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Before he was a top chef, Tom Colicchio learned to love cooking when he was still slinging burgers at a poolside snack bar. Barbara Lynch tells the story of lying her way into her first chef's job and then needing to cook her way out of trouble in the galley kitchen of a ship at sea. Stories of mentorship abound: Rick Bayless tells the story of finally working with Julia Child, his childhood hero; Gary Danko of earning the trust of the legendary Madeleine Kamman. How I Learned to Cook is an irresistible treat, a must-have for anyone who loves food and wants a look into the lives of the men and women who masterfully prepare it.… (more)
How I Learned to Cook is a collection of 40 essays by well-known chefs and food writers, describing early pivotal incidents in their culinary careers. The title might be a bit misleading; the stories aren’t generally about learning how to cook, but rather “the biggest screw-up I ever had in the kitchen” and “how I learned to love food” and “how I realized — perhaps against my will — that cooking would become my profession.”
Of course, with so many contributors, the writing is uneven and there are some duds among the selections. But for the most part, the essays showcase the larger-than-life personalities of chefs and the weird culture of the world of professional cooking. Particular favorites included Rick Bayless’ story about spending his family’s weekly food budget on one rack of lamb as a teenager — and his father didn’t even like lamb; Anthony Bourdain decimating television cooking; and David Chang’s story of an apprenticeship to a perfectionist soba noodle maker in Japan. ( )
Before he was a top chef, Tom Colicchio learned to love cooking when he was still slinging burgers at a poolside snack bar. Barbara Lynch tells the story of lying her way into her first chef's job and then needing to cook her way out of trouble in the galley kitchen of a ship at sea. Stories of mentorship abound: Rick Bayless tells the story of finally working with Julia Child, his childhood hero; Gary Danko of earning the trust of the legendary Madeleine Kamman. How I Learned to Cook is an irresistible treat, a must-have for anyone who loves food and wants a look into the lives of the men and women who masterfully prepare it.