The sharper your knife, the less you cry: love, learning and tears at the world's most famous cooking school

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. Flinn's engaging account of her studies at famed French cooking school Le Cordon Bleu should strike a chord with anyone who has dreamed of leaving the rat race and following a passion for food. The main course, Flinn's narrative of her trials and triumphs as she moves through the three levels of cuisine, is supplemented by plentiful helpings of drama, romance and near-tragedy in her personal life. Cassandra Campbell's reading is superlative: her American accent for Flinn slides gracefully into French, French-accented English and various accents for other international students. Her voice also exactly captures Flinn's shifting emotions, from fear and paralysis when facing the "Gray Chef" and resentment of selfish classmates, to pleasure when she wins praise for a well-prepared sauce and joy when she realizes she is starting to understand French better. Foodies and memoir fans will be enchanted. Each chapter ends with a recipe (which all helpfully appear in PDF on a separate disc). Simultaneous release with the Viking hardcover (Reviews, June 25). Copyright Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review An engaging story about a fantasy fulfilled. Its Under the Tuscan Sun goes to cooking school. Michael Ruhlman, author of The Elements of Cooking and The Soul of a Chef A joy to read . . . A compelling story about learning to cook and learning to love at the same time, told with humility, humor, and passion. Bill Radke, host of NPRs Weekend America This tasty offering . . . seems destined to earn an honored place on the crowded bookshelves of many foodie readers. _Seattle Post-Intelligencer_

A true story of food, Paris, and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

Publishers Weekly

When the author, an American journalist and software executive working in London, is sacked from her high-powered job, she enrolls as a student at the Cordon Bleu school in Paris. With limited cooking skills and grasp of the French language, she gamely attempts to master the school's challenging curriculum of traditional French cuisine. As if she didn't have enough on her plate eviscerating fish and knocking out pâtéà choux, she determines to write a book about her experience and gets married along the way. The result is a readable if sentimental chronicle of that year in Paris in which her love life is explored in great detail, dirty weekends and all, and cooking features as a metaphor for self-discovery. Some readers may feel disappointed that the narrator's encounters with French cookery remain largely confined to her lessons at the Cordon Bleu. On those rare occasions when she ventures into the food-obsessed city, the descriptions of meals are glancing at best. Although her struggles with the language and lack of knowledge about the culture lend comic elements to the story (once, trying to order a pizza over the phone, she said, "Je suis une pizza"-I am a pizza), they, too, constrain the author's culinary explorations. (Oct.)

Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information

'...engaging, intelligent, and surprisingly suspenseful.'—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, LoveThe unforgettable New York Times best-selling journey of self-discovery and finding one's true calling in lifeKathleen Flinn was a thirty-six-year-old middle manager trapped on the corporate ladder - until her boss eliminated her job. Instead of sulking, she took the opportunity to check out of the rat race for good - cashing in her savings, moving to Paris, and landing a spot at the venerable Le Cordon Blue cooking school. The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry is the funny and inspiring account of her struggle in a stew of hot-tempered, chefs, competitive classmates, her own'wretchedly inadequate'French - and how she mastered the basics of French cuisine. Filled with rich, sensual details of her time in the kitchen - the ingredients, cooking techniques, wine, and more than two dozen recipes - and the vibrant sights and sounds of the markets, shops, and avenues of Paris, it is also a journey of self-discovery, transformation, and, ultimately, love. **Read Kathleen Flinn's posts on the Penguin Blog.** This is the funny and inspiring account of Kathleen Flinn's struggle in a stew of hot-tempered chefs, competitive classmates, her own "wretchedly inadequate" French, and the basics of French cuisine. Flinn was a thirty-six-year-old middle manager trapped on the corporate ladder—until her boss eliminated her job. So she cashed in her savings and moved to Paris to pursue her lifelong dream of attending the venerable Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Fans of __Julie & Julia__ and the late Julia Child will be richly rewarded by this vibrant tale of self-discovery, transformation, and ultimately love. Prologue: this is not for pretend Life is not a dress rehearsal Lost in translation Culinary boot camp Taking stock Memoirs of a quiche La vie en rose No bones about it Splitting hares The souffle also rises As the vegetables turn Final exam: basic C'est la vie, c'est la guerre A week in Provence Rites of passaage The silence of the lamb I am a pizza for Kathleen A sauce thicker than blood La catastrophe Americaine Bon travail final exam: intermediate Back in bleu Great expectations Gods, monsters, and slaves La danse Bye-bye, lobster I didn't always hate my job An American hospital in Paris Final exam: superior Epilogue: Thanksgiving in Paris. About the Book Recounts the author's decision to change careers and attend the famed Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, an education during which she survived the program's intense teaching methods, competitive fellow students, and the dynamics of falling in love, in an account complemented by two dozen recipes. Edition Notes Originally published: New York : Viking, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. [281]-282) and index of recipes (p. [283]-285). Recounts the author's decision to change careers and attend the famed Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, an education during which she survived the program's intense teaching methods, competitive fellow students, and the dynamics of falling in love, in an account complemented by two dozen recipes. Reprint. Kathleen Flinn provides an account of her experiences after circumstances prompted her at the age of thirty-six to pursue her dream of moving to Paris and attending Le Cordon Bleu cooking school. Includes information on the basics of French cuisine, as well as more than two dozen recipes