to impossible expectations; I found it fascinating. Admittedly, this book was written in the late 90s (before such shows as Iron Chef and Chopped made competition style cooking seem common place) but that didn't take away from the awe-inspiring cooking happening... and the fact that this is for professional accreditation, not money. The second section focused on Michael Symon's restaurant Lola; again, this book was written before he became a Food Network star, so it was an interesting study of a succesful business by an up-an-coming chef. I liked the descriptions of his food, the energy, and the happy vibe of Lola. Finally, the third section focused on The French Laundry and Thomas Keller's style of cooking. And that's where the book lost me, because it became apparent that the author was an unapologetic Keller fanboy, and because I just didn't find the descriptions of Keller's haute cuisine very appetizing. Calf's brains, onion tapioca, trotters, and of course foie gras (over and over again)... no thanks.
The overall premise of the book (captured in the subhead "the journey towards perfection") was pretty slight; it holds the narrative together, but just barely. But if you are interested in a behind the scenes look a how some of the top chefs in the country cook, than I would recommend this, with the caveat that the third section (with its rampant admiration for Keller) can become snobby and condescending (basically "foodie-ism" at its worst). -
When I grow up, I want to be Michael Ruhlman. That guy gets to hang out with the best chefs and write about it. I'm jealous.
Ruhlman's account of three chefs are more than just biography; he makes each story compelling and interesting. His account of Brian Polcyn taking the CMC examination kept me awake far too late on a work night as I wanted to finish it. The author's examination of what makes a chef are extremely interesting.
Ruhlman is a very good and entertaining writer. -
Ruhlman, from Ohio. Dude can write a food book.
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An enjoyable read for the serious foodie or those considering becoming a chef. The culinary details of the CIA's master chef certification test would frustrate and have vexed even the most serious cooks, so while I found the entire book enlightening, I can't imagine people that aren't seriously in to food philosophies and techniques would be that interested. If, you are interested in the daily culinary lives of great, talented chefs, this could be for you.
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It took me a moment to get into this book. But once it had me, it held me. I am a sucker for a chef's memoir, and this was an in-depth foray into not only the world of a chef, but also into the heart, mind, and yes, the soul of a chef. I found myself pining for my kitchen days, and wondering who I would have been if I had gone to culinary school instead of college.
The book is broken down into three parts, one addresses the incredibly difficult CIA Grand Master test, which just seemed grueling and hyper-critical to me.
Then we moved to Cleveland to meet chef Michael Symon, and see how one restaurant can change the way an entire city thinks about food.
The third section deals with Thomas Keller in the French Laundry. I'll tell you what, this section alone reminded me about taking one's time to make sure every detail is perfect. Keller is so mindful of everything he does, and it really resonated with me. My Thanksgiving dinner this year was the best I've ever made, and I thank this book for that. For reminding me to be a thoughtful chef.
Thank you. -
Yes it is three essays tied into one, but I didn't feel they were disconnected at all and each one gets into the question of what makes a chef and how is it measured very well. I was very excited that everything I learned about cooking was synthesized here in this book by the words of some of the most famous and unknown chefs in the kitchen. Learned some good cooking tricks at the same time. Very enjoyable but pretty technical and sometimes esoteric.
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Clearly a great author- he can make me read this entire book despite its flaws. Felt like two books that weren’t long enough and were thrown together not very cohesively. A lame epilogue to tie it together. A lot of repetitiveness and pretentiousness. But overall interesting as usual. The first part would have made a better essay and the second would have been more interesting to go broader and look at more diverse chefs.
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Half-Price books again.
Overall, I'd say this would be a better book if Ruhlman had titled it something like "Mastery in Culinary Craft, Three Essays", instead of pretending there was any sort of continuous thread leading him from one project to the next. These were not unified at all. Ruhlman clearly selects great projects, because I keep reading his books even though the man drives me crazy (and not in a good way). I'd never pay full price for anything he's written, though.
Finished Part 1: Certified Master Chef Exam on 7/21. Less of this was about Ruhlman, who is usually so self-centered that he drags the story behind him like a dead weight. There was one short bit where he actually stopped bothering to attend the Exam, apparently because the whole thing wasn't about HIM! He's not cooking, nobody is evaluating him, nobody would notice if he weren't there, so he just doesn't go to some parts. It's ten days in which he has to do nothing but take notes and observe, and he couldn't keep his focus? I was really surprised that Ruhlman focused so hard on Brian Polcyn, because I actively disliked him. I wanted to like him, and if the story were being told about him in his life away from the Exam, I might have. The few paragraphs relating to his family and his restaurant made him seem like a much nicer guy than every single other word written about him. As it was, I continued to read while hoping he would fail. I wanted Lynn to do well, not because she's female and not because she'd be only the second woman to pass the Exam, but because she seemed like such a genuinely nice person. And I wanted Steve to pass, because again he seemed so nice, was clearly working hard, cared about the people around him, and seemed from the start to have the necessary skills and thought processes. But Brian? I didn't want his attitude rewarded with a pass. For results .
