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Eric Rupert has the stature of a Greek god. Paparazzis, go find out if he has a 6-pack!
Owner Maguy Le Coze and Chef/Partner Eric Rupert opened the doors of Le Bernardin in New York City to readers here. Le Bernardin is a restaurant esteemed by many to be the best seafood restaurant in the US. This book was produced as a way to document the incredible orchestration behind the scenes at this institution. At the time the book concept was conceived, it was uncertain what would happen to the restaurant when the lease ran out in 2011.
The book presents a very intimate look into the professional details of what a restaurant looks like on the inside; the food, sourcing, people, management, and above all, the service. Stories about the butchering machine Justo Thomas is awe-inspiring. How many people can say that when they go on vacation, 4 people have come in as subs? (Anthony Bourdain’s new book Medium Raw devotes a whole chapter on Thomas I hear). Then Sous Chef Jennifer Carroll moved on to become Chef de Cuisine at 10 Arts at the Ritz in Philadelphia and kicked major ass on Top Chef Season 6. Despite the heavily regimented production during service, chefs are expected to think and create new dishes on a weekly basis. Talents could then be invited to join the consulting branch of the business. Throughout the book, Rupert’s personality shines through as one highly ambitious, dedicated, warm, and affable man. I will have to read this book again after working in a restaurant kitchen and will sure to gain brand new respect for this establishment and this book.
by John DeLucie
This one lands in the Anthony Bourdain neighborhood. John DeLucie, chef and co-owner of the Waverly Inn in New York, has led a life of many descriptions, none of which boring. The other owner of the restaurant is Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. The restaurant carries on more like a non-stop VIP party at a hush hush private club. The carefully updated comfort food clearly has claimed the hearts of NYC’s royalty.
NYC gossip, celebrities, celebrity chefs, and sex. This book’s quite the entertaining read. It’s always fun to read about a chef’s honest opinion of another chef: Bobby Flay is a dick; Jonathan Waxman a zen master. But the best part is still about the food. I salivated at all the mentions of ingredients and menu planning. It was really funny that during my parents’ recent visit, I served them 2 dishes that they hadn’t had before but my mom totally knew what they were because she just finished reading some very detailed descriptions about them in this very book!
By the way, I read this one in Chinese translation. It just got published in Taiwan and my mom picked up a copy because I’m now in culinary school and she wants to read some chef stories. So she zipped through the book and brought it to me during her visit. Now I should probably also pick up the English copy and reverse translate all those ingredient names back to its original flavors. How’s that for continual education?
by Ruth Reichl
One of our assignments for Foundations I is to read a (non-cookbook) food book and write a 200-word “report” about it.
Sounds like something I know how to do!
Ruth Reichl is such a formidable force in food writing but I really haven’t been familiar with her work. And damn! That lady can write. Some passages read so sensually satisfying that it’s a wonder that no one’s tried to market a “Ruth Reichl diet” — You just read her words instead of eating.
An excerpt of this talented writer,
The waiter had just set a plate of black bass in Barolo sauce before her [disguise coach Claudia], and she was looking down at it with a dreamy expression. The fish was wrapped in translucent slices of potato that hugged it like a second skin. She reached out with the tines of her fork and watched, rapt, as the crisp potato coat shattered to reveal the soft, creamy flesh underneath.
I remember seeing this legendary Le Cirque plate on Season 3 of Top Chef. It was Hung who nailed the execution in recreating the dish. In this case, the experience via Ruth Reichl’s description more than equaled visual impressions made on TV.
I think I’ll be reading more Ruth Reichl from now on.
I can’t stop thinking about this one NY Times article in the Dining section today.
The piece profiles a few 20-something young laid-off professionals channeling their energy into becoming entrepreneurs of home-made foods. In the story, one passage leaped out and clung to me,
“It’s hard work,” said Hannah Goldberg [pastry chef selling Mexican-style paletas], speaking about her time at the Hester Street Fair. “Our ancestors came through the Lower East Side to find a better life, and our parents think it’s crazy that we’re back here selling from a pushcart.”
