What better way to start a celebration than that? The more choices you had, the more luxurious it was. That was something that was fascinating. Where were you when you decided to make this your career? So we have a sous-chef thats responsible for canaps and fish for example. It was a Frenchman, and he would bring me 12 rabbits beautifully dressed every week. Youre working in a restaurant and in France you work in a restaurant Monday through Friday and you work both services, lunch and dinner so you get to work at 9:00 in the morning. In school, were there particular teachers you remember who had an impact on you? As you mentioned earlier, the 1980s and 90s were a fascinating time for great food in California. It was a wonderful restaurant. Thats where the name comes from. As a dishwasher you do the same thing over and over and over and over again. If you could be more efficient than the person next to you, then you could have more time to learn what you wanted to learn, to continue to grow and continue to evolve, continue to progress. It jumps, right? He had dinner at The French Laundry and he wrote three paragraphs about The French Laundry. The owner, Serge Raoul, became a lifelong friend. So when you go into a restaurant like The French Laundry and you have to make a choice, its like, What do I choose? Right? Best Restaurant in the World (French Laundry). Thomas Keller grew up in the restaurant business, in Palm Beach, Florida, working his way up from dishwasher to cook. We all learned that we had to be aware of the demographics and not just what we wanted to do, but what those around us really wanted to eat. I mean if youre going to go to France which was arguably the best country, had the best food, the best products, the best chefs, the best restaurants thats what you wanted to do. I was already cooking now for four years. But at the time, I wanted to get out into the world. He actually sat with us, and his wife Sabine told me as we were leaving, she said, You know, Ive never seen my husband ever, ever sit down with anybody in this restaurant. He sat with us for about five minutes and chatted. So when they were divorced, that was her path. He's the role model, the icon". Our money ran out and I left and went to work at Caf du Parc, and the poor guys had to kind of lick their wounds and go back to being flight attendants. [21][22] In an interview with Vogue Man Arabia he described the BLT as "the perfect sandwich". So we made him barbeque chicken and cooked up some mashed potatoes because thats what he wanted. I learned at that time that persistence is really one of those keys to success. This dish is featured on both the menus at Per Se and The French Laundry, a dish that has stayed on the menus since it was created and one we fully expect to remain there. Therefore you have to pay them. All these great restaurants were defined by that and so they became the La Le restaurants. Michelin came in 2006. It was very interesting because the authors were Vincent and Mary Price, and it was their recipes of the great restaurants that they had experienced around the world, and it was this beautifully leather-bound book. You just never know. Shortly after, he opened a second Fleur de Lys at Mandalay Bay. On the other hand, we look at it as a sports franchise as well. He started his culinary journey young -- at 15, he was already working as an apprentice pastry chef at the Relais of Poitiers hotel. Ill dye it green. So, food color came out, we dyed the pasta green. Do you relate your attraction to the discipline and camaraderie of the kitchen to your fathers career as a Marine? He joined forces with his friend Serge Raoul to open a restaurant whose name combined the first letters of the partners last names: Rakel. And I walked on the property. [13] The former French Laundry Chef de Cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth won the Bocuse d'Or USA semi-finals in 2008, and represented the U.S. in the world finals in January 2009 under Keller's supervision where he placed 6th, equaling the best performance of the U.S. in the contest to date. He was a woodworking hobbyist. I had much more control over it. So this idea of smoking your own salmon, or this idea of making your own ketchup, which was really popular at this period of time, didnt necessarily result in something that was better than the guy in Scotland whose family has been curing and smoking salmon for generations. I think one of my investors invested 500, and the one who invested the most I think was 80,000. The same year, Keller published a book of family-style recipes, Ad Hoc at Home, which spent six weeks on The New York Times bestseller list. It took me quite a while to get there. The throwback restaurant had been opened in March 2019, and had been his first New York restaurant in 15 years.