Rating: 
Summary: Great read for anyone interested in becoming a chef.
Review: Michael and I became friends over the course of his stay at the CIA and I was intrigued by the book he was writing. As I was mentioned in the book I may have some bias towards it in my review but I have read alot of books that refer to the "making of a chef" and this book chronicles the experiences I had at the CIA. I personally could not have recorded my classroom experiences the way Michael has done so in his book. As I read it I often found myself laughing out loud at many of these memories that he had detailed, I recalled the people I had learned to work with and bonded with. Michael captured the essence of all of our experiences at the school. It is a worthy read for anyone who is interested in persuing a career in the culinary foodservice industry.
Rating:
Summary: Proud mom of CIA student!
Review: My son entered CIA in Sept. 97.( For two years prior to that date, he worked with a CIA grad/chef in a lovely restaurant.) He brought me a copy of Mr. Ruehlman's book as a Christmas present. Up until that time, I had no idea why he chose "the Harvard of cooking schools". Then I opened its covers. WOW! I came to know exactly what he was doing through Mr. Ruehlman's precise, often hilarous prose. (brown or white? Will we ever know?) I understand & am awed at the process of becoming a chef. Thanks to this book, I feel confident about my son's career decision & have a marvelous reference when he calls home to tell me that he is "sous chef" at the Grand Buffet!
Rating:
Summary: Holy Cow!
Review: Good God I loved this book!!!
I AM going to the CIA! I've never had a book inflame me with passion like this in my life!
Rating:
Summary: Almost as perfect as the food on your plate!
Review: If you love to cook, then this book is for you. From the moment Michael Ruhlman enters the CIA til the day he leaves, you want to be there with him. You want to learn where his classmates are now preparing the kind of meals that the rest of us wish we had the skills to make. And as his instructors tell him that all is in the pursuit of perfection, his story leaves you wanting more - just like an exquisite meal.
Rating:
Summary: A Fascinating Look Behind The Scenes of the CIA
Review: Having lived in the Mid-Hudson Valley for many years, and having visited the Culinary Institute on many occasions, my wife and I really enjoyed this book. Especially for everyday "chefs" who fancy the idea of turning "pro", this book provides an intriguing look at the training that is provided at the U.S.A.'s premier cooking school, the Culinary Institute of America. As well, it provides a fascinating look at the people involved in the process: classmates, instructors, executive chefs, and the president of the CIA. We both enjoyed this book tremendously and recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed a fine meal out and has wondered, "How did they learn to do that?" Bon Appetit!
Rating:
Summary: Do you cook? Eat? Dine out? You'll enjoy this book
Review: I confess that I'm a friend of the author, so I was prepared to like this book before cracking the cover. But after finishing it a couple of days later I can safely say that I would have enjoyed it thoroughly even if I had known nothing of the background. I eat. I cook a bit myself (though seldom anything more complicated than a roast chicken or a ground-beef casserole). Most important, I dine out with some frequency. But I've never worked in a restaurant, and, like most of us, have always wondered a bit about what goes on behind the scenes. Thanks to Michael Ruhlman's book, I have a much clearer idea of that now, presented in a most entertaining and personal way. The book is filled with memorable characters, chefs and students alike. And it turns out that the author becomes a central character himself: what started out as merely careful observation became something of a personal transformation. He began to write about the making of other people into chefs; he wound up writing about the making of hi
Rating: 
Summary: What would it be like to study at the CIA? Now I know.
Review: I once heard someone describe "mastery" like this: "When you're a beginner at tennis, the ball comes at you like a meteor. You flail. You dive. Sometimes you get lucky and return the serve. For a master, though, there's time. Time for pacing and finesse. Time enough for the game." Although the subject is cooking, not tennis, it is this process -- from flailing to finesse -- which Michael Ruhlman details with enthralling immediacy and grace in The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America. How can one do an impossible number of things with an impeccable level of skill and an unreasonable commitment to perfection in a ridiculously small amount of time? How indeed. Like a lot of wannabe cooks, I've been fascinated for years by that legendary "other CIA". What would it be like to train there? Well, now I know. I'd be dead by the end of -- nope, by 3:00 p.m. on -- Day One. I got exhausted just reading about it. All those bones. All that precision chopping, stirring simmering, plating and serving. Fast. Faster. Too late! So much to learn. So much to do. Ruhlman brings it all to life and peoples the day-by-day experience with vital, engaging portraits of his fellow classmates and instructors. At the center of the action is the author himself, serious writer and serious cook, offered up for unflinching scrutiny: fears, foibles, failures, triumphs. I was sorry to come to the end of this book -- my time at the CIA was also up -- but when it was done, I went back to the beginning, reread the insurmountable tasks of Day One and compared them to the utterly insane challenges of the final week. And I said to myself, "Aw, a couple of pounds of mirepoix, a little stock -- that wasn't so bad." It was a taste of mastery.
