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danielmbensen's review against another edition
5.0
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.
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.
wendoxford's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this but not quite as much as the tense Making of a Chef which just swept you along in its tension surrounding "service". This is a more sedentary book. First half concentrates on the Master Chef qualification at CIA and sitting in on one of the 10 day tests. Second half divides into 3 about major American chefs and their restaurants...a real insight in the ever changing face of fine American dining
realreads's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't think the writing was as good as in "The Making of a Chef" but the content did not disappoint.
binxthinx's review against another edition
3.0
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.
kejadlen's review against another edition
4.0
A good read. Ruhlman covers the Master Chef Certification, which is pretty fascinating, and then goes in depth with Michael Symon and Thomas Keller.
darthchrista's review against another edition
4.0
Now this book about cooking I found riveting. Such an interesting journey and look into what it takes to be a chef.
leighnonymous's review against another edition
3.0
Two-thirds of this book raced along well but it ground to a screeching halt when I reached the final section. Ruhlman followed a group of chefs pursuing the debatably-important achievement of CMC (Certified Master Chef). This was almost like watching an episode of a reality TV show where contestants are voted off, one by one. Although his observations were heavily slanted toward one chef (Brian Polcyn), I still felt like the author gave us pretty good insight into the other chefs and their reasons for being there.
The second section profiled Michael Symon of Lola, one of Cleveland's best restaurants (yes, you read that right - Cleveland). Ruhlman did capture Symon's personality pretty well. I wanted to not only eat there but work for him, too. If you believe the author, Symon is the happiest man on earth.
The final section, about French Laundry, arguably the best restaurant in the world, dragged. It was reading this section that made me realize that the author truly isn't that interesting a writer. He describes food well, which is what readers get captivated with but he uses it as misdirection to hide his plain way of stating things.
Also, Ruhlman came off as an elitist snob; he's a recipe-dropper (a la name-dropper) and seemed to want to recall his glory days (of only a year previous) "working the line" in various restaurants. His description of how Thomas Keller, owner and chef at the French Laundry, created a recipe in his kitchen while Keller was staying with him just smacked of bragging. And no, I don't feel like I'm a Neanderthal for not having eaten a calf brain or a pig's tongue. Just because you've eaten them, Ruhlman, does not make you cultured.
The biggest irritation I found about this book was the vocabulary. What the hell is a lowboy? What is a consomme? I wasn't familiar with some of the terms and most of the kitchen equipment and Ruhlman, information-hoarder that he is, didn't reveal definitions for any of that. He was all about describing forcemeat and how rabbits scream when you kill them and pouring boiling water over lobsters until they die. If I wasn't eating meat before, I certainly wouldn't be after reading this. Kitchens are brutal. I won't be reading any more of this author but I am very interested in more culinary writing.
The second section profiled Michael Symon of Lola, one of Cleveland's best restaurants (yes, you read that right - Cleveland). Ruhlman did capture Symon's personality pretty well. I wanted to not only eat there but work for him, too. If you believe the author, Symon is the happiest man on earth.
The final section, about French Laundry, arguably the best restaurant in the world, dragged. It was reading this section that made me realize that the author truly isn't that interesting a writer. He describes food well, which is what readers get captivated with but he uses it as misdirection to hide his plain way of stating things.
Also, Ruhlman came off as an elitist snob; he's a recipe-dropper (a la name-dropper) and seemed to want to recall his glory days (of only a year previous) "working the line" in various restaurants. His description of how Thomas Keller, owner and chef at the French Laundry, created a recipe in his kitchen while Keller was staying with him just smacked of bragging. And no, I don't feel like I'm a Neanderthal for not having eaten a calf brain or a pig's tongue. Just because you've eaten them, Ruhlman, does not make you cultured.
The biggest irritation I found about this book was the vocabulary. What the hell is a lowboy? What is a consomme? I wasn't familiar with some of the terms and most of the kitchen equipment and Ruhlman, information-hoarder that he is, didn't reveal definitions for any of that. He was all about describing forcemeat and how rabbits scream when you kill them and pouring boiling water over lobsters until they die. If I wasn't eating meat before, I certainly wouldn't be after reading this. Kitchens are brutal. I won't be reading any more of this author but I am very interested in more culinary writing.
tabbycat26's review against another edition
5.0
I would definitely recommend this book for people in the cooking industry definitely has some good information and it would recommend him as an author as well