Secret Sharer Summary and Analysis

Ruhlman is given his uniform and a set of knives, provided to him by the Culinary Institute of America, otherwise known as the CIA. He is here to learn how to cook and will document his progress throughout the experience.

His first class is Culinary Skill Development with Chef Michael Pardus. Here, he will learn how to make a great stock. For Pardus, a great stock is judged by flavor, clarity, color, body and aroma. For the next six weeks, Ruhlman and his fellow students will learn how to make a great stock in a kitchen that is 37.5 feet by 26 feet. There are 36 other similar kitchens in the CIA and each costs approximately $330,000.

The students will take classes simultaneously during their training at the CIA.

Bob del Grosso is a 41-year-old who is a trained micropaleontologist who used to...