The Main Dish on Michael Ruhlman

Jane Grigson said that "No good food writer ever set out to be one." A background in Medieval literature and three years spent in France reoriented her writing compass and established her as one of the best food writers of the British vernacular. Her legacy and library of books, such as Jane Grigson's Vegetable and Fruit Book and Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery remain unparalleled today. 

The same could be said of Michael Ruhlman -- he confesses in the introduction of his Kindle single, The Main Dish, that, "[He] never intended to be a food writer." Writing was always the goal, but he desired a career as a novelist or a journalist. However, when he turned to the "topic of food and cooking, the writing flourished."

Uninterested in cookbooks at first, he ironically began ghost-writing them for famous chefs, such as Thomas Keller. Somehow the taste lingered and Ruhlman later published his own cookbook, Twenty, which garnered a few accolades from the food world. He wrote on: his anti-recipe book, Ratio, became an instant success and soon, Ruhlman had found his métier: food.

The Main Dish is a testament to Ruhlman's unforeseen forte -- echoing the words of food writers, such as Grigson, who were first writers and then eaters. It was only a matter of time before the table and the desk and the fork and the pen all became one. 

Ruhlman is popular around here lately -- first make this, and then peruse his short and witty Kindle single. You won't regret either. 

The Main Dish by Michael Ruhlman