Finished Part 2: Lola, on 7/22. I think I would have enjoyed this section, because I am somewhat familiar with Chef Symon and think he's a great guy, except that Ruhlman didn't write much about either Symon or Lola. Oh, on the surface it seems as if he did. You get a complete menu listing, watch the process of selecting a new menu, see three separate nights at the restaurant, two important for publicity and one important for finances. But in truth, this section goes nowhere and is always returning to its real focus: Ruhlman himself. A chapter about Chef Symon and his background, then a chapter about Ruhlman, his CIA experience, and his chef snobberies. A chapter about Symon having local news present, then a chapter about Ruhlman and how he looks down on Symon's food for not being sauced (ending in a few pages about James Beard, much of which is how fat he was). A restaurant critic comes, and Ruhlman looks down on his ethics before being grateful for the man essentially giving him permission to be--as Ruhlman himself self-identifies--shallow and self-indulgent. He "can't help but be judgmental" of Chef Symon's not being as neat as Ruhlman wants in the plating of a dish. This section has no arc, meanders and doesn't get anywhere, and seems just an excuse for Ruhlman to espouse, once again, his snobbishness. There is plenty of story to tell when it comes to Chef Symon and Lola. Practically none of it is told here. (P.S. John Mariani's name and words do not need to be in italics. He is not a god. Nowadays, he's really not terribly important, most of the press he gets is when he's complaining about some chef or another not treating him as he thinks he should be treated.)
On to Part 3: Journey Toward Perfection! Should be interesting, as I'm very familiar with Keller and The French Laundry. Fortunately, only chapter one of this section (and the book's epilogue) is another All About Michael Ruhlman. Unfortunately, the entire rest of Part 3 is a rehash of The French Laundry Cookbook. There's nothing new here. Even the tiniest anecdotes (a customer, who works at another restaurant but will soon be working at TFL, brings his mom back to look at the kitchen after they eat, she whispers that it's like a watchmaker's shop. This is the entire story, and it is included both here and in TFL Cookbook. The rabbit story, which was my favourite part of TFL Cookbook, is practically word-for-word here) are just repetitions.
Epilogue: I completely disagree with Ruhlman's conclusions, I think he's got it exactly backwards, actually.
As to the actual writing quality, I've seen it said that Ruhlman describes food well, which covers up his poor writing skills. I have a hard time determining whether he's a strong writer, because the paperback editions of his books have such shitty editing. So many typos and technical writing errors, which editors should catch if the writer can't. ("...he says, nodding and smiling, knowingly. When you ask him his last name, he says, 'It means saddlemaker in Russian,' and smiles knowingly." Really? A knowing smile twice in 19 words?) ("Henin, a sturdy, fit man, a veteran of a dozen high-end kitchens and a former instructor at several culinary schools, is currently a consultant for Yosemite Concession Service, which handles the food for the park system and Ahwahnee Hotel there, was born during World War II in Lyons, France, the gastronomic capital of the Western world." That sentence is so poorly structured, at the very least it needs a "who" stuck in somewhere.) I loathe when a writer switches from present tense to past tense without cause, and Ruhlman does that in the beginning of Part 3. All past tense, then suddenly a new paragraph starts (not even a new section, just a hard return) and it's present tense. This actually happens a lot in Part 3, where Ruhlman goes from reporting what is meant to be happening right now to telling the story of what had happened...except both are things that happened in the same conversation. If Grant "says" something just before he "said" something else, there's a problem.
As I mentioned in my review of "Making of a Chef", if you don't already have a grounding in culinary arts or haven't read much food writing, you will be often lost. Do you know what a sautoir is? Because Ruhlman won't tell you, but he'll expect you to understand why Brian Polcyn didn't want to use one for his spaetzle. Know that Lutèce was a restaurant, and what type? What shape a quenelle is? What a lowboy is? You'll be skimming a lot if not, because Ruhlman doesn't explain. This makes for a faster (and, honestly, more enjoyable) read for those of us who do know, but I can't imagine it's fun for those who don't.
