The Making of a Chef

Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America

By: Michael Ruhlman

Narrated by: Jeff Riggenbach

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

In the ultimate food-lover's fantasy, journalist Michael Ruhlman dons chef's jacket and houndstooth-check pants to join the students in Skills One at the Culinary Institute of America, the most influential cooking school in the country. His goal is to document the training of America's chefs from the first classroom to the Culinary's final kitchen, the American Bounty Restaurant. The result becomes more than a rote reportage of a school for cooks. Ruhlman learns to cook as though his future depends upon it, and this complete immersion enables him to create the most vivid and energetic memoir of a culinary education on record.

©1997 by Michael Ruhlman (P)1998 by Blackstone Audiobooks

Excellent Book!!

Good story. Well researched. Well written. Looking forward to Book#2. Hopefully the author writes a similar book this time on the fashion industry. good narration. no problem.

Dull narration

What did you like best about The Making of a Chef? What did you like least?

The story was interesting, however the narrator's performance was dreadful. He spoke in a complete monotone.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Making of a Chef?

The descriptions of the curriculum and the preparation that goes into a restaurant meal was very interesting.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narration was dull. The narrator seemed to be doing a cold reading of the text. There were awkward pauses (probably poor editing) and it was next to impossible to determine which character was supposed to be speaking.

Did The Making of a Chef inspire you to do anything?

Not really, I was just interested in the subject and thought it would be a good "read".

Soundtrack

It is a book that anyone wishing to learn how to run life or any business should read/hear. All the basics of it are covered, in euphemisms. It is also a reading that should be mandatory to all who thinks of going into the food/hospitality sector. It is the soundtrack to “The Professional Chef” by C.I.A..

poor pronunciation

I am a graduate of the CIA, and can confirm the accuracy of this discription having met most of the chef instructors personally. however the pronunciation of the jargon is a real problem for me. very well read otherwise.

A writer and a chef, documents CI of America

I loved this audiobook. A student documents his experience of training at the Culinary Institute of America.

Good story, awful recording

Great story, narrator was awful. Simple. lots of mid sentence pauses and stops. Voice of the narrator almost caused me to return this.

Thoroughly enjoyed

A good book if you're into food and cooking, if you wonder what goes on at the Culinary Institute if America. The narrator puts odd pauses between sentences and mispronounces a few words, but he has a great voice and those things did not detract from my enjoyment.

Detailed and interesting explanations of training to be a chef

Highly recommend this for insight and background. You feel like you’re there and you learn a lot

Great listen, only downside is the narration

The story is very entertaining and informative. On the other hand, the narrator did a terrible job...incorrect pronunciation, random pauses, and just bland reading.

Wonderful material, terrible narration

Back when you could actually buy books that were Kindle "text to speech" enabled, I listened to them all the time. "Doesn't the computer voice bother you?" everyone asked. It didn't, not a bit. I say this to offer proof that I have a very high tolerance for a range of narration styles.
That said, this narrator is driving me crazy. His voice is so monotonous that I have trouble telling where his sentences end and another begins. Look through his other work, you will see that he tends to narrate history books. Enough said.
I will struggle through this book based solely on my interest in the topic.