You know that old saying about how some people live to eat while others eat to live?I think foodies think that living to eat automatically makes them somehow knowledgeable about food — you know, just because they like to stuff their gobs and eat a lot of both good and bad things.I refuse to call myself a foodie because what I respect is different from a simple appreciation of good food — it’s the process that goes into growing food and getting it to the table.When you read Michael Ruhlman’s “The Making of a Chef,” you can tell he’s the same way.Having read “Heat” by Bill Buford, I really wanted to check out “The Making of a Chef” as well — in a way, it was a great way to see two different avenues for wannabe-chefs to learn the trade.With “Heat” you saw what it was like learning on the line while, with “The Making of a Chef” you tagged along with Ruhlman as he toiled through the Culinary Institute of America.And trust me, it was fascinating…or, maybe, I found it fascinating because I think good chefs embody everything that I value: It’s about paying attention to details.In the winter of 1996, journalist Ruhlman joined the students at the Culinary Institute of America, the country’s oldest and most influential cooking school — which isn’t exactly easy.“The curriculum is logical in conception and relentless in practice. Life here is marched out in three-week intervals and there is no stopping.” (p.16)At the CIA, Ruhlman learns from several talented instructors. Chef Michael Pardus, who teaches Skills, hammers in the notion that you have to demand excellence in yourself.What’s fascinating is when Ruhlman describes meeting Chef Uwe Hestnar, a team leader who presided over a team of twenty chef-instructors running the formative kitchens.It’s cool reading about Ruhlman’s chat with Hestnar because this was where his book Ratio sprung from.I know for sure that I’d never be able to hack it in culinary school. (Ruhlman even remarks in the intro that he’s had a few readers thank him for writing this book because it convinced them not to go to culinary school.)Just take a look at some of the homework questions and what they were like: Convert twelve quarts and twelve tablespoons into a single unit of quarts. How many cups are there in four pounds of honey? You’re catering a function of 350 people; you estimate that each person will eat three quarters of a cup of potato chips; how many pounds of chips should you order?I thought this book was totally fascinating and I know I’ll definitely be picking up the other books in this series.
I'm a food lover, I love talking about it, reading about it, preparing it, and yes, eating it. Chefs? They are some of my rock stars. I recently picked up Michael Ruhlman's book Ruhlman's Twenty: The Ideas and Techniques that Will Make You a Better Cook from the library and loved how he takes the simplest food items and actually makes you think about them.In 1996 Ruhlman enters the Culinary Institute of America aka the CIA as a student. They know he is writing a book based on his experiences there but he gets the same criticism's he would face as an average student. I didn't see any of the chef instructors and being too harsh though. They demanded perfection and you understood what they wanted from the beginning.As a chubby little foodie this book was a mecca of just rolled up wonderfulness. I worked in a few local restaurants in my teenage and early 20's but not to the level of the fine dining experiences that this book lets you get a glimpse of. I think in a different life I would have headed this way. I tend to obsess about food, the why's of why it is used the way it is and how to take simple food and make it taste better than that dish that you pop into the oven out of the freezer. This book gives Ruhlman's experiences with that. He seems to keep wanting to point out to his fellow classmates that he is a writer, not a cook. But along the time in the school he realizes that he is a damn fine cook. This book gives insight to the beginning of meals: from stock, to butchering the meats, to chopping vegetables. All that stuff that you never think about when eating away from home. I loved it because it gave me a glimpse of a career that I covet.
It's possible that this book has helped change my life... I was already leaning towards trying to become a chef, but this book may have provided the push that I needed. I have never before been so engaged in a subject, literally hanging on every word. I mean who wouldn't be interested in the best rue to use for making the consummate brown sauce??!?!! All right, I know that most of you wouldn't, but to me, that was fascinating. Told with interesting anecdotes and insightful musings, Ruhlman paints a picture of the CIA, that, by all rights, shouldn't be available uness you have attended the school.This book did for me what all good books should. It made me want to dive in to the subject. I want to start making my own stocks, I want to (gasp) try baking, something I've never been interested in.If you are remotely interested in the growing foodie world, this is a must read!
—Matt
I decided to read this after reading Ruhlman's latest, "Ratios." It's a compelling read about working through the culinary program at CIA, but it also delves into ruminations about quality that reminded me of "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." The passion with which these chefs teach is inspiring, not only for cooking but may be applied to whatever you are passionate about. Not only was this a good book exploring American cooking, the CIA experience and cooking in general, but it inspires me to apply these principles of perfection and passion into my own life and work.
—Gina
This book is primarily about the Culinary Institute of America (aka CIA), the way it trains chefs (or did, at the time when this book was written), its history and personality sketches of some of the key players (instructors, the president, other students). But there is also a slew of information about cooking itself (how to make a roux, different kinds of sauces, etc.), how to work the front of the house (i.e., wait staff), the meaning of food, and most of all, what it takes to make a chef. I thought it was fascinating even though a lot of it went over my head because I am decidedly not a cook. It did, however, inspire me to be more adventuresome in my cooking and to take more time to make the preparing and partaking of food into quality experiences.
—Ellen Keim