[19]. It was him and I in the kitchen with one commis and a dishwasher and of course Anne Marie in the dining room with two or three servers. And the kitchen downstairs at 5:30, my first job was to shovel coal into the ovens. He is one of the most awarded chefs in the world, and The James Beard Foundation has acknowledged him with its Lifetime Achievement Award. And then of course we had foie gras, poached foie gras, warm with turnips spring turnips peas, and a beautiful consomm of duck, rich but at the same time light, right. And those are his two chefs. And if theyre not better than you, then you havent done a very good job. At The French Laundry, Keller applied everything he had learned from his years as a chef and his own previous ventures. Kellers 2012 cookbook,Bouchon Bakery, was on The New York Times bestseller list for nearly two months. When Keller returned to the United States, he was ready to take on the world, but the world still had a few bumps in store for him, including an economic . Just go. I understood that if I was going to cook a recipe, I was going to produce a recipe, I needed to have the correct ingredients. We invite those from our veterans home here in Yountville down to experience a meal around a table in a familiar place with food that is nourishing in every way. All this was a mystery until the day that you get a phone call. We have to give them training. One of them was off in the Navy. I got in contact with the owners, Don and Sally Schmitt. Thats a beautiful analogy for how one grows as a chef or as an artist, that youre always going to have a slightly different interpretation later in life when youve learned more. Iconic Dishes I think that is really the essence of hospitality, is that you want to give people something that makes them happy, makes them feel good, nourishes them. Of course you had your glass racks or specific racks. Keller started out young in the field of cooking and culinary skills - in fact, his love for cooking surfaced when he once worked as a chef at his mother's restaurant in Florida. We all promised him that we would do our jobs collectively in organizing a foundation that would support a U.S. culinary team to compete in Lyon and actually reach the podium. In the introduction to Bouchon (2004), Keller writes, "Bistro cooking is my favourite food to eat. And make sure that I had paid attention to how I cooked it. In the process I did really I wasnt really privy to the process that you go through but I remember receiving the letter from the President of France telling me that he was proud of the work that I had done in my field and that I deserved to be recognized by the people of France and to receive the Medallion de Legion dHonneur was their way of expressing their gratitude and asking me if I would like to be hosted at the lyse Palace in Paris later that year to receive the medal from him, or to receive the medal from an officer of the Legion dHonneur that was of a higher rank than I was. I learned how to share with them. And that was the moment, July 1977, that I decided to make this my career and pursued that with determination, with commitment. The rabbit screams. He took advantage of the traditionalstagiare system in which unpaid apprentices, called stages in English, learn the skills of the classic French kitchen one by one. I had been reading about this restaurant for years. Were dedicated to one another. So I stayed in New York for about a year looking for something to do, never really finding anything. The French Laundry was open almost at the same time that Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse. Thomas Keller: Fortunately, for those three years I was trying to find somebody to commit to giving me a job, I was also saving my money. Of course we called the restaurant. Talk about Rakel. Simple is hard. He loved wine. I mean all these that are part of that repetition was what I learned as a dishwasher. Its the one hit wonders that are one hit wonders. I wanted to have a large group of people, because of my experience at Rakel. It was considered one of the best restaurants in the world. The California-based chef has won nearly every culinary award imaginable; his cookbooks line the shelf of other chefs and passionate home. The sous-chef is literally under the chef. And a sous-chef would be responsible for a couple of different things depending on the role of that sous-chef. Michelin was coming to America and we didnt know what was going to happen. So at La Rive, which was a beautiful old farm on the side of a small creek, I planted my first garden. Thomas Keller: I studied philosophy actually. You realize them on your own and that is really important as well. Thank you, Chef. Thomas Keller: In 1977 I met my mentor, Roland Henin, who really enlightened me about what cooks do: we nurture people. The entire pastry production, the entire pastry service, working with the chef de cuisine on the philosophy of the pastry. Of course there were the schools, some schools in France, but they were mostly focused on consumers, mostly housewives on vacation who wanted to learn how to cook, as Julia Child certainly did when she went to Le Cordon Bleu. It was about Pauls dream realized, America reaches the podium. But of course there was no recipe for the spinach pasta. And I really have to thank those who nominated me: Daniel Boulud, Paul Bocuse, Jerome. We can all cook. The demographics were very important in that process, which we just totally threw out the window, or we just miscalculated. So everybody relied on your ability to be organized, to be efficient, to have your job done thoroughly, to understand