Great Books for Great Cooks!

If you are looking for a great holiday gift this season look no further than this terrific read from the noted author on cooking-- Michael Ruhlman. The author of other great reads for lovers of the culinary arts such as The Making of a Chef and The Elements of Cooking, Ruhlman has found Foie gras again with his newest book.

The Soul of a Chef: The Persuit of Pefection is a must read for anyone interested in the evolutionary process a chef can go through on his or her journey towards perfection. Not that all chefs aspire to such lofty goals, but the three chefs Michael Ruhlman spends time with in his research for this book are all determinedly looking for it.

This book is divided (for lack of a better word) into three sections though in the final analysis Ruhlman masterfully blends them together. He begins with a torturous journey for a half dozen aspiring Master Chefs through the arduous test to become a Certified Master Chef, a title bestowed to few and then only after an unbelieveable 10 day trial by fire at the Culinary Institute of America. Only one of the chefs manages to pass this ultimate test of skill in our story. Reading this part of the book you feel all the emotions the candidates feel as they slowly drop out of the grinding test or are eliminated from it. Alternately euphoric then to the depths of despair, it really gets under your skin as you read their individual stories.

Next up, Ruhlman takes us to Michael Symon's restaurant Lola in Cleveland. Symons, who is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America has also become big on the Food Network scene of late. The pace inside his kitchen at Lola is described in frenetic detail as he and his amazing staff, working in hellish temperatures and at a pace that would make most people collapse midway through the service, yet they manage to produce amazing cuisine and love doing it. What drives a person to work under such conditions day in and day out, year after year?

Finally, to a more calm place--Yountville, California and Thomas Keller's The French Laundry considered by many to be the finest restaurant in the United States. Thomas Keller has a more Zen-like approach to cooking--calmly producing his cuisine with care and respect for what the food is and where it came from. He is constantly striving for perfection though many of his diners would argue he long ago achieved it. Ruhlman spends time watching, helping and eating in this fabulous restaurant and we are the lucky recipients of his experiences there.

Each of these scenarios is explored with such care and depth that I wanted the reading experience to go on forever. My next travel adventures anywhere near Cleveland or Yountville will definately include stops at Lola and The French Laundry if only to experience even a little of whatever part of perfection is on the menu.