Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Penguin Group (2008), Edition: Reprint, 338 pages
Description
The author of The Soul of a Chef looks at the new role of the chef in contemporary culture For his previous explorations into the restaurant kitchen and the men and women who call it home, Michael Ruhlman has been described by Anthony Bourdain as "the greatest living writer on the subject of chefs, and on the business of preparing food." In The Reach of a Chef, Ruhlman examines the profound shift in American culture that has raised restaurant cooking to the level of performance art and the status of the chef to celebrity CEO. Bibliophiles and foodies alike will savor this intimate meeting with some of the most famous chefs in the kitchens of the hottest restaurants in the world.
Media reviews
No matter his faults, Ruhlman serves his readers. The "cooking-struck, chef-adoring, restaurant-crazy consumers" get a behind-the-curtain pass to what may prove to be America's theatrum mundi. And culinary professionals get a portrait of life on and off the line at a time when the "frontier for the
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modern American chef was largely uncharted territory. And the chef was out of balance." Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member carolcarter
f you love to read about food and cooking as well as restaurant and culinary trends around America, then Michael Ruhlman is your man. I have been reading his books for years and, among other things, they have sent us on a culinary odyssey to Cleveland, put the French Laundry at the top of my list
Ruhlman's newest book is The Reach of a Chef. I just received it in the mail today, courtesy of Amazon. Who else? In this book he returns to past haunts and examines the huge shift in culinary America to a "world where chefs are stars and culinary school classes are burgeoning". I am going to 'dig in' immediately.
I first encountered Michael Ruhlman in The Making of a Chef which recounts his experiences as a student at the Culinary Institute of America. If you contemplate a culinary career you might want to read this book. Restaurant cooking, pretty much any cooking career, requires great physical stamina as well as a practical, creative and agile mind.
The Soul of a Chef finds Mr. Ruhlman observing the rigors of the Certified Master Chef Exam at the CIA. This was my introduction to Thomas Keller and the French Laundry. Of all the culinary destinations in the world, the French Laundry is my goal. Ruhlman also recounts the background of Michael Symon of Lola in Cleveland. This, coupled with an April, 1999 article in Bon Appetit, sent us off on a culinary treasure hunt years ago. We never did find Lola (we didn't have 'the internets' at that time) but we ate at the Blue Pointe Grille and it was fabulous. We still add wasabi to mashed potatoes and honey and soy to our grilled salmon.
Ruhlman collaborated with Thomas Keller on The French Laundry Cookbook. If I never make a single recipe the book is worth the price just to drool over. This was eventually followed by A Return To Cooking, a collaboration with Eric Ripert. This is a cookbook, an adventure tale, and a coffee table artbook worthy of a place alongside any artist. Valentino Cortazar painted the illustrations and they add immeasurably to my enjoyment of the book.
Michael Ruhlman has other books on other subjects but I stick to his food writing. Obviously I have not read The Reach of a Chef yet but I have no doubt it will be as unputdownable (sic) as all his others.
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of things to do before I die, given me many lovely recipes and a coffee table cookbook that is gorgeous. Anthony Bourdain has called Ruhlman " the greatest living writer on the subject of chefs - and on the business of preparing food."Ruhlman's newest book is The Reach of a Chef. I just received it in the mail today, courtesy of Amazon. Who else? In this book he returns to past haunts and examines the huge shift in culinary America to a "world where chefs are stars and culinary school classes are burgeoning". I am going to 'dig in' immediately.
I first encountered Michael Ruhlman in The Making of a Chef which recounts his experiences as a student at the Culinary Institute of America. If you contemplate a culinary career you might want to read this book. Restaurant cooking, pretty much any cooking career, requires great physical stamina as well as a practical, creative and agile mind.
