shopping cart
Call us:  800-878-7323 HELP
McAfee SECURE helps keep you safe from identity theft, credit card fraud, spyware, spam, viruses and online scams.
Powell's Q&A, Q&A | October 16, 2009

Gail Collins: IMG Powell's Q&A: Gail Collins



[My new book] starts in 1960 with a woman named Lois Rabinowitz, who was evicted from Manhattan traffic court for attempting to pay a parking ticket while wearing slacks. This was... Continue »
  1. $19.59 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

Ships free on qualified orders.
Add to Cart
$10.95
List price: $15.00
Used Trade Paper
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
1 Beaverton Cooking and Food- Professional and Quantity
1 Local Warehouse Cooking and Food- Professional and Quantity

The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America

by Michael Ruhlman

The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America Cover

ISBN13: 9780805061734
ISBN10: 0805061738
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Only 2 left in stock at $10.95!

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Now in paperback, the eye-opening book that was nominated for a 1998 James Beard Foundation award in the Writing on Food category.

In the winter of 1996, Michael Ruhlman donned hounds-tooth-check pants and a chef's jacket and entered the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, to learn the art of cooking. His vivid and energetic record of that experience, The Making of a Chef, takes us to the heart of this food-knowledge mecca. Here we meet a coterie of talented chefs, an astonishing and driven breed. Ruhlman learns fundamental skills and information about the behavior of food that make cooking anything possible. Ultimately, he propels himself and his readers through a score of kitchens and classrooms, from Asian and American regional cuisines to lunch cookery and even table waiting, in search of the elusive, unnameable elements of great cooking.

Review:

"Anyone who is thinking about attending a culinary school, or even getting into cooking period, should read The Making of a Chef to understand the intensity of effort, the sincerity and the focus that all cooks must have in order to succeed." Charlie Trotter, chef-owner of Charlie Trotter's

Review:

"Ruhlman's love of cooking bubbles on every page." Marcia Goldberg, Plain Dealer

Synopsis:

In the ultimate food-lover's fantasy, journalist Michael Ruhlman dons chef's jacket and houndstooth-check pants to join the students in Skills One at the Culinary Institute of America, the most influential cooking school in the country. His goal is to document the training of America's chefs from the first classroom to the Culinary's final kitchen, the American Bounty Restaurant. The result becomes more than a rote reportage of a school for cooks. Ruhlman learns to cook as though his future depends upon it, and this complete immersion enables him to create the most vivid and energetic memoir of a genuine culinary education on record. He learns fundamental skills and information about the behavior of food that make cooking anything possible. But he also finds that a professional cook needs more than just knowledge and skill. Ultimately Ruhlman propels himself and his readers through a score of kitchens and classrooms, from Asian and American regional cuisines to lunch cookery and even table waiting, in search of the elusive, unnameable elements of great cooking.

About the Author

Michael Ruhlman has written extensively for The New York Times. He is the author of Boys Themselves. He lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!
Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
Paul McFarland, July 24, 2007 (view all comments by Paul McFarland)
Journalist Michael Ruhlman joins a class at The Culinary Institute of America and fully convinces me that I am not smart enough or coordinated enough to ever be a Chef. However, I got a great deal of enjoyment in reading about other people undergoing the trials of becoming one. They say that adventure is someone having a very hard time far away. This book fits that well. The stress and dedication that is needed to become a chef makes for an adventure indeed.

Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(5 of 8 readers found this comment helpful)
worldtravel04, June 18, 2007 (view all comments by worldtravel04)
A well-written account of Ruhlman's plunge into the Culinary Institute of America. A great behind-the-scenes look at the dedication it takes to become a great chef. Interesting people and a wonderfully detailed look at the educational process at the Culinary Institute. This is a book I have reread a couple of times.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(9 of 16 readers found this comment helpful)
View all 2 comments

Product Details

ISBN:
9780805061734
Subtitle:
Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America
Author:
Ruhlman, Michael
Publisher:
Holt McDougal
Location:
New York
Subject:
General
Subject:
Study and teaching
Subject:
Essays
Subject:
History
Subject:
United states
Subject:
Cooks
Subject:
Methods - General
Subject:
Cooks -- United States.
Subject:
Ruhlman, Michael
Edition Number:
1st Owl books ed.
Edition Description:
Owl Books
Series Volume:
11
Publication Date:
October 1999
Binding:
Paperback
Language:
English
Pages:
320
Dimensions:
9.22x6.20x.87 in. .82 lbs.

Other books you might like

  1. $49.00 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Professional Chef 7TH Edition

    Culinary Institute
  2. $18.00 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Professional Chef's Knife Kit ((Rev)00 Edition)

    Culinary Institute Of America
  3. $8.95 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    Gone Bamboo

    Anthony Bourdain
  4. $5.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  5. $14.00 Used Hardcover add to wish list
  6. $9.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

Related Aisles

  • back to top

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.