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"Making of a Chef: Mastering heat at the CIA" by Michael Ruhlman(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)
Posted by: Kosh
Outstanding book so far. 
It's about a writer who goes to the Culinary Institute of America, the country's premiere culinary education facility, to truly learn what it means to become a chef.
He meets many students, and partakes in classes side-by-side with them. He learns to make stock and consommé at 6am, he learns how to make buffet salads, and in the process, he learns more about himself than he ever knew.
If you've ever wondered what it's like, or what is involved in becoming a chef, I would highly recommend this book.
Kosh's rating (out of 5):
Posted by: Kingtut
Is this a Biography or Fiction Kosh?
I can't even cope with basic cooking, never mind consomme 
Posted by: xoshade
I'm not interested in culinary pursuits. Would I still find the book appealing?
Posted by: Kosh
quote:
Originally posted by Kingtut
Is this a Biography or Fiction Kosh?
I can't even cope with basic cooking, never mind consomme
non-fiction. 100% real-world. Also interesting to see some of the personality quirks that many of us in the culinary arena have.
Posted by: Kosh
quote:
Originally posted by xoshade
I'm not interested in culinary pursuits. Would I still find the book appealing?
Interesting question. I like the book, so I am going to say yes. 
To be honest, while I think it's an interesting question, I also think it's a bit disingenuous.  part of me thinks you answered your own quetion. If you don't care about cars, would you find a book about Henry Ford interesting?  Same kind of thing.
I found the book fascinating for the same reason that I laughed my ass off at Kitchen Confidential's depiction of the underbelly of the culinary world (getting it on with the bride from the wedding party that's having the party in his banquet room, assistant chefs who call up at 3am telling you to "feed the bitch"--the sourdough starter, etc...) : I see a bit of myself in some of the people in these books, so I have a point of understanding.
In Kitchen Confidential, I laughed and found humor in the situations because I can so easily envision many of them. In Making of a Chef, I sympathize because I can see so much of myself and my own personality quirks (many folks say that chefs are obssessive compulsive people with control complexes... LOL *twitch* ). The most fascinating thing about the book is in learning with the author, as an outsider to the culinary profession, exactly how demanding a job in the culinary arts can be. What is taken as a matter of course by people like Daniel Boulud and Jaques Pepin comes as a surprise to outsider Ruhlman. The surprise is in the commitment to performance which chefs are expected to make to maintain a service to their customers.
Posted by: xoshade
Well, I'm not interested in food, but I just watched that "You are What You Eat" show and found myself entertained by the notion of a fat woman who drinks 14 litres of cola a week, eats enough junk food for two people and considers fruit and veg too "boring" to bother with, even though, apparently, she is slowly starving herself of vital nutrients and will soon end up dead.
I've also enjoyed a couple of films set in the world of American baseball, even though I can't stand the game.
Do you see what I'm getting at? 
Posted by: Kosh
quote:
Originally posted by xoshade
Do you see what I'm getting at?
*nods* yeah, I see now. For you, I would not recommend Making of a chef to read, but I would HIGHLY recommend Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. You will love it.
Posted by: xoshade
I shall investigate.
To the bookmobile!
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