Customer Reviews

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

A great book! As a culinary grad myself, I'm impressed how well the author caught the feverish vibe of being a culinary student. The behind the scenes look at Le Cordon Bleu is fascinating. Her story is funny and touching, and the writing is great. As a book, it's a fast read. I got it yesterday from Amazon and finished it this afternoon. It's one of those books that I was sorry when it ended. It made me wish I could drop everything and run off to Paris, but I will have to settle for trying the French onion soup recipe in the book instead.

Her "who am I? How did I get here?" questioning of her life makes this book of interest even to those who aren't necessarily into cooking. As she notes at the end, the lessons she learns from her culinary training extend beyond the kitchen. If you liked "Eat, Pray, Love" by Liz Gilbert or "Heat" by Bill Buford, then you'll certainly like this book.

Update on March 31: I bought my mom the audio CD of this book for her birthday. I was surprised to find that it came with a separate non-audio CD that has all the recipes so you can print them out. It makes a nice little booklet.

The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry is a riveting memoir of one woman's journey through the hallowed kitchens of Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Fresh from a corporate layoff in her London office, Kathleen Flinn chases her childhood dream to attend Le Cordon Bleu, encouraged by then-boyfriend Mike. Kathleen's love for cooking came as a result of necessity: after her father's early death from cancer when Kathleen was a teenager, she took over cooking for her family, eventually exploring the works of Julia Child and other cuisines. As an adult, her job in journalism allowed her to dabble in food writing and to indulge her love of restaurants, cooking, and food around the globe (including a brush with food poisoning from undercooked pig kidneys in China).

Kathleen's witty observations of Cordon Bleu demonstrations and classes are culled from 600 pages of personal notes, 120 hours of audio recordings, and selections from the 300-plus recipes in the Cordon Bleu curriculum, so readers are instantly immersed into the grueling world of elite chefdom, including less appetizing ventures such as gutting fish, removing tendons and glands from chickens and guinea fowl, beheading rabbits, and chopping live lobsters in half (this book is definitely NOT for the squeamish). However, such visions are tempered by sweeter notes, including puff pastry and delicate sauces described in detail.

Kathleen describes her new friends and classmates in detail, along with her continuing explorations of Paris and her struggles to improve her rusty French. One of the book's most touching moments involves a visit from her sister, who had planned on studying at the Sorbonne but gave up her place (and her dreams of studying in France) when their father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Small moments of everyday Parisian life provide a pleasant counterpart to break up the monotony of daily classes. Other domestic affairs include Kathleen's new relationship, a visit from annoying houseguests, and several medical emergencies.

The Sharper Your Knife includes many of the recipes alluded to in the text, and the back of the book thoughtfully includes a recipe index for faster retrieval. Traditional selections include Beef Braised in Red Wine, Chicken Cordon Bleu (which has no affiliation with the school), Rabbit or Chicken with Mustard Sauce, Chocolate Souffle, and Duck With Orange Sauce. Some of the author's personal favorites include Minestrone Soup, Gumbo from Paris, and Banana and Nutella Crepes.

I wasn't sure how I was going to go with this memoir of a journalist who spends a year at the "world's most famous cooking school" Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, but I was surprised at what a quick read it was.

Kat's adventures both in cooking and life through basic, intermediate and superior cuisine and the smattering of French life was compelling enough that I ran through the book in only a couple of sittings. Flinn is a good writer, but I found some of the metaphors between the food she was cooking and her life a bit contrived and trite (love is like a quiche, it has to be cooked at the right temperature and savoured with consideration - these are not Flinn's words, but she offered up similar cringe worthy metaphors) and I really did get sick of how hearing about how wonderful her husband is.

Flinn includes a lot of recipes in the book, but I have to say that French haute cuisine is not for me and I wasn't tempted to try any of the recipes. However, I did enjoy the book and I loved how Kat took a bad situation where she was retrenched from her job and turned it into the experience of a lifetime, the fulfilment of a long held dream and a completely new pathway in life. Leap and the net will appear!

I've found another page-turner. I'm the sort who puts the average modern book down after forcing myself through a couple chapters (for example, I loved the Italy section of "Eat, Pray" but skipped the India section for Bali), but this book so far does not disappoint. With each page of this book, not only do I feel the author's pain (how many times can Chef make her cry? Will the new romance develop?) but there are great tips and tricks for preparing food. I can't wait to try the chicken stock recipe. Kathleen is a naturally gifted writer with a great flair for words.

