The Four Hour Chef

I generally select books by either their topics or because they come highly recommended; I rarely seek out books by a certain author. Tim Ferriss is an exception. I was enormously influenced by two of his books, so I decided to read The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life, even though I have little interest right now in growing my culinary skills (but maybe someday!).

The book is not really about cooking. It's about employing a process to master anything. I skimmed the latter part of the book, which was aimed at making the reader more proficient in the kitchen. But I loved the first part of the book, which explores the keys to learning. In typical Ferriss style, he uses a number of examples from his own life where he has gone from zero to hero in a skill (from sports to languages) in a fraction of the time it takes others.

Is it because he has such superior hand-eye or a photographic memory? Nope, it's because he has figured out a superior, repeatable process for learning. And I think this may be his greatest gift to society.

I highly recommend the first part of The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life to anyone seeking to learn how to learn!