Oh, and they've got to take the Bourdain quote and Detroit Free Press blurb off the cover. Don't know what book they read, but it wasn't this one! -
My best book of October and maybe for the year! As a lifelong educator, I constantly profess that college is NOT a prerequisite to success! This biography of chefs is music to my ears. The chef of the renowned French Laundry in Napa, CA is my new example! Probably the best chef in the world right now, he began with his mother’s insistence that he take pride in all he did - even cleaning his bathroom! Oh, and striving for perfection.
Our youngest daughter graduated from NECI, and this book mirrored her experiences- fun to relive! -
a surprisingly powerful meditation on art, craft, and perfectionism
Michael Ruhlman strikes me as a journalist who wants to be a chef. He hangs out at the Culinary Institute of America, watching the Certified Master Chef exam, then hangs out some more in the kitchens of Michael Symon and Thomas Keller. He loves telling the reader about fancy French methods of food-preparation, and even though I will never use them, I enjoyed listening. There's valuable "what's it like to be a chef" scenes, as if we're watching a camera hidden in a kitchen. I also appreciate Ruhlman's commitment to the hard questions like "what's the point of being a Certified Master Chef?" "Why pay so much for food?" and best of all "why work so hard?" I was surprised by how deep we went. There's real insight here. -
This was written before competition cooking shows existed so keep that in mind starting out.
The first section of the book is about the Culinary Institute of America's Master Chef exam. It's fascinating. Loved that part of the book. It was fascinating and since I didn't know anything about that side of the cooking world, very informative as well. That first section warrants 4.5 stars.
The second section follows Michael Symon around (before he's a Food Network star) at his restaurant, Lola. Again, interesting but this is where the author starts to move from journalist to fan - and it bugs. He starts to lose his journalist objective and starts to ruminate on his love for a certain food writer. It's weird and totally out of place, IMO. Most of the second section is a solid 3 star. It does make me want to fly to Cleveland and go to Lola!
The third, and final, section is about Thomas Keller and his famous restaurant, the French Laundry. Here's the thing, I want to go to the French Laundry and experience the food just like the next foodie. I was excited to read about it and to learn more about Keller. But I felt like instead of writing like he did in the first section, Mr. Ruhlman ends up writing a love fest about Keller and his food. I get it - he has a man crush. But I don't want to keep reading about it. I keep thinking as I'm reading this last section that if the author would just shut up about himself and his thoughts - the book would be a lot better. So far I'm back and forth between a 2.5 star and 3 star for this section.
Yes, that's right. I'm reviewing a book before I'm totally finished. Here's the thing though, if Ruhlman keeps up his man crush love fest I'm bored and moving on. I'll let you all know how it goes.
Okay, update. The last section def got better. When Mr. Ruhlman focuses on the subject he writes quite well, engaging the reader to want to keep reading (and needing to eat what he's describing). If I could I'd rate this book a solid 3.5 stars. If you're interested in the cooking, the nuts and bolts, this is a great insight. It's a very meaty (pun intended) book so flying through it in one sitting is not to be expected. I def feel like I learned a lot about the cooking world and basic cooking techniques. -
I think I"m going to swear off food reading for a while after this one. This book was divided into three parts: the first about the grueling Certified Master Chef exam administered by the Culinary Institute of America, the second about then up and coming chef Michael Symon and the third about Thomas Keller, chef at the French Laundry and who many believe to be one of the best chefs in the country.
The first part about the exam was the most interesting. How do you test the qualities of a great chef. Most of the exam had to do with classical French preparations it seemed.
The second and third parts really dragged. Michael Symon is now a bonafide celebrity chef - He's an Iron Chef now!! When this was written we was still up and coming. I like Michael Symon a lot, but reading about him at his Cleveland restaurant, Lola, was a little boring.
I'd have to say the same for the section about Thomas Keller. His restaurant in CA wine country is one regarded as one of the best restaurants in the country and he, one of the best chefs. But in spite of that, I didn't really enjoy reading about it. By the end of the book there had been so much discussion about veal stock that I started to dream about it. They also talked about offal meats so much in this book that it was pushing me toward becoming vegetarian. Eating calves brains, kidneys, tripe and pigs ears may really be delicious when you eat them at The French Laundry but reading about them - the butchering, preparation etc., was just grossing me out.
I did have an "a ha!" moment at the end of this book. Chefs aren't the only ones who strive for perfection. To be good in any industry requires the same dedication and attention to detail. Even in my home life I am, in some ways, striving to be perfect. It's not a destination. As Thomas Keller was kind of saying, you work at it all the time. Once you achieve some level of "perfection" the bar is raised higher. And you must work at it constantly with every little detail.
