Michael Ruhlman
In the first section of “Soul of a Chef”, Michael Ruhlman returns to the Culinary Institute of American, scene of his excellent “The Making of a Chef“. This time he’s not learning to be a chef, but observing the impossibly demanding Certified Master Chef certification test. He covers the test tells the stories of the candidates. This isn’t a cooking contest, it’s more like a Navy SEAL tryout. Perfection is demanded,and some candidates drop out before finishing the multi-day test.
The rest of the book consists of profiles of two chefs, one a California perfectionist, the other a somewhat looser but still driven Ohioan. Ruhlman writes in first-person and includes stories of his own experiences in restaurant kitchens. The high standard these guys hold themselves is inspirational. The amount of work they do is amazing; there are certainly easier ways to make a living.
This books has two of the marks of a good non-fiction book: it holds your interest even if you don’t have a deep interest in the subject, and it shows you a world you weren’t aware of.