I bought this book based on the glowing reviews it received on this site. After all, it combined two of my great loves -- cooking and France - as subject matter. Unfortunately, I am still struggling to finish it. There is nothing compelling or terribly interesting in this story which is prosaically written. It doesn't come to Bill Buford's "Heat" or any of the Michael Ruhlman books. Eh...

What's not to love?

Kathleen Flinn takes us along with her to Paris and the famed Le Cordon Bleu. The descriptions of the school, her fellow students, the Chefs and the dishes they prepare are charming. But be warned - some of the techniques and dishes are hard to stomach - such as cooking a rabbit.

The apartments, the city streets and markets, and the many people she meets enrich the story. It also gives a good view of the French and their customs. While briefly mentioned, she does talk about what it is like to be an American in Paris during Iraq. All of this is done so honestly and without agenda that it is refreshing and enlightening. I learned a lot from the Chef who gave a little history lesson with each dish he demonstrated.

This book has a quote on the jacket from the author of Eat, Pray, Love and I have seen some comparisons. Having read both books I must confess I much prefer Ms. Flinn's. She is warm, charming and open. While she is taking this great risk to follow her dream she embraces the experience and she grows and deepens. I only got 2/3 of the way thru Eat, Pray, Love because I found the author self-centered and immature. I felt she wasted her time and mine.

This book was a real treat!

There is a reason why we're so seduced by stories of glamorous cities and memoirs by interesting people- they are stories of dreams and reality and ripe potential and how the two can meet if you just have the courage to do it. Kathleen Flinn's tale of her own life is really about having the guts to stop listening to what we ought to do and jump into what we want to do. It's a sprightly read, moving from Kathleen's humiliating dismissal from a glamorous job to the humiliations and intense pressure of a kitchen, and the thrilling ride of a new love. It's about one woman shaking off her expectations and learning to suck the marrow out of life. The book is full of juicy-sounding recipes and is fun and inspiring.

While reading this book I had the ultimate thrill of reliving my own amazing experience as a culinary student (and graduate) at Le Cordon Bleu, Paris! Kathleen's story was like reading a Diary I should have written of my experience at this incredible institution. Details such as how overwhelming it is in Basic Cuisine to watch a Chef cook, listen to what he says, listen to the translation, write down every detail and jump between 3 different recipies at the same time was incredibly accurate. I laughed out loud at the Chef's constantly saying 'plus sel' because I thought I was the only one who never put in enought salt! Even though she changed the names of the Chefs, it was quite simple to figure out who they actually were...the handsome Chef was in fact quite the playboy who often went after the young, pretty girls, the singing Chef was always in a good mood and even though he didn't speak much english, made up for it by hugging you and kissing you on the cheek if he liked what you did!

Kathleen's details of fish guts, skinned rabbits, screaming Chef's, furious competition amongst students and drinking after school at the local Brasserie bring you into the 'real world' of the school

I, too, took 3 months off before going thru Superior Cuisine. It was difficult when I returned becaused I did not know anyone and most people already had their 'clicks' from Basic. I did have the pleasure of having Giada DeLaurentis in my class, she was shy, quite and very serious about cooking, but then we all were by that point.

To anyone who reads this book, please know that Kathleen tells the story from her heart, with insight, accuracy and amazing detail. I loved every word of it.

If you like like the "I had a trauma so I ran away to Paris" genre then this pleasant little book is for you. The author has a nice, inoffensive style and since I was quite sick while I was reading it that was fine with me. It's not great-- the romance was dull and I couldn't figure out why on earth these two people got married and some of the experiences written about seemed cliched to me but that's okay too. The bottom line is this: the book isn't great but it's not bad either. It's like a first date with a nice but unexciting guy.

I am at a loss to understand the negative reviews which some people submitted for this book. I felt that it was fascinating and very well-written. The school, the other students, the chefs, and her relationship were sharply evoked and delineated; I did not feel that there was excessive attention given to any specific thread, and the information she included about herself and her future husband helped to ground the book and give it some depth. Occasionally books of this genre can seem one-dimensional because you don't have sufficient back-story to see the individual in his or her context. Flinn came across as a real person, quirky and very likeable. It's an excellent book for a foodie, a francophile, or simply someone who likes reading about other people's adventures through life.

Oh, and I also learned how to mince an onion à la façon Cordon Bleu! [...]