Essential Reading for Culinarians

Posted on April 16, 2015 Updated on April 16, 2015

If you are considering entering the culinary world, of course your primary objective should be building skills and techniques. Some kitchen knowledge, however, does not come from the kitchen. To better understand the choices, motivation and passion of successful chefs,here are the essential texts to prepare you. These recommendations are not just my own but compiled from various staff and also work well together as a reading list. Most of the authors have written multiple books, these are just what I suggest as starting off points.

1. Letters to a Young Chef by Daniel Boulud is our number one most highly circulated book here at the International Culinary Center Library. Even though it came out in 2003 it remains the most frequently checked out book year after year. Boulud gives practical and straightforward advice in an accessible way that anyone can understand. This advice is not preachy or heavy-handed, but practical knowledge about the kitchen that you may not necessarily learn in culinary training all interwoven with anecdotes of his own personal experiences. The book is divided into  many short letters perfect for trips on the train or quick breaks at work. It’s a great place to start and Daniel Boulud provides a perfect jumping off point for future chefs.

2. White Heat by Marco Pierre White always comes highly recommended by Chef Jose, and I often see him in the library showing it to new students. White is sometimes considered the original bad boy of the kitchen, and White Heat does give a glimpse to this edgier side in the striking photos by Bob Carlos Clark. It includes thoughts and reflections from the chefs White has worked with, his own passionate opinions about cooking and a section of recipes. White Heat is unusual, in that it is not easily categorized as a memoir or cookbook but it is a source of culinary inspiration which manages to capture the back of house world of fine dining.

3. Devil in the Kitchen by Marco Pierre White this comes recommended from Chef Joe who says “It’s the real deal”  – if you started with White Heat but want a little more Marco look no further. White likes to push buttons, the book was originally published under the title White Slave in the UK in 2006. He is also known for screaming and throwing pans. That passion gained him the honor of being the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars. This book tells the story of Whites childhood and how he broke into the food world up through his success and exploits.

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