With The Soul of a Chef, Ruhlman lays bare the vigorous competition necessary to become a Certified Master Chef at the CIA, a process in which the chef spends ten consecutive sixteen-hour days cooking in styles ranging from contemporary Asian to classical French, under relentless scrutiny. This intense, almost bizarre cooking test - ultimately an attempt to define an objective truth of great cooking - begins Ruhlman's journey into the dark heart of the profession and soul of a chef.