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The Main Dish (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Michael Ruhlman
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Michael Ruhlman, author of best-selling books about professional cooking and chefs, and best-selling cookbooks with such chefs as Thomas Keller, Eric Ripert, and Michael Symon, turns his reporter’s eye and engaging style on himself to answer the question, “How on earth did I get here?” In an unlikely and unplanned series of chance connections, and work often motivated primarily by fear of poverty, he managed to carve a unique place for himself in the increasingly obsessive world of restaurants, chefs and writers. In this Kindle Single, Ruhlman charts his unlikely course from child cook-writer, to writer, to neophyte at The Culinary Institute of America, to his arrival in the kitchen of The French Laundry, one of the finest restaurants in America, and beyond.

Michael Ruhlman is the author of nine non-fiction books, two cookbooks, and the co-author of eight cookbooks. He has been a regular contributor to The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, a frequent Judge on Food Network’s Iron Chef America, and writes a popular blog at www.ruhlman.com.


Product Details

  • File Size: 166 KB
  • Print Length: 31 pages
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B009ECEO16
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Lending: Enabled
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,902 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Customer Reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
(19)
4.5 out of 5 stars
I enjoyed this piece and it made me want to read even more of his books. jbmonco  |  4 reviewers made a similar statement
Ruhlman provides an excellent and well written account of how he got to where he is today. Tim Leber  |  1 reviewer made a similar statement
If I knew when I was younger what I know now...sigh. Nursecooksomm  |  2 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars How did he do that? September 22, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase
I always wondered how he did it? How did he become a food writer, get to write for/with the likes of Keller and Ripert? Now I know.

While it is nice to benefit from the experience of your parents, I have much more admiration for the person who takes off in their own direction and figures it out as they go along and that is precisely what Ruhlman did. Seems like the struggles made him better. He writes this piece with the tone of someone who had a gris gris in his pocket and was granted all of his wishes. It almost seems as though he still doesn't appreciate the fact that he had enough sense to work hard and make some really good decisions that played a large role in his success. Very humble and leaves me with no regret about purchasing a large number of his books. I truly enjoy his writing style and always learn something useful from his musings.

I went to culinary school and then sommelier training after reading Making of a Chef at the old age of 42. I loved every minute of school but clearly, I am too old to start a career as a chef. And don't give me that line about how you are never too old to do anything, especially if you have never set foot in a professional kitchen in your life. It is a young person's game. If I knew when I was younger what I know now...sigh. Anyhow, my point is that after 21 years as a nurse, I am still trying to figure out how to use my culinary education to do what I love and make a reasonable living. Reading this short piece by my favorite food author has given me some ideas about how to create awesome opportunity of my own. Thanks, Ruhlman!
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars "I never intended to be a food writer" September 21, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase
Author Michael Ruhlman begins this fascinating mini-memoir with the words "I never intended to be a food writer." But a food writer he is, after following a very rocky road to success, being on the verge of bankruptcy several times while struggling to stay afloat and keep his marriage alive.

Today it's hard to remember when Food Network, the Cooking Channel, and cooking shows all across cable TV weren't so wildly popular. But Ruhlman began his writing career before all this, when it wasn't so easy to sell another cooking show on TV, much less a book about cooking. Trying to get permission to attend the Culinary Institute of America school in New York, and his harrowing drives through winter blizzards to get there were excruciatingly painful. Fortunately for all the foodies out there, he persevered and made it, with first The Making of a Chef (the CIA book that began as a book about cooking and morphed into the story of what you had to know to become a chef), followed by The French Laundry Cookbook, about cooking at a famous Napa Valley restaurant.

Along the way, Ruhlman left intriguing little tidbits about his life:

* At Duke University, in a writing course under celebrated author Reynolds Price, he learned about the key to home security systems (and no, I can't repeat it here!).

* As a 16-year-old, food had everything to do with losing his virginity.

* The part of a tuna you absolutely don't want to eat.

Today, with more than a dozen books about food to his credit, Ruhlman is at the top of his game, one of the best known food writers in the world, and it's hard to believe that he never intended to be a food writer.

Kudos for a fascinating account of a food writer's long journey.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story From a Great Writer September 21, 2012
Amazon Verified Purchase
How can it not be great coming from Ruhlman? A nice short story of how it all began...once upon a time a nice (?) boy from the Heights... buy this book...you will love it! Now Michael, can you help me score a reservation at The French Laundry?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars He always has a story to tell.
I have read all Ruhlman's books and I always find myself coming back to them, finishing them or rereading them. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Abigail
3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but nothing new
I love Ruhlman's writing. I've read "Making of a Chef" twice,
I've also read "Soul of a Chef" twice. Read more
Published 8 days ago by John
5.0 out of 5 stars If you like Ruhlman's work, this is a Must Read
Having read almost everything of Ruhlman's and watched him on Iron Chef America, I found this short "Prequel" (love that word!) to be engaging and instructive. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Lyndell VanMatre
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
I was a student at the CIA when Ruhlman wrote his first food book. At the time I wondered who this guy was wandering around in the kitchen. Now I have read several of his books. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Spencer C. Ford
3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but
Was interesting, but it was clearly written to be a "teaser" to look up other things the author has written
Published 4 months ago by photog22
5.0 out of 5 stars Hey, you gotta love Ruhlman
If you have always wondered about how Ruhlman got his start, this is a rather touching down-to-earth story ( before he became all full of himself, hanging out with Tony Bourdain... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Nancy Bell
5.0 out of 5 stars Read This
Ruhlman provides an excellent and well written account of how he got to where he is today. He give a great insight for how to achive your dreams that is relevant no matter if you... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Tim Leber
4.0 out of 5 stars "I co-wrote a book filled with recipes in which animal fat and salt...
Michael was broke, and America was on the brink of a food revolution, and chefs had become celebrities." Writing was the only thing that made sense to him. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Amelia Gremelspacher
4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read.
I am a fan of Ruhlman's, and this Single was in keeping with his usual style, which I enjoy. A background of how he got into food-writing, which I found interesting as I always... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Michele Hudson
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, quick read
I've always loved Michael Ruhlman's full length books. This short essay tells the story of how he came to write them. Read more
Published 7 months ago by jonathan buchter
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