So there were some interesting parts to the book, but I liked Michael Ruhlman's book The Making of a Chef (about culinary school) a lot better. -
This book found me. I was browsing at a local book sale, and the orange Penguin spine caught my eye. The back summary mentions the Certified Master Chef exam, a grueling 10-day course where aspiring chefs are put through rigorous tests on classical cooking. I immediately thought of Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars), which I love. But it was Anthony Bourdain's glowing blurb on the front cover that sealed the deal for me. I later learned he and the author Michael Ruhlman were friends. I found the book on June 24th, a day shy of what would have been Bourdain's 63rd birthday.
Reeling from a hard scifi run, I decided what the hell, I would read a book I'd just bought, ignoring the other titles that have been on the TBR for months. It turned out to be my quickest read of the year. It was fun, light, and engaging.
The Soul of a Chef was published in 2000, I guess at a time when people were hungry for insider studies of chefs and their culture. An obsession with food and cooking was emerging. It was also the year Bourdain's own Kitchen Confidential, also a favorite, came out. The two books are similar to me, with the confident and compelling writing, and an obvious love of the subject matter.
The book begins at the CMC exam. Here, Ruhlman focuses on Brian Polcyn whose sensibilities are somewhat at odds with the rigid standards of the exam and, by extension, the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). We then move on to the hip Cleveland restaurant Lola with its warm, boisterous chef Michael Symon, whom Ruhlman refers to as the "antithesis of the certified master chef." Finally, Ruhlman takes us to the restaurant Mecca, The French Laundry, presided over by its wily, exacting chef Thomas Keller. It is through these three charismatic chefs that Ruhlman attempts to unravel what it means to have the soul of a chef.
The three chefs in the book have gone on to become superstars, but I enjoyed reading about their early evolution through Ruhlman's effusive writing. I literally had goosebumps on my head where I suppose the pleasure center might be.
A fun read at the right time. Worth a return, again and again. -
Wow, this book was actually WAY better than I was expecting (even though it still lacked focus on what I was expecting the most: the actual process of becoming a Master Chef, which took only the first third of the book and was SO. COOL. Who would've thought that a book about cooking could be so thrilling??). I really enjoyed following the journey of these people who are so passionate about food and how they saw the culinary world. It is the sort of universe to which I'm not entirely familiar and it has its own complexity and peculiarities. It goes far beyond what we see in TV shows, like the background of a theater presentation. Not to mention it is actually rather motivational! Definitely recommended for... well, pretty much everyone. Who doesn't like food?
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What does it take to be a chef?
Michel Ruhlman explores this question in his book, The Should of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection. He spends a third of his time observing chefs as they try to attain the ultra elusive Certificated Master Chef (CMC) at the Culinary Institute of America. To this day, the total number of CMCs number less than 100. Is this what it means to be a true chef? The next third he spends observing the inner workings of the Lola restaurant in Cleveland, Ohio. Has Michael Symone, the owner of the restaurant, shown what it takes to be the ultimate chef? Lastly, he spends some time at one of the most popular and famous restaurants in the country, French Laundry, in Napa Valley, California. Does the story of failure to success of Thomas Keller exemplify what it means to be a chef? Read and you'll find out.
Ruhlman writes with an easy prose, captivating the reader in and describing in enough detail to get your mouth watering as you try to decide if you want to make the dish yourself. I did find that his narrative did seem to drag on a various points throughout his book, primarily near the end of each of the respective three sections. It really came down to Ruhlman asking himself the questions of what makes a chef a chef. And like most things in life, it really depends on the context of the situation. There's difference ways to measure, and perhaps his observations eventually led to his own self-discovery of what the answer to the question is.
It's a wonderful read, and it did require me to look up a few of the cooking concepts described. He even ends with a few complicated recipes at the end of the book. Perhaps one day if I feel up to the task, then perhaps I will look into these recipes. -
I highly enjoyed this one and would give it closer to 4.5 stars. Ruhlman breaks down his journey into three sections. The first focuses on the CMC, the Certified Master Chef exam, going into more detail in chef Brian Polcyn's story than some of the others. This is a brutally difficult, multi-day test of specific and precise cooking. Next, Ruhlman provides background on Michael Symon, currently an Iron Chef and owner of Lola in Cleveland. The book closes with an entire section on Thomas Keller and The French Laundry. Ruhlman ties these stories together by examining the drive and style behind each of the chefs; how do each of them achieve perfection, if at all?
