--- product_id: 5297931 title: "The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America" price: "€ 43.49" currency: EUR in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.pt/products/5297931-the-making-of-a-chef-mastering-heat-at-the-culinary store_origin: PT region: Portugal --- # The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America **Price:** € 43.49 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America - **How much does it cost?** € 43.49 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.pt](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/5297931-the-making-of-a-chef-mastering-heat-at-the-culinary) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America [Ruhlman, Michael] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America Review: An incredible read - All my life, I've loved to cook. I love watching Top Chef, Iron Chef, Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, really any show that has anything to do with cooking. So when I found Michael Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef, I figured it would be an interesting and at the very least, entertaining read. But alas, it was so much more than that. Michael Ruhlman takes you into the CIA and recreates the classes, the recipes, the teachers, the dialogues, the struggles and the triumphs of what it's like being a culinary student. You see these chefs on tv and it looks so glamorous, but being a good cook is a long, hard road. I love my profession and I wouldn't trade it for any other, but I love cooking as a hobby. I've being considering taking the Boot Camp course at the Culinary, just as a way of perfecting my skills and learning a bit more techniques and basics. And then I read this wonderful book: "Recipes were a dime a dozen. You could follow them for a hundred years and never learn to cook. I was after method; I wanted the physical experience of doing it, knowing what the food should look like, sound like, smell like, feel like while it cooked." It has convinced me to take the course, and while I may never be the great chef these students are, at the very least I know I'll enjoy cooking a whole lot more! I recommend this book for anyone who LOVES to cook! Review: Great Behind-the-Scenes Story of a Chef's Education at the Culinary Institute of America - This is an enjoyable and educational behind-the-scenes reporting of the Culinary Institute of America's training program. With my own son currently going through that experience, I can say that Ruhlman's description rings true. It's interesting to read the evolution of his feelings toward his teachers. He starts out loving his first in-kitchen instructor, Michael Pardus who teaches Skills. When he goes back to audit the final semester, he seems to idolize instructor Ron DeSantis, who comes across to me as a jerk. This may be a Stockholm Syndrome reaction by Ruhlman. I was happy to read at the end of the book that it was to Pardus that Ruhlman returned with fondest feelings, which seem to have been reciprocated. And when Ruhlman said "I know I'm a writer and not a cook", and Pardus replied, "Hey Michael, you're a cook. If you're working the grill station in American Bounty (one of the public restaurants at the CIA campus) on a Saturday afternoon, you're a cook," it resonated for how the students see themselves at that stage of their education. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #826,348 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #200 in Gastronomy Essays (Books) #260 in Culinary Biographies & Memoirs #8,069 in Memoirs (Books) | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 out of 5 stars 657 Reviews | ## Images ![The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Q8VDjiO0L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ An incredible read *by A***O on November 3, 2009* All my life, I've loved to cook. I love watching Top Chef, Iron Chef, Rachael Ray, Martha Stewart, really any show that has anything to do with cooking. So when I found Michael Ruhlman's The Making of a Chef, I figured it would be an interesting and at the very least, entertaining read. But alas, it was so much more than that. Michael Ruhlman takes you into the CIA and recreates the classes, the recipes, the teachers, the dialogues, the struggles and the triumphs of what it's like being a culinary student. You see these chefs on tv and it looks so glamorous, but being a good cook is a long, hard road. I love my profession and I wouldn't trade it for any other, but I love cooking as a hobby. I've being considering taking the Boot Camp course at the Culinary, just as a way of perfecting my skills and learning a bit more techniques and basics. And then I read this wonderful book: "Recipes were a dime a dozen. You could follow them for a hundred years and never learn to cook. I was after method; I wanted the physical experience of doing it, knowing what the food should look like, sound like, smell like, feel like while it cooked." It has convinced me to take the course, and while I may never be the great chef these students are, at the very least I know I'll enjoy cooking a whole lot more! I recommend this book for anyone who LOVES to cook! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great Behind-the-Scenes Story of a Chef's Education at the Culinary Institute of America *by C***T on October 11, 2017* This is an enjoyable and educational behind-the-scenes reporting of the Culinary Institute of America's training program. With my own son currently going through that experience, I can say that Ruhlman's description rings true. It's interesting to read the evolution of his feelings toward his teachers. He starts out loving his first in-kitchen instructor, Michael Pardus who teaches Skills. When he goes back to audit the final semester, he seems to idolize instructor Ron DeSantis, who comes across to me as a jerk. This may be a Stockholm Syndrome reaction by Ruhlman. I was happy to read at the end of the book that it was to Pardus that Ruhlman returned with fondest feelings, which seem to have been reciprocated. And when Ruhlman said "I know I'm a writer and not a cook", and Pardus replied, "Hey Michael, you're a cook. If you're working the grill station in American Bounty (one of the public restaurants at the CIA campus) on a Saturday afternoon, you're a cook," it resonated for how the students see themselves at that stage of their education. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very interesting and well written *by E***I on June 3, 2014* I bought this book to compare Ruhlman's experiences in the CIA with my own in a similar institution in Argentina. While there is no comparison possible between both institutions -besides the similar curricula, the sheer difference in time involved is so huge as to make them completely different- it looks that we, culinary students, are of a similar cloth everywhere. I enjoyed the book, is a breezy read and has some interesting points. The debate on the 'I get here' attitude was very interesting. ## Frequently Bought Together - The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute of America - The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection - Kitchen Confidential Updated Edition: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly (P.S.) --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.pt/products/5297931-the-making-of-a-chef-mastering-heat-at-the-culinary](https://www.desertcart.pt/products/5297931-the-making-of-a-chef-mastering-heat-at-the-culinary) --- *Product available on Desertcart Portugal* *Store origin: PT* *Last updated: 2026-04-22*