The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry

A true story of food, romance, Paris and a lifelong dream: a degree from famed Le Cordon Bleu culinary school…

That isn’t me on the cover; it’s a stock photo

“Flinn’s engaging account of her studies at famed French cooking school Le Cordon Bleu should strike a chord with anyone who has dreamed of leaving the rat race and following a passion for food. The main course, Flinn’s narrative of her trials and triumphs as she moves through the three levels of cuisine, is supplemented by plentiful helpings of drama, romance and near-tragedy in her personal life…foodies and memoir fans will be enchanted.”
- Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

Here’s my publisher’s description:

In 2003, Kathleen Flinn, a thirty-six-year-old American living and working in London, returned from vacation to find that her corporate job had been eliminated. Ignoring her mother’s advice that she get another job immediately or “never get hired anywhere ever again,” Flinn instead cleared out her savings and moved to Paris to pursue a dream-a diploma from the famed Le Cordon Bleu.

The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cryis the touching and remarkably funny account of Flinn’s transformation as she moves through the school’s intense program and falls deeply in love along the way. Flinn interweaves more than two dozen recipes with a unique look inside Le Cordon Bleu amid battles with demanding chefs, competitive classmates, and her “wretchedly inadequate” French. Flinn offers a vibrant portrait of Paris, one in which the sights and sounds of the city’s street markets and purveyors come alive in rich detail.

The ultimate wish fulfillment book, her story is a true testament to pursuing a dream. Fans of Julie & Julia, My LIfe in France, and Eat, Pray, Love will be amused, inspired, and richly rewarded by this seductive tale of romance, Paris, and French food.

Audiobook available now at Audible.com (hear a sample)
Available in Amazon’s Kindle format

Read a collection of reviews or take a listen to the interview with my radio crush Neal Conan on NPR’s Talk of the Nation.

Buy it:
Elliott Bay Book Co. (my neighborhood bookstore)
Powell’s Books
Amazon.com
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound (network of independent bookstores)

Get a signed first-edition
I have a limited number of hardcover first-editions which you can purchase signed. I’ll also be glad to inscribe a message to whomever you’d like, although the promptness of return is highly dependent on my travel schedule. $22 plus $4 shipping. Send an email.

Praise for The Sharper Your Knife:
“…Destined to earn an honored place on the crowded bookshelves of many foodie readers.” – Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“I can never get enough of true stories about people who stop in the middle of their life’s journey to ask, ‘What do I really want?’ and then have the guts to actually go get it. Kathleen Flinn’s tale of chasing her ultimate dream makes for a really lovely book— engaging, intelligent and surprisingly suspenseful.” —Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love

“A fascinating look inside a famed elite institution” – Kirkus Reviews

“The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry is an engaging story about a fantasy fulfilled. It’s Under the Tuscan Sun goes to cooking school.” —Michael Ruhlman, author of The Soul of a Chef

“Although I can’t cook my way out of a sac de papier, I found this book a joy to read. It’s is a compelling story about learning to cook and learning to love at the same time, told with humility, humor and passion.” –Bill Radke, host of public radio’s Weekend America

Kathleen’s vivid story of her adventures at Le Cordon Bleu Paris had me smiling page after page. It’s about what you should always think about in the pressure behind a hot stove – the pure romance of cooking.” —Jerry Traunfeld, award-winning chef and author of The Herbfarm Cookbook and The Herbal Kitchen