This is my July Food for Thought book club book, and so I had no idea which chefs were going to be discussed. I was overjoyed by the last two stories--I became a fan of Michael Symon while watching The Next Iron Chef, and loved how his laughter is described perfectly in the book. And then to learn more about Thomas Keller! Ah, wonderful. Yet none of it would have mattered if Ruhlman wasn't a very solid writer. I had no previous knowledge of either the CMC nor Brian Polcyn, yet I was still riveted in the first part of the book. The writing flowed well, with plenty of technical discussions, yet nothing that I ever found difficult to grasp or out of my reach.
I learned about these chefs, but more than that, I came away from this book with a new found respect for food (ALL parts of the animal), along with some ponderings on my own motivations and yearnings to improve. Very well done. -
Ruhlman is a great writer and makes food come alive. The book is separated into three different sections - the first is about the CMC exam (Certified Master Chef) that is given by the Culinary Institute of America. The exam is ten days long and very few people have ever passed the exam. The middle section was a biography of Michael Symon, at the time he'd just been named one of the ten best new chefs in America and his restaurant Lola in Cleveland was doing very well. Today Symon is one of the Iron Chef America chefs and is quite successful. His success was based upon his personality as much as his cooking and his food though. The last third of the book focused on Thomas Keller and the French Laundry restaurant in Napa. I have never been interested in french food, it has never sounded very good, but the way that Ruhlman described the food makes me want to go there to experience Keller's food. And not just because of the food, but becuase of the way that Ruhlman also describes the kitchen and the way it's run. It makes me want to go out there and ask to be a dishwasher just to see how his kitchen runs. A really good read.
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Having studied at America's premier institute of culinary education (and written his second book,
The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America) author
Michael Ruhlman now takes us along as he joins the participants hoping to be granted the Culinary Federation of America's certification as a Master Chef. It costs from four to around six thousand dollars to enter and be judged over eight grueling days at the desk and in the kitchen. This was fascinating and if the book had ended there I would have given it four or even five stars.
Sadly, Ruhlman continued with portraits of two individual chefs. If these had been features in a culinary journal or an Americana magazine, I'd had have enjoyed them. As major components of a book? No; the book needed more. -
Read this for personal reasons - once worked for the authors late father, who was a delightful man and excellent boss. Well written, if a bit rambling. The book is disjointed. First part is about the Certified Master Chef exam and second part is about 3 chefs, but primarily, the famous Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. Not enough of a foodie to say this is a must, but it probably would be a must for foodies, especially those who dream of dropping $400 per person on a 9 course meal at the Laundry. Me, I'd happily attend - if you're buying.
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I listened to this on Audible and enjoyed it very much. It took longer because I only listened on my way to and from work. I think I would not have enjoyed reading this book. I think it is probably a better listen. The narrator was sometimes a little much in pronunciation and intonation, but the story itself was interesting. I say story, but this is nonfiction. And yet it seems story like at times. Overall a tasty look at what it means to be a chef in various iterations and how different cooks try to achieve perfection.
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i feel like this book is a little disconnected, and asks the reader to draw too many conclusions on her own, but i like selected parts A Lot. the master chef certification exam is really fascinating and i'm stoked to read more about thomas keller. i've got about 75 pages to go.
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Awesome insight into three different phases of the life of a chef and the eternal pursuit
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I pushed through a few of the pages to be completely rewarded and totally hooked. Mr. Ruhlman can now rest assured he has a fan.
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The culinary journey continues...
In this volume, Michael Ruhlman, the writer unexpectedly turned chef after a writing assignment at the CIA, continues his well-written journaling of his culinary adventure.
The book is divided into 3 segments. In the first, he documents the trials and tribulations of a class of chefs as they take the Certified Master Chef (CMC) test at the Culinary (CIA). Here, the best part of the book in my opinion, he details the experience and comments from both sides of the table as an impartial observer. I found myself seeking out other books that he mentions such as Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking, in an effort to continue down the path.
In the second, he tells the story of Michael Symon, the brilliant chef from Cleveland later to be idolized by millions as an Iron Chef. Here we get to see his story from his humble beginnings to master of his domain. While the cooking advice wasn't as detailed as in the first section, the story was fascinating and served to reinforce my opinion of Symon as a down-to-earth, intense and likable personality. The best of this story to me was his explanation of how a single course for a renowned food critic went bad due to a decision made early on in the dinner which otherwise seemed like a brilliant one.
The final section highlights the career of Thomas Keller. Less cooking advice than even in the second section but more story. It seemed to get a little lost in the weeds in this section with some disjointed tales and colorful descriptions that didn't add anything to the story but made it difficult to read and follow. While I learned some about Thomas Keller, what I really wanted was to get a glimpse of how to COOK like Thomas Keller.
Overall, a good read. Thanks to Michael Ruhlman, this afternoon, I am cooking surf and turf using beurre monte. Bon Appétit!
