The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Towards Perfection
By: Michael Ruhlman / Narrated By: Donald Corren
Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins
The search for heart and soul in the land of sweat and heartache
And there’s plenty of heartache as The Soul of a Chef starts with seven candidates as they begin the Certified Master Chef exam—a grueling ten day course designed to weed out the less than perfect, the cooks who have spines made of anything less than steel. It goes on to Michael Simon, the chef and owner of Lola, and ends up with Thomas Keller of The French Laundry.
I thought it was a terrific audiobook. At one time, before even nuking coffee became exhausting, I used to adore doing stuff like making the perfect reduction, precision mincing, blanching vegetables. So I was fascinated by ALL the techniques that are described, all the methods, the extraordinary ways one simple item can be prepared. And the combinations of items! Only dreamers and chefs can think of such combos! Still, I gotta admit, a lot of it was foreign to me, but don’t let that stop you.
While it is most definitely a book for foodies, anybody with tastebuds and a sense of humor can enjoy it. The chefs in the book have such colorful personalities, such heart and, we find, such soul, it makes for a captivating 12 hours. The first time I listened to it, I thought the third part dragged a bit, as it is a veritable love letter to Keller, but this time I was fascinated by the man and his methods, his respect for the food (to the point where he, ack, killed his own rabbits so that he might really honor the sacrifice inherent in that particular meal… I’ll say it again: ack!).
Ruhlman is a terrific writer, obviously loves food and cooking, and he comes to the conclusion that while he once thought cooking was mere craft, it actually can indeed be art in the hands of the right chef. He listens to the three main chefs he chronicles in the book (one of the contestants, Michael Simon, Keller) as they spout their philosophies on food and cooking, he watches in amazement as they absolutely dance their ways through chaos in the kitchen, he delights in their successes, and his toes curl at their failures.
Donald Corren does a great job with the narration because, actually, there’s a lot of suspense in the book, a lot of meals and methods that can go wrong, and we root for all the chefs as they pour their hearts and souls into their food. Corren also does so well with the humor. Ruhlman is nothing if not funny. Only he can make an imperfect duck tureen both tragic and hilarious (Sorry, Chef. I uuuuuusually have better knife skills!). And only he can laugh at himself as he struggles to remember everything a notable food critic says… just in case he gets the chance to say those things himself to unsuspecting diners.
The internet at work went down the night I was listening to The Soul of a Chef, and I couldn’t have missed it less, I was so engrossed and so thankful for audiobooks rather than computers.
Perhaps next time you’re in the kitchen, or shopping at a fresh grocer’s, you’ll find yourself wanting inspiration? Oh do give this audiobook a chance! It’s fun, it’s mesmerizing, it’s even graceful at times, and it’s sure to delight you and make you think outside the box.
Now if you’ll excuse me; I’ve gotta go nuke my coffee…
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