repetition, rituals, and give them what they needed to do the job. So he wrote a check to the New York tax authorities to clear us up, which allowed me to get a bank loan. And I want you to know that were committed and dedicated to this honor, to this award, to this achievement, and well do our best to maintain the reputation of a three-star restaurant in America. And then we were with where are we going to celebrate? That was a Sunday supper, and we had a beautiful time. That year it won three International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards for Cookbook of the Year, Julia Child "First Cookbook" Award, and Design Award. In your book you tell a story about rabbits, and what you learned. And great restaurants have to be consistent. Fortunately, my persistence paid off and I had eight different stages in observation, permission to have observation at a restaurant. With Paul Bocuses son Jerome and their fellow chef Daniel Boulud, Keller founded the Bocuse dOr USA Foundation (Mentor) in 2008 to inspire culinary excellence in young professionals and preserve the traditions and quality of classic cuisine in America. Keller and the Bocuse family hoped to see young American chefs compete successfully in this competition, but a number of years would pass before American chefs would reach the winners circle. I wanted to try new things. Were they going to be Americans? What an impact that must have had! So he reached in the cage, pulls a rabbit out, both legs, has one of those little baseball clubs, knocks it on its head, pins the rabbit to the side of the barn, slits its throat, dresses the rabbit in about five minutes. To cook something and overcook it, and then just throw it away would be just a waste of life. I should have read that before. Its that social engagement, that interaction around a dinner table that to me is the most important. He had a friend, Ren Macary and his wife, Paulette, who owned a restaurant in Catskill, New York outside of the town of Catskill, New York. Thomas Keller: I think the American Dream, what it means to me is we everybody in our country has an opportunity. That didnt last long because Bill pretty quickly sold the hotel to a German company, and of course there was a real cultural shift for me and I left, and certainly that became my jumping off point for French Laundry. Chef Keller led a team from the U.S. to its first-ever gold medal in the Bocuse d'Or, a prestigious biannual competition that is regarded as the Olympics of the culinary world. And to keep herself busy, and of course to supply some income for the family, she worked in restaurants. Another great milestone for you was the Legion dHonneur. You have received the high There was a pause. He was always the kind of guy who wanted to save money. Yes. Thomas Keller: Its funny. They had saved their money and they opened a restaurant called the Cobbley Nob. Hes gone. Traditionally, in France, is that an unpaid position? That same year, the bible of international food connoisseurs, the Guide Michelin, paid its first visit to New York and awarded Kellers Per Se its highest rating: three stars. We are only as good as those who come after us. It was like it was it just shocked us all. A chef in France is the head of a specific area. I spent a little time in college. And yet you have risen to the highest of stature of culinary greatness. And in San Francisco we had Herb Caen. [14][15][16] On describing his reasons for accepting the Bocuse d'Or Team USA presidency, Keller stated, "When Chef [Paul] Bocuse calls you on the phone and says hed like you to be president of the American team, you say, Oui, chef. So the schools that we did have were relatively new. What do you say to any chef? And that training goes on not for two weeks or two months, but that training goes on the entire time that theyre with us. And thats something that comes very much from military. D'Artagnan client since 1994. homas Keller needs no introduction. You come back at 5:30. Thomas Keller: Its interesting because when I was at Taillevent, I had been cooking for quite some time. And Im very thankful for all of them. Were all in it together, and we all have to support one another. Could you tell us how that came about? I became a consultant, which paid me more money than I ever made before, but which was so unrewarding to do that that I was just miserable. So we had to have a commercial bank loan. Paul Bocuse said it very well. I wonder where that ambition came from to be the best, and why didnt you decide to go to school for that? So you know, I did different things in different kitchens, because each chef needed a stagiaire in a different way. [23] Keller served as a consultant for the 2007 Pixar animated film Ratatouille, allowing the producer to intern in the French Laundry kitchen and designing a fancy layered version of ratatouille, "confit byaldi", for the characters to cook. With more than 1.5 million copies of his cookbooks in print, he is the author of six cookbooks, including the recently released,The French Laundry, Per Se. So during the Korean War he was there for two and a half years. But now I had to actually act on it, that dream, and make it reality. Thomas Keller: We used to think about