Are we defined by our profession?
How are some careers valued over others regardless of underlying passion?
or the lack thereof?
How much of what we dedicate our lives to is a result of choice?
Could it all be dictated by expectations and circumstances?
David Chang talks about restaurant work being back-breaking and that one unlikely chooses to become dish washers.
Ruth Reichl can’t seem to escape the hurt of parental disapproval over her career choice.
Up until the 80′s, US Census lists Chefs as servant/domestic help.
In my upbringing that equated education with status and success, following one’s heart into a lower barrier-to-entry profession is near blasphemy.
Will the passion become viable or sustaining enough? This — I would like to find out.
by Michael Ruhlman
Absolutely a requirement for anyone who’s ever thought about going to culinary school, for whatever reason, for whatever future plans. Michael Ruhlman approached the project as a journalist but through the rigorous training was inoculated with the ethos of professional cookery and left the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) a respected cook. He’s since developed a wonderful career of food writing that included co-authorship with Thomas Keller. Thomas Keller!! Ruhlman’s precise language quickly draws you in and places you in the middle of the action. This is a kind of storytelling prowess that no 3D TV will ever be able to deliver. I will not even attempt to transcribe the culinary school experience to the caliber of The Making of a Chef. After all, it’s been done and done sooo well.
There was this one passage that really moved me,
Cooks, I had learned, came to cooking not to fulfill a desire, but rather, by chance, to fulfill something already in their nature…I have no doubt that there are people in this world, toiling away, in offices and backhoes alike, who are fundamentally unhappy because they never tried working in kitchens.
This is my search for fulfillment. Thank you, Mr. Ruhlman, for describing how such a search could find a meaningful end.
Two instructors featured in the book, Chef Mike Pardus and Bob del Grosso maintain a very entertaining blog, A Hunger Artist.
by Anthony Bourdain
Oh, boy. After reading Becoming a Chef, this was about the biggest contrast you can get. Kitchen Confidential is to Becoming a Chef what monkey anal sex is to the immaculate conception. Graphic, shocking, and hilarious at times. It’s quite an entertaining read. I think one of the really important function a work like this serves is to highlight the hard work behind scenes. There is likely a gritty side to every profession and unveiling the realities can only help to prepare/warn hopeful fresh faces to embrace the whole deal. You can’t just hear the good news. It’s the hard stuff that makes the good precious. I really like how Bourdain will write pages and pages on how awful the day-to-day kitchen operation is, then make sure to let people know how much he loves his work. He chose this life and he loves it, despite all the craziness. That’s very motivating. You can bitch all you want, but own the reason you’re in what you’re in, you know? Own it!
One part I thought was pretty funny was Bourdain’s advice on what you need to be a good Chef. One key skill is Spanish. Haha, this is exactly the same thing my MD friends are saying about the requirement of being a good doctor. Go Spanish!
by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page
I had seen this book on Reluctant Gourmet’s website but after talking to Jennifer (NECI alum), I decided to pick up a copy and read it in preparation for culinary school. The book was co-authored by husband-and-wife team Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page: Dornenburg a professional chef and Page a professional. Together they interviewed an extensive number of accomplished chefs in America and compiled a wonderful narrative of how Chefs became Chefs. From early influences to passion to work ethics, the book covers a wide range of very realistic topics. It paints a clear picture of what it means to be a professional cook. There should be a book like this about every profession! Maybe if I’m crazy enough one day, I’ll find write a book about Becoming a Professor.
I fell immediately connected to the food memories Chefs shared in the book and began compiling my own food memories. I was motivated reading about what it takes to make it and related that back to my previous training. I was very inspired reading about the philosophy at the core of the Chefs’ work. I LOVE this book!
For anyone considering culinary school, food service career, or foodies interested in picking up more anecdotal stories of your favorite Chefs, I highly recommend reading Becoming a Chef. If anything, you can say you’ve read a James Beard Award book on top of eating at James Beard Award restaurants. Read this book!
Bonus: each Chef interviewed in the book also provided a special recipe. I’ve tried a couple of those and they are pretty damn delicious.
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