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Reviews
Soul of a Chef : The Journey Towards Perfection
by Michael Ruhlman
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
For his first book, The Making of a Chef, hands-on journalist Michael Ruhlman attended
the most prestigious cooking school
in the
U.S., the Culinary Institute of America.
He also earned his chef's whites and
began
cooking professionally. Ruhlman ventures
further into the secret lives of chefs
with
his second book, The Soul of a Chef. This enthusiastically researched report
is divided into three parts: The first
concerns
the Certified Master Chef exam, a brutal
weeklong cooking marathon that measures
the
skill levels of professional chefs.
The second
and third parts of Ruhlman's book are
devoted
to the careers of two different chefs,
Michael
Symon of Cleveland's Lola Bistro and
Thomas Keller of Napa Valley's legendary French Laundry.
The thread connecting these three tales
together
is Ruhlman's quest for culinary perfection:
Does it exist? Is it possible? How
is it
even measurable? Ruhlman does indeed
stumble
onto the realization of his high-minded
ideal,
serving up a palatable conclusion for
hard-core
foodies equally obsessed with the perfect
meal.
--Sumi Hahn Almquist
From Booklist
Following on his previous intimate look into
the lives of students and teachers at the
Culinary Institute of America, Ruhlman now examines those driven individuals
who aspire to culinary perfection. One road
to perfection runs through the CIA's Certified
Master Chef program. Ruhlman records the
successes and failures of a diverse handful
of young aspirants through the rigors of
the 10-day examination. Ruhlman has favorites
among these ambitious kitchen monarchs, but
that doesn't detract from his... read more
About the Author
Michael Ruhlman has written for The
New York
Times, Gourmet, Saveur, and Food Arts
Magazine.
In 1999, he received the James Beard
award
for Magazine Writing for "An Alphabet
Test of Nerves."
The following are random samples of reviews
by customers
 "I couldn't put this book down...", August 16, 2000
Reviewer: David Loomis from Cleveland
Heights,
Ohio USA
I know it sounds strange to say those
words
about a book on cooking, but Ruhlman
creates
amazing suspense and drama around his
quest
to understand what drives great chefs
to
achieve perfection. Since reading the
book,
I have already eaten at one of the
establishments
profiled (Lola) and have had the honor
of
meeting the chef, Michael Simon. I
now have
a personal goal to visit the two others
featured.
If I could give this book 6 stars,
I'd do
it! If Ruhlman keeps on writing, I'll
keep
on reading.
:
Worth while read for any food person., August 13, 2000
Reviewer: david kalman from Westport, CT
USA
Fascinating book. Could not not put
it down.
Loved the CMC exam the best. Am a Member
of the Corporation of the CIA I never
knew
what it took to be a Certified Master
Chef.
A must read for all food people.
A revealing winner!, August 5, 2000
Reviewer: Midwest Book Review from Oregon,
WI USA
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.
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