From the age of 18 to 25, cooking took up a lot of real estate in Benoît Peeters's life. After a meal at Les Frères Troisgros in Roanne--then the most famous restaurant in all of France--the young man pursued his newfound passion, teaching himself how to cook. When he let his studies slide for the college entrance exam, his parents cut him off. Peeters attempted to become a private chef for hire. While making ends meet as a stringer and a bookseller, he tried out the trickiest recipes... and ran smack into harsh reality.