Book Review: Think Like a Chef

I recently finished reading Think Like A Chef by Tom Colicchio (The head judge of Top Chef). I have to say that the first thing I would recommend doing is flip to about the middle of the book and tear it completely in half. The first half of the book is a wonderfully fascinating read. But, in this first half Tom claims that he "wanted to write more than just a collection of recipes." Which is EXACTLY what makes up the second half. Albeit, there are introductions to the sections of recipes that are interesting. However, for me, reading recipes is an excruciatingly painful experience.

One of the most profound parts of the book (and the reason I walked out of the bookstore with the book in hand) was when Tom made an analogy between learning how to cook and learning a foreign language. In the words of my interpretation: When we start learning a language we all learn the words and meanings of those words. Then we begin to form sentences with these words and, eventually after lots of practice, we begin to speak the language fluently. Thus is the way we learn ingredients, and how those ingredients work with each other in order to speak a language that communicates our intentions.

Another part of the book I found interesting was the introduction, which was basically Tom's resumé. I knew Tom was a famous chef in his own right, but I had no idea of his background. Bet you didn't know he got his culinary start by flipping burgers.

Overall I think it was worth the read. Although, you will read more about Morels and Ramps than you will ever care to know.