Beaten, Seared, and Sauced Book Reviews

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Hard to put down. This book is exceptional from the standpoint of being from a cook who can truly write or, perhaps, a writer who can cook. The reader is taken on a journey, somewhat atypical for the age of the author, through the process of studying at the Culinary Institute of America. What is surprising here is how the author, although more mature than most students, was unprepared for the rigors of cooking in an on-demand environment. This is surprising in view of the fact that he had been a writer and obviously has experienced deadlines in the past. Nonetheless, this is a great read. Very good storytelling throughout and very captivating. One wishes it were longer and had an epilogue with some information about what the author currently does.

Great insights on becoming a cooking pro.. If you've ever thought about becoming a chef, this book is a must read. Thoroughly covers the depth of knowledge and experience needed to excel in the culinary world.

Great read. As a foodie, former hack of a chef, and small time food blogger, I really enjoyed the writing and story telling. The writing is from that of a person perspective and so you get a real feeling of being there and what it's like to tackle culinary school at age 40. Cool book.

Thumbs up!. Interesting read. I love to cook and always wondered what it was like to go to Culinary School. Thanks for the info!

Fascinating. The book starts out a bit slow and I wasn’t sure I would like it. However, the author was setting up the background which was beneficial later on. I really enjoyed reading about the menus, recipes and ‘behind the scenes’ of school and the externship experience. Lots of information and I felt like I was right alongside the author! Great read!

WONDERFUL! Great insight to the CIA. This is a wonderful book that puts you into the reality of culinary school. People think it's a breeze when I'm reality it's complicated and a struggle. Wonderfully written, I can say I am more than happy that I will be attending the CIA in a few short months :)

Loved it. Being an over 40 culinary student myself, I was drawn to the book. I was also interested in having an inside view of the CIA. I loved his ups and downs and watching him grow as a chef.

Made me want to get in the kitchen. Very sincere, heartfelt and vivid. A great vicarious jaunt through the CIA and peek behind the pass into some of the worlds best kitchens and I learned a culinary tip or two along the way.

Beaten, Seared, and Sauced. As a CIA graduate of May, 1980, i was struck by how well the author captured the tone of the learning, the constant battle between fear of failure and learning. I have always wondered if the chef faculty and the administration actually believed that belittling others led them to greatness. The current and recent generations are bashed for their "inner focus, whats in it for me mentality", but the generation of chefs that need to treat others the way they were treated as apprentices is the true self focus that wastes time and talents. I can only imagine that outsiders may doubt some of his stories of ridicule, and of intense pressure, they would be wrong, he captures the culture of our greatest chef growing institution perfectly well. The two year AOS degree is the best real culinary education available, but if you want to be successful, add two years of learning how to listen, how to communicate, how to coach, and how to inspire greatness, and dont expect that from a cooking school. Well done, Jonathan, well done.

Perfect. As a C.I.A. Grad myself (04') this book was spot on. Great job!

Beaten, Seared, and Sauced. Interesting and an enjoyable read but a little whiny. The author seemed to have unrealistic expectations of culinary school, his externship, and of many of his jobs prior to culinary training. He gave lip service to the impact of his actions on his partner but for the most part appeared to abnegate responsibility. He seemed to expect everyone to like him and didn’t investigate why when he found they didn’t. His hard work to attain the desired skill set is laudable but training for many professions requires extended hours, exerts extreme pressure, and involves derision for subpar performance. While one can debate the value of such systems, their prevalence is common enough that the experience shouldn’t be unexpected. The author sometimes gives the impression that the requisite effort toward a difficult goal is unreasonable although at one point comes to accept Stanhope’s adage that anything “worth doing ..., is worth doing well”. Everyone’s journey has value and the writing is engaging but the author and his story would have benefitted from a greater sense of personal responsibility.

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