The Soul of a Chef

The Journey Toward Perfection

By: Michael Ruhlman

Narrated by: Donald Corren

In his second in-depth foray into the world of professional cooking, Michael Ruhlman journeys into the heart of the profession. Observing the rigorous Certified Master Chef exam at the Culinary Institute of America, the most influential cooking school in the country, Ruhlman enters the lives and kitchens of rising star Michael Symon and the renowned Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. This fascinating audiobook will satisfy any listener's hunger for knowledge about cooking and food, the secrets of successful chefs, at what point cooking becomes an art form, and more.

Like Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef, this is an instant classic in food writing—one of the fastest growing and most popular subjects today.

©2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.; 2001 Michael Ruhlman (P)2014 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Something New For the Cook in Me

I didn't know what to expect when I purchased this book. I like to cook so I bought it. I found it very interesting and picked up a few cooking tips to boot. The book is about the mind set of people who live to cook and their different approaches and histories. I loved the authors pace and his approach to covering these people. Nice job.

Loved It!

Stories, recipes, so many great descriptions you can taste the words! I can't wait to do more cooking, and enjoying the food of others. A+

The American Work Ethic Meets Food And Wine

According to Ecclesiastes, there are four things that God gives to man to make life enjoyable: bread, wine, the work of your hands and sex. In America, the protestant work ethic has emphasized the one to its own detriment. But here, where bread, that is food in all its forms, is the focus of the protestant work ethic, well then we begin to see life become enjoyable again.
The book starts with the CMC test at the Culinary Institute of America. It tracks six chefs taking this beast of a test and documents their triumphs and failures as well as the pros and cons of the test. The book then turns to look at other chefs running restaurants. Some of these chefs have taken the CMC others have not. It talks about their successes. It makes you want to eat. It makes you want to cook. It makes you want to travel and spend money on food.
Most especially, it makes you want to visit the French Laundry in Napa Valley California. Much of this book centers on Thomas Keller and the menu at the French Laundry. It becomes rather autobiographical concerning him and his pursuit of perfection in the kitchen that led to the success of this famed restaurant. This is definitely the American (protestant) work ethic meets food and wine in a rags-to-glory-story that is encouraging and inspiring.
I enjoyed the book. It was fun to learn the ins and outs of restaurant cooking, and what goes into becoming a chef. Most of the book concentrates on French and French-influenced cooking. This is something I knew a lot less about before reading this book and it makes me want to try a few things and learn more in this avenue.

So intriguing to know what chefs do.

I Loved the French Laundry section. Wow!!! I want to go now and eat there!!

Fascinating

What a great book, I really loved it, the story of the different chefs is beautiful.

Great!

I loved this, found myself telling my wife about the various life experiences in this work. Very well narrated!

Appetizing and mostly satisfying

Any additional comments?

Eye-opening (and hunger-inducing) book about great chefs and the ceaseless striving for perfection. Television viewers might recognize author Michael Ruhlman from his numerous appearances on Anthony Bourdain's television shows. Ruhlman had a long-standing fascination with cooking and broke into larger renown with his book, The Making of a Chef, in which he chronicled attending the Culinary Institute of America. His fascination with food and the people who master the art of cooking only grew and in this book, he looks at chefs at the top of their game. In reality, this book is really three longer pieces (not quite essays, sort of non-fiction novellas), the first about the Culinary Institute's Certified Master Chef exam, the second about Cleveland-chef Michael Symon, and the third about Thomas Keller (renowned chef-owner of The French Laundry). The first section is the best and the most suspenseful, you get invested in the chefs trying to get their certification. The second section entertained me, but mostly because I am from Cleveland and familiar with Symon. The third section was interesting, but at times too reverential. I think for foodies and chefs, this book might be particularly satisfying. For the more casual reader, it is definitely interesting and eye-opening, but sometimes a tad overwrought.

Excellent in all ways!

A great combination of stories that include detailed descriptions of food preparation by accomplished chefs, insight into their lives and restaurants. I enjoyed it very much.

Probably my favorite of 2023….

And possibly one of my favorite books about food altogether. I was so pleased with its length and didn’t want it to end.

Better than the first one!

I didn’t write a negative review about the first (The Making of a Chef) because the content was rather good, but the reader was downright awful. Changing readers for the second book made all the difference and the content was just as interesting and enjoyable as the first one was.