Thoughts on Soul of a Chef: UK/US Differences

[Tim Hayward]

I've just finished reading 'The Soul of a Chef' by Michael Ruhlman. This is a series of pieces following chefs through the Certified Master Chef programme exam at the Culinary Institute of America.

For those who haven't read the book the CMC course is the most rigorous test of the best chefs but one which provokes controversy - apparently most of America's most famous or highly regarded chefs have never taken the exam and many of them see it as irrelevant.

The book made me think...

We don't have anything like the CMC programme in the UK. I'm not sure we ever would. Why is that?

Is it something to do with the fact that, until Sleb chefs appeared, cookery schools were either for debs in search of husbands or terrifyingly underfunded branches of provincial technical colleges? Do we lack an institution with the credibility to run or judge such a programme?

Is there a fundamental difference in the was the UK and the US approach cuisine? (Judging by these boards, there's certainly a difference in the way we talk about it).

Ruhlman writes about the course in the kind of breathless, almost motivational style of a sports writer and more than once makes the comparison between the chefs and professional athletes?

That's not a metaphor that makes any sense from my experience of UK kitchens. On the other hand, it does gel with experience of working in the US.

Is this the difference? We don't have a CMC for the same reasons we get beaten in sport ?

Has anyone else read the book?

Can anyone else have a stab at articulating what this cultural difference is?

[June Pickering]

I'll have to give this some thought. I lived for many years not far from the CIA (the main campus in Hyde Park, NY). For fun, we'd often drive up there, especially when the leaves were changing, to sample one of the 4 or 5 restaurants run by the students. There was a wide choice from 'healthy' cuisine to Italian to plain out high calorie, huge meals. The price was modest and the food always delicious and served by other students learning their profession. I know there is also a satellite branch based in the Napa Valley.

Cooking schools are quite numerous in the States. My hometown, Philadelphia, has had a very good one for many years. It changed the restaurant scene there so dramatically that I can't even begin to describe the process. The city went from having a very mediocre (except for seafood) scene to being a highly touted and wonderful foodie heaven.

I haven't been in the UK long enough to understand the process here or why London is no longer someplace people still often come to expecting poor meals. I can't but help think a CIUK would be of great help in manning all the pubs that abound in this country. At the same time, one wouldn't want to overpopulate the UK with so many chefs that there would be an overabundance with no jobs available.. but I think that would highly unlikely.

Perhaps this is what Jaime Oliver is or was attempting at his place?

[Jamsie]

I read the book last year and really enjoyed it.

I think the guy sometimes posts on the US forums or maybe used to

I like the way the book was split into the 3 different sections to show chefs in 3 different environments and each was very interesting. The French Laundry was the most interestinmg i thought.

That exam seemed like a extremely difficult test to give you the right to wear a nice badge.

[Richard Kilgore]

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I think the guy sometimes posts on the US forums or maybe used to

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Michael posts frequently in the forums. One of the most active threads for the past month has been the one in the Cooking Forum based on his book Charcuterie. He posts there fairly often. It's worth checking out.

[CheGuevara]

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I think the guy sometimes posts on the US forums or maybe used to

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Michael posts frequently in the forums. One of the most active threads for the past month has been the one in the Cooking Forum based on his book Charcuterie. He posts there fairly often. It's worth checking out.

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wow - i just stopped by a bookshop on my way home from work and picked up this book! i had no idea who tyhe authors were.

i couldn't help buying it as over a month ago three of us made some saucisson and chorizo at home, then again yesterday we made a few other trials. so far they've come out very well - especially considering we made them as a by-product of some argentine sausages (made with a mix of beef and pork) we were making for this summer's bbqs. yesterday's were made especially as charcuterie - so the results should be much better - 100% pure pork.

next on the list will be some bresaola and coppa...both of which are in this book.

-che

[Andy Lynes]

I'm sorry, I can't resist - I really admire Michael Ruhlman's work and I was fortunate enough to be able to interview him for eGullet last year in the run up to the Future of Dining Round Table. You can read the results here and the round table is here.

[Richard_D]

We don't have anything like the CMC programme in the UK. I'm not sure we ever would. Why is that?