The Soul of a Chef finds Mr. Ruhlman observing the rigors of the Certified Master Chef Exam at the CIA. This was my introduction to Thomas Keller and the French Laundry. Of all the culinary destinations in the world, the French Laundry is my goal. Ruhlman also recounts the background of Michael Symon of Lola in Cleveland. This, coupled with an April, 1999 article in Bon Appetit, sent us off on a culinary treasure hunt years ago. We never did find Lola (we didn't have 'the internets' at that time) but we ate at the Blue Pointe Grille and it was fabulous. We still add wasabi to mashed potatoes and honey and soy to our grilled salmon.
Ruhlman collaborated with Thomas Keller on The French Laundry Cookbook. If I never make a single recipe the book is worth the price just to drool over. This was eventually followed by A Return To Cooking, a collaboration with Eric Ripert. This is a cookbook, an adventure tale, and a coffee table artbook worthy of a place alongside any artist. Valentino Cortazar painted the illustrations and they add immeasurably to my enjoyment of the book.
Michael Ruhlman has other books on other subjects but I stick to his food writing. Obviously I have not read The Reach of a Chef yet but I have no doubt it will be as unputdownable (sic) as all his others.
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LibraryThing member willyt
The author discusses the current state of --- and changes that have occurred in --- food culture in the US. He does this by observing and interacting with chefs at a variety of higher end restaurants across the country; instructors and the administrators at the Culinary Institute of American (CIA);
I am a college professor, and I found the section on the CIA especially interesting. The general culture of students appears to be similar in many different types of institutions.
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and a few of the stars of the Food Network. I enjoyed his writing style and the fact that the author was not shy about providing his views on the subject. If you have an interest in US food culture, especially if you are interested what happens in the restaurant kitchen, I highly recommend the book. I have not previously read any other books by Mr. Ruhlman, but I definitely will read his other books. I am a college professor, and I found the section on the CIA especially interesting. The general culture of students appears to be similar in many different types of institutions.
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LibraryThing member AuntieClio
The Reach of a Chef is the third book Michael Ruhlman has written about chefs. In each one he has taken on one aspect of being a chef; just starting, established, and now, when a chef can no longer be in the kitchen and do the thing he loves to do most, cook.
Mostly, he writes about celebrity chefs
Ruhlman revisits the CIA and chefs and restaurants he's written about in his earlier books to find out what's changed. He discusses not only what's changed but how, what the perception of the well-known chef is, and what it takes to go from chef to celebrity chef or tv chefs.
One of the things I like most about Ruhlman's books is that he challenges the readers to think about their ideas of what being a chef means. This is the existential question for The Reach of a Chef. If a chef can no longer physically work the line, what's the next thing? If a chef begins to own multiple restaurants and spends his time with marketing and branding people, is he still a chef? And what does that mean to the consuming public?
Of course, as with all existential questions, there are no neat answers here. What works for Emeril Legasse and has propelled him into superstar status in the cooking world doesn't work for Thomas Keller. Perhaps I should note that this isn't a question which keeps me up at night, and I understand why it needs to be asked.
Mostly, he writes about celebrity chefs
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like Thomas Keller. He also writes about the tv chefs, Emeril Legasse, Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay, etc.Ruhlman revisits the CIA and chefs and restaurants he's written about in his earlier books to find out what's changed. He discusses not only what's changed but how, what the perception of the well-known chef is, and what it takes to go from chef to celebrity chef or tv chefs.
One of the things I like most about Ruhlman's books is that he challenges the readers to think about their ideas of what being a chef means. This is the existential question for The Reach of a Chef. If a chef can no longer physically work the line, what's the next thing? If a chef begins to own multiple restaurants and spends his time with marketing and branding people, is he still a chef? And what does that mean to the consuming public?
Of course, as with all existential questions, there are no neat answers here. What works for Emeril Legasse and has propelled him into superstar status in the cooking world doesn't work for Thomas Keller. Perhaps I should note that this isn't a question which keeps me up at night, and I understand why it needs to be asked.
Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
338 p.; 8.4 inches
ISBN
0143112074 / 9780143112075