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

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: sharper your knife, less you cry, mock brioche, Chef Gaillard, Chef Bertrand, Chef Savard (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When the author, an American journalist and software executive working in London, is sacked from her high-powered job, she enrolls as a student at the Cordon Bleu school in Paris. With limited cooking skills and grasp of the French language, she gamely attempts to master the school's challenging curriculum of traditional French cuisine. As if she didn't have enough on her plate eviscerating fish and knocking out pâtéà choux, she determines to write a book about her experience and gets married along the way. The result is a readable if sentimental chronicle of that year in Paris in which her love life is explored in great detail, dirty weekends and all, and cooking features as a metaphor for self-discovery. Some readers may feel disappointed that the narrator's encounters with French cookery remain largely confined to her lessons at the Cordon Bleu. On those rare occasions when she ventures into the food-obsessed city, the descriptions of meals are glancing at best. Although her struggles with the language and lack of knowledge about the culture lend comic elements to the story (once, trying to order a pizza over the phone, she said, Je suis une pizza—I am a pizza), they, too, constrain the author's culinary explorations. (Oct.)
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Review

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry is an engaging story about a fantasy fulfilled. It's Under the Tuscan Sun goes to cooking school. -- Michal Ruhlman, author of The Soul of a Chef

I can never get enough of true stories about people who stop in the middle of their life's journey to ask, 'What do I really want?' and then have the guts to actually go get it. Kathleen Flinn's tale of chasing her ultimate dream makes for a really lovely book-engaging, intelligent and surprisingly suspenseful. -- Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult; First Edition edition (October 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670018228
• ISBN-13: 978-0670018222
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (62 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #203,714 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swift, entertaining and thought provoking read, October 6, 2007

By	International Diva - See all my reviews

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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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trials and triumphs in the world's most famous cooking school, March 13, 2008

By	Veggiechiliqueen - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

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.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Transported Back to Paris Every Night, October 11, 2007

By	Memoir lover (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

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.