Is it something to do with the fact that, until Sleb chefs appeared, cookery schools were either for debs in search of husbands or terrifyingly underfunded branches of provincial technical colleges? Do we lack an institution with the credibility to run or judge such a programme?

Is there a fundamental difference in the was the UK and the US approach cuisine? (Judging by these boards, there's certainly a difference in the way we talk about it).

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I think it's probably just down to a different approach. Cooking in the UK is not really seen as a profession where ability can be measured purely by academic standards. You go to a technical college to learn the basics, then if you want to get anywhere it's down to you to put the work in and build a CV showing you've been in the right kitchens and learnt more. The focus in the UK is on personal drive and the quality of on the job training.

We have fantastic universities that show we can do post-school education, but would we want a CIA turning out classes of chefs who have all learnt the same techniques and recipes in the same way? Things might generally get better but it might make things a little boring

[dellis453]

I too enjoyed Soul of Chef. It made me think about how I cook.

Since it was written nearly 10 years ago, I would love to know what it is like at the CIA now - there were inklings it was changing.

[russ parsons]

just for the record, i think one of the point in michael's chapter on cmc was the utter pointlessness of it. almost none of the well-known chefs in the us have passed it. it's the kind of thing that is only important for chefs who want to go into high-level teaching or work in hotels/resorts, where the hr department tends to want some kind of accreditation.

[chefzadi]

I've considered taking the test because someone at the school told me about it here is some information about it. This is the CMC we are talking about right?

I'm still interested but my wife is concerned not about my abilities but more about politics.

I'm French born, apprenticed in France and completed culinary school in Paris. I also teach at a LE CORDON BLEU program school.

The CMC is part of American Culinary Federation and the tests are held at CIA.

It is also a very expensive program for something that I don't really see having a positive effect (I could be wrong) on my career even though I am a culinary instructor.

So, yeah like Russ says, "what's the point?"

If you already think you have the chops to pass the test, but don't need the extra logo on your shirt... It really does seem like something that is relevant to a niche group but doesn't have much recognition outside of that.

Absolutely no disrespect intended for CMCs.

[chromedome]

In Canada, we have a bit different scenario. Cooking is a trade like any other (plumber, electrician, pipefitter) and is administered by the government. Culinary grad and blue-collar grunt alike complete an apprenticeship, take exams, and complete "x" amount of on-the-job training. At the end of the day, you receive a nationally recognized journeyman certificate (aka "Red Seal") which, as with any other trade, declares that the newly-minted journeyman is competent to work unsupervised in the field.

We have a Master designation in our trade, just as other trades do. In our country, it's the "CCC" (Certified Chef de Cuisine) certification. Like the CMC in the States, it is an absolute ball-busting marathon, although ours is only three days rather than ten. Unlike the CMC, though, there is no political controversy about the CCC. The standards have been set by a government body in conjunction with employers, schools, and industry representatives. No one school has more influence than the others in the process, therefore there are no concerns about undue uniformity in the underlying training.

Having said that, there is a similar ambivalence here about the CCC, in that it really only advances one's career on the corporate side of things (hotels, major foodservice companies, etc). For those wanting only to run a restaurant, it's hard to justify the price tag.

[tony h]

Slightly off track…

We went CIA for a meal on our recent trip to the US. I also did the tour which was just an hour or so of some poor kid who's voiced hadn't seem to have broken taking questions on the course, the place etc. I enjoyed it - my partner hasn't quite forgiven me.

The meal was in the Italian restaurant (French wasn’t open on Monday nights) - it had an impressive central valued (?) ceiling with side areas, chandeliers and more. Although the food was very good it didn’t seem very Italian to me – more French in influence, I thought. Service was, as predict, slightly haphazard (but in a good way). The kid who served me let me taste my wine first (red) but just poured my partners (white). A second later: “shit, I forget to let you taste it first”. The kids who serve are really here to cook but must do at least one block as a waiter & they all hate it. Anyway – well worth it of you’re passing by.

[confiseur]

......I believe the Academy of Culinary Arts in the UK has been trying to promote some of their competitions as equal to the French MOF qualification ...however they are notoriously political with allegations of cheating and biased judging overshadowing the process and therefore do not gain any respect within the trade.