From the reinvention of French food through the fine dining revolution in America, Daniel Boulud has been one of the key innovators of today's food culture. A modern improviser with a classical foundation -- a little rock and roll and a lot of Mozart, as he would say -- who worked his way up from scullery boy to culinary celebrity, he speaks with the authority that can only come from a lifetime of experience in creating and serving spectacular cuisine. In Letters to a Young Chef, 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. Part memoir, part advice book, part recipebook, this delicious celebration of the art of cooking will delight and enlighten chefs of all kinds, from passionate amateurs to serious professionals. Book jacket.