Learning Chef can be difficult with real world examples, because infrastructure automation has so many complicated dependencies to them. Instead, I think it's better when learning Chef to learn by doing simple tasks.
People learn better by doing simple examples. Let's help them get there when learning Chef.
I'm not a huge believer in certifications, but I think the Chef certification is a fantastic way to ensure that you cover all of the elements of Chef. As a result, I'm using the Chef badges as a guide for following through the examples.
For more information on the certification, watch this video.