Michael Ruhlman’s book,
The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection
, follows seven chefs as they take on the American Culinary Federation’s
Certified Master Chef test at the
Culinary Institute of America. The second half of the book follows Michael Symon of Lola in Cleveland, OH (10 years before he became the Next Iron Chef) and Thomas Keller of the French Laundry in Napa Valley. Just finished the first half on the CMC and so far it is a good read. It shows cooking at a level seemingly removed from that of the home cook, but still connected in the fundamentals.