The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection

OK, I graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in 1993, and this book was written just afterword, so I knew almost all of the players mentioned in the book during the first third, which is dedicated to the taking of the CMC exam at the CIA. All the characters, from the later Anton Flory, with his undertakers look and demeanor, but his overwhelming warm and friendly charm once you knew him; to Deiter Doppelfeld, whom I had the pleasure of assisting in the very same kitchen where the exam was given in the book, to the larger than life Fritz Sonnenschmidt, the strict, no-nonsense and perfectionist ex-Marine, Ron DeSantis, to the whole cast of characters! Not only is the book written well, but Rulman was spot-on in all his assessments of the exam as well as the leading characters! ( I have friends who passed, and some who didn't)The middle third takes place at Lola Bistro, where Michael Symon is trying to keep the restaurant afloat in the days right before he breaks loose and hits the national stage. Read the prep list of his opening cook, its so dead on! some of the best writing as it relates to a busy night behind the line, and the view from the back, through the pass.But the last third takes place at the French Laundry, during its mad heyday, or rather, during its first few memorable years at the top of the fine dining charts, in what would of course be the longest and well deserved run of any restaurant in the country. I got a chance to meet Thomas Keller and talk to him at a demo in 2001 and of course he and the French Laundry represent some of the finest scenes in the book. We're chefs of about the same age, and he was cooking on the Cape when I was in Boston, although of course, he went to France and I went to Germany, but that's not important.The scene that the author paints to describe his first visit to the French Laundry is arguably one of the finest scenes ever written concerning food, and dining out at a fine restaurant. On a par with MFK Fisher, to be sure. Rulhmans takes us behind the scenes at the Laundry and we meet to cooks in the back, we find out why the floor gets swept and the counters get wiped the way they do, why the torchon gets cured the way it does and why a creme brulee can be perfect one minute, and imperfect just minutes later.I first read Keller's first cookbook back in 2000 or 2001, and it caused me to reset a lot of what I thought about my menu. I took a red sharpie to the menu and immediately pulled a number of things from the menu, replacing them with dishes that spoke of the craft of cooking: like Braised Veal Breast, stuffed with Pistachios and Figs, a bit like his short ribs (the finest version anywhere!) braised items, I brought back some force-meats, combined things and flavors like I always wanted to, and gave myself permission to be playful with food, like Hash and Eggs; a "hash" of duck confit, perfectly diced, incredibly small potatoes and caramelized onions, bound with Foie Gras Butter and Demi, placed into an eggshell with the top cut off, atop a White Truffle custard, finished with a small potato chip. Duck "Hash and Eggs"A lot of my food at that time was inspired by Keller, and than this book came out a few years later, when I was going through another creative slump. This book fired my up like no other and got me back into loving what I do!So I recently bought a couple copies to hand out to some of my cooks, to try to get them inspired, motivated and give them a sense of what its like, what it was like, what it can be like, in a great kitchen.In these days of massive closures in the restaurant industry due to Covid -19, will it ever be the same again? Will these days ever return, or will they fade to a golden memory, preserved in pages of books like these, to remind our children that there was once a Golden Age of the Chef; when creations flew out of the kitchen, created by a team of cooks that danced a long-forgotten ballet of talent, precision, craftsmanship and passion; producing new dishes on the spur of the moment and entrancing diners with food previously reserved for Kings.Ahhh, those were the glory days of the kitchen, and I was there to see it unfold. By all means read this book, buy it to inspire your child, or your staff, and you'll get as close as you can to those days.

This is a very interesting and enjoyable collection of three in-depth sections. The first has author Ruhlman shadow a group of seven professional chefs taking the Certified Master Chef exam at the CIA facility at Hyde Park, NY. Ruhlman spends the most time with, and seems to root for, Brian Palcyn from Detroit. The grueling pace of the week of twice-a-day tests comes across in the writing, as does the sense that the examiners care less for taste than for technical exactitude, with most of the participants not earning their CMC. He's troubled by the experience, though he can't yet put his finger on why.He then moves on Michael Symon's restaurant Lola in Ruhlman's own Cleveland. Ruhlman is caught up in the fun vibe at Lola, which pervades both the dining room and the kitchen. Again Ruhlman roots for his adopted favorite as important NY-based food reporters visit the restaurant. Though Symon serves a soggy pasta dish, which the critic responds to by saying, "He knows nothing about pasta", the critic can't help but feel the joy and fun that the customers experience.Finally he has a lengthy session on Thomas Keller's French Laundry, and the amazingly innovative dishes that Keller and he highly trained staff produce. Though Keller is exacting inside the kitchen, he doesn't let that feeling out into the dining rooms, where customers are delighted by every serving.In his postscript chapter, Ruhlman finally figures out what disturbed him about the CMC exam. He writes that the purpose of cooking, particularly restaurant cooking is to give people pleasure and fun. Symon's restaurant had a sense of fun in front and back of the house. Keller's restaurant was like a monastery in the kitchen, but the customers had an amazingly pleasurable experience. But the CMC examiners weren't testing for fun, and gave no points for the fun or pleasure that a chef's dishes might bring. It's an excellent summation of the book.

I am fortunate to be currently employed in a good paying job with an excellent quality of life yet still I am logically and instinctively aware that I am outside the target audience for this audible on The Soul of a Chef. I admit that I checked out the Amazon audible version The Soul of a Chef by Michael Ruhlman more with the intent to broaden my understanding of the world of cooking as told from a chef’s perspective (as I am in the process of being more decisive and clear on what I prefer goalwise in my career life). Some of the helpful points of the audible; intensive information was shared on what attending cooking classes are like from the students taking them. There is even information to candidly suggest that it was a delicate balance of getting some of the culinary students to open up safe that their disclosures would be exploitation free. One of the profiles of the culinary students discussed was of a man who was 43 at the time of the audible and he had been cooking since the time he was 13. Information is included to explain what the CMC (Certified Master Chef) exam is like and some of the reasons why the test is rigorous and more.

this book helped me understand the essence of my soul betterand now i have already written words for helping me to explain to others why i do what i doa must read for anyone desiring to get a better and deeper understanding of the esoteric creatures of the culinary artists

I love Ruhlman's books, my favourite subject written about so well!

Came in good time but has sticker on front & dirty on back.Should be a good read.

I received this book, well packed, in good condition. I look so forward to reading this, after having followed so enthusiastically his every sentence in The Making of a Chef where sometimes I read and reread what he had limned; and often repeated aloud his words enthusiastically. Can't wait...next on my very long list of "to do".

Inspired me to cook almost 20 years ago. I bought it for my son.