A History of Cooks and Cooking (file under a Poetic Soul)

I took much longer to read Michael Symon’s book; “A History of Cooks and Cooking,” much more than I normally would. The very first paragraph reveals a very different kind of Chef. A different cook. One with the soul of a poet. In a very different vane than Anthony Bourdain. It captures the spirit and imagination of the reader and demands that you keep reading.

Michael Symon, for those of you who don’t know, is the newest “Iron Chef” in America. He has been regaled with numerous awards and is the Owner of two very fine restaurants in Cleveland. Yes, that’s right, I said Cleveland. You can check out a bit more about him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Symon.

Rarely do you come across a professional of one sort who has the ability to express beautifully in words, what their drive and passion is. Michael Symon certainly fits that bill. Take for instance the very first paragraph of the first chapter;

“Hovering over an industrial city spreading beside the Pacific, an angel tunes into the tangled whispers of human thought, watching over silliness and drama, and brushing comfort when and where it will. Suddenly drawn to comprehend, this angel descends past Sydney’s opera house, art gallery, library, museum and botanical gardens. On wings of inquiry it glides across cathedral, conservatorium of music and hospital. It floats over the hotels, department stores and shopping complexes. It circles the stock exchange, banks and corporate towers. It glances towards the sporting stadiums and beaches.”

Adds new meaning, for me anyway, to the soul of a chef. A poetic soul. One which tries to both understands and illuminate exactly what it is we do.

I have read many “anthropological” studies of food, cooks and cooking and none has entertained me as much as this one. In it, you can understand that cooking, its precursors and its by products are something which he feels very passionate about. Attacking it from a very different angle than any that I have read so far.

If you want a great read, an interesting anthropological study of cooks and cooking throughout history you would be hard pressed to find one more informative and entertaining than Michael Symon’s “A History of Cooks and Cooking.”

H. L. Mencken once wrote; “The proof of an idea is not to be sought in the soundness of the man fathering it, but in the soundness of the idea itself. One asks of a pudding, not if the cook who offers it is a good woman, but if the pudding itself is good.”

Are you dreaming big and inspired?

A la prochaine

SDM