Chef Daniel Boulud discusses the challenge of building a career as a chef in the modern world and examines why anyone would want to in the first place.

Introduction -- Letters From Daniel :Do You Really Want to Be a Chef? -- Mentors Heat -- Flavor -- Sources and Seasons -- Wine and Pastry -- The Whole Wide World -- Desire, Drive and Focus -- Attitude and Teamwork -- Some Elements of Success -- The Front of the House -- A Special Kind of Life -- The Ten Commandments of a Chef -- A Few Letters From My Friends -- Recipes: A Self Portrait -- Acknowledgments.