Rating:
Summary: An Accurate Portrayal of Life at the C.I.A.
Review: As a proud graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, and having attended the C.I.A. at the same time as the author, I can attest to the accuracy of this book. I had several of the same chef/instructors as did the author. (That's Certified Master Chef Ron DiSantis, a culinary badass, in the foreground of the cover photo) The book shows the demanding schedule required of those who wish to attend the hands down best cooking school in America, and possibly the world. It should be required reading for all who want to cook for a living. I like that Ruhlman goes into detail about the life philosophy of "Mise en Place", French for Things in Place. The term, in its strictest sense, means to have all of your ingredients chopped up and arranged logically, all of your pots, pans, and utensils ready to go. In a more general way, it means to be organized and professional. Good term, that. Anyway, it's a good peek into the kitchen. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: What would it be like to study at the CIA? Now I know.
Review: I once heard someone describe "mastery" like this: "When you're a beginner at tennis, the ball comes at you like a meteor. You flail. You dive. Sometimes you get lucky and return the serve. For a master, though, there's time. Time for pacing and finesse. Time enough for the game." Although the subject is cooking, not tennis, it is this process -- from flailing to finesse -- which Michael Ruhlman details with enthralling immediacy and grace in The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America. How can one do an impossible number of things with an impeccable level of skill and an unreasonable commitment to perfection in a ridiculously small amount of time? How indeed. Like a lot of wannabe cooks, I've been fascinated for years by that legendary "other CIA". What would it be like to train there? Well, now I know. I'd be dead by the end of -- nope, by 3:00 p.m. on -- Day One. I got exhausted just reading about it. All those bones. All that precision chopping, stirring simmering, plating and serving. Fast. Faster. Too late! So much to learn. So much to do. Ruhlman brings it all to life and peoples the day-by-day experience with vital, engaging portraits of his fellow classmates and instructors. At the center of the action is the author himself, serious writer and serious cook, offered up for unflinching scrutiny: fears, foibles, failures, triumphs. I was sorry to come to the end of this book -- my time at the CIA was also up -- but when it was done, I went back to the beginning, reread the insurmountable tasks of Day One and compared them to the utterly insane challenges of the final week. And I said to myself, "Aw, a couple of pounds of mirepoix, a little stock -- that wasn't so bad." It was a taste of mastery.
Rating:
Summary: In-Depth Tour of Education at the CIA
Review: This book provides an in-depth introduction to American professional culinary education as practiced at the Culinary Institute of America (CIA). Ruhlman is a journalist who enjoys cooking and fashions himself as a decent cook. With the excuse of writing a book about the CIA, Ruhlman managed to get himself into the school as a special student, able to skip around the curriculum at an accelerated pace so that he could experience many of the lessons in a limited amount of time. Even though he was excused from many required classes and the required externship, it still took about a year for him to progress from basic culinary skills to covering the grill at the CIA's American Bounty Kitchen. This book is both a diary of Ruhlman's classroom experiences at the CIA and a description of the students and chef-lecturers at the school.
If readers aren't already tuned into the differences between broth, roux, and brown sauce, through reading this book, they will develop an appreciation for why professional cooks need to master each one. They will also become familiar with the structure of the educational program at the CIA, as Ruhlman discusses each curriculum block in turn; a diagram of the program is provided inside the back cover. Ruhlman explores several themes in depth, including the ethics of cooking for others, and the heroic physical standards that professional chefs must live up to. In a few places, Ruhlman gets bogged down in detail, or ponders his personal connections to the project a little too heavily. Overall, though, the book is enjoyable as well as informative.
|
