Boulud not only speaks specifically about building a career as a chef in today's world, but examines why anyone would want to do so in the first place. As he writes, "It didn't take me long to decide three things: I knew I loved to cook, I knew that I wanted to learn from the masters, and I knew that being a chef was the only thing I wanted to be." But while a love of food is the cook's guiding passion, the path to flourishing as a chef is one of long hours, arduous apprenticeships, and a painstaking dedication to technique and craft. With refreshing wit and candor, Boulud relates the exhilarating juggling act that is running a world-class kitchen, and how, in many respects, haute cuisine is a high calling indeed.