luxury as choices, right. We went to the local markets all the time. He enjoyed nothing more I think what he enjoyed the most when he would come out here with us and spend summers here, and ultimately moved here, was actually getting in line for dinner with the team every night at staff meal. Cooking wasnt the question, but could I lead a team better? The second cookbook that I received, which was from my mentor Roland Henin, was Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point. He actually was my first mentor in this profession. Well offer a four-course menu and a five-course menu. So we started out with a menu that had up to seven or eight choices in each category. He has won multiple awards throughout his career and is well-known for his rare ability to establish restaurants that are somehow both relaxed and exciting. They served me pigeon and peas with morel mushrooms. [17], In 2012 he announced he was at the point of his career when it was time to step away from the kitchen. So thats where I chose to go. Ren and his wife would come to South Florida in the wintertime because they would close their restaurant, and he was looking for a chef for the following summer and Pierre recommended me, so I moved to Catskill. He said, I just want to tell you, youre going to get a phone call tomorrow and youre going to be really happy. So I went home. Very simple. Herb Caen came to dinner at The French Laundry. It was a very small kitchen, and it was a beautiful experience because it was what I related to from just returning from France. The latest restaurant, "ad hoc", opened in September 2006 in Yountville with a different fixed price comfort food dinner served family style every night. So efficiency became important, how you lined up the racks, how you put the plates in the racks, or when was the time to wash the glasses, when was the time to wash the silverware so that nothing so that everything became seamless for everybody. Every moments important. Thomas Keller: Per Se opened in 2004. I mean it was such an emotional experience I didnt know what to do, because the rabbit screamed so loud that Paulette, the wife of the owner, came out of the house their house was just maybe 50 yards away thinking something had happened. Thomas Keller: The best restaurants that you were aware of if you picked up a Michelin Guide, if you picked up The New York Times, even New York Magazine or any magazine that was either a travel or food magazine, or had a food section in the newspaper at that time, were always talking about the great restaurants in France and the great chefs. The sandwich resembles a typical BLT, with the addition of a fried egg. Had I known everything that I was going to have to do over the course of the next 18 months, I would have given up right away. So yes, I primarily lived with my mother, and my grandmother for a little while as well, and my great aunts. So living that dream became one of the hardest things Ive ever done, but also one of the most gratifying things Ive ever done in my life. It does. Thomas Keller: Well first, thank you very much for that wonderful compliment. And he looks at me with a smirk in his eye and says, Gold. So hes still pushing. And that was my room. So our job is to make sure that were choosing those ingredients of the moment. Just go over there. Learn techniques for cooking vegetables and eggs and making pastas from scratch from the award-winning chef and proprietor of The French Laundry. Could you give a little definition of how each rank works? Returning to Florida, he opened his first restaurant, the Cobbley Nob, with two partners in West Palm Beach. Thomas Keller: Every morning there was a ritual where I would wake up and I would call my list of people asking them for money. Success is about giving to our team, our guests, our friends and family and community through time and commitment, advice and mentoring. And he had great chefs that worked for him. In our country we had very few. Its an extraordinary event, extraordinary undertaking. So on Thanksgiving day at Bouchon, thats what we do. Not just in the kitchen but in the management positions, in the ownership positions, everywhere that I kind of struggled in the past. It was on West 45th Street in West Palm Beach, right next door to the jai-alai fronton. Paul Bocuse was a commis at his restaurant. Maybe in Chicago, L.A. a little bit. And the kitchen that I was in was nothing like any kitchens that I had been in in America. Of course we had the Culinary Institute of America, which began in the mid-40s after World War II. 1. Thats really a different mentality, isnt it, than ordering off a big menu? That was going to be something that was maybe decades away. So I went to Bobs office with this idea of The French Laundry and hoping that he would be my attorney. He was a Marine. You had to empty the garbage can three times a day. Theyll pick up the food guides. What happens? What culinary values and service values did you learn? At the same time he has to be able to maintain the standards of their preparation and also the ingredients that are coming in. Thomas Keller: On a trip to Napa Valley one spring day, Jonathan Waxman, who is a friend of mine who had opened a restaurant