by Caitlin Coe
What is your secret ambition, goal, dream? That elusive idea that begins "Well, if I could really do anything at all, no restrictions, no reservations, I would…"? For Kathleen Flinn, the answer was clear, but, like most dreams, it took a life-altering event to make the possibility a reality. After losing an executive position in the corporate software world, there were no reasons left for Flinn not to pursue her lifelong ambition: to train at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Not for any particular career direction or entrepreneurial endeavors—she simply wanted to train at the best institution in the world for the love of food and cooking. The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry is the story of Flinn's dream becoming a reality—a messy, difficult, delicious reality.
Many will recall the classic 1954 film Sabrina, which features a young Audrey Hepburn elegantly going through the paces of Le Cordon Bleu, growing into herself and blooming with self-confidence. And while certain similar elements of that story didn't escape Flinn's attention, she succinctly sums up day two of Basic Cuisine (the introductory round of classes required for graduation) quite to the contrary: "Audrey Hepburn would never have ended up covered in fish guts". Such is the tone of The Sharper Your Knife: The Parisian setting is exquisite, the cuisine superb, and the school world renowned, but the gritty and truly amusing reality quickly sets in.
Never in Sabrina do we see Hepburn fling a fish eye onto the arm of a fellow student, struggle to understand the tirades of her exasperated teachers in a language of which she only has a passable understanding, nor create a puff pastry that hits the plate with a thud. Rarely does one read about Julia Child being yelled at by her dishwasher, unabashedly flirting with a handsome chef who renders her incapable of completing a sentence, or sharing such tidbits of wisdom as "In France, butchers leave the heads on whole rabbits to assure their customers that they are not buying cats." Hence the charm and real value of The Sharper Your Knife. Flinn shares with us an inside view of the world's most elevated cuisine training from a rare perspective that is at once very funny, eloquent, and knee-deep in reality.
In addition to sitting in class alongside Flinn, learning about the various techniques, histories, and ingredients necessary to fully understand both basic and exceptionally complicated dishes, you'll find yourself in the midst of an endearing love story and a fantastic cookbook. Each chapter ends with a recipe from Flinn's personal collection—some from Le Cordon Bleu, others from family and friends—all of which add a deeper personal and culinary touch to the story. Favorites like Coq au Vin come from Flinn's sister, the Javanese-style Yellow Rice with Cooked Beef is adapted from a recipe from one of Flinn's fellow students, and the Chocolate Soufflé is not only a wonderfully decadent dessert but also an expression of Flinn's relationship with her now husband: "Love is a fragile thing… It can be as precarious as those steps on the Sacré Coeur or as unpredictable as the eggs in a cheese soufflé. And in love, there are no handrails or any safe recipes to keep your heart from falling."
For any aspiring chef, those who may just want to learn how to boil an egg, or those who are embarking on a life-long commitment to culinary greatness, Flinn's story is both inspirational and heartwarming. She really gets at the heart of the matter, whether it be food, love, or the joining of the two, and leaves us with a poignant lesson: The sharper your knife, the less you cry, as it is the sharp knife that deftly cuts through onions without releasing the oils that irritate the eye. As Flinn points out, "It also means to cut those things that get in the way of your passion and of living life the way it's meant to be lived"—a philosophy any chef would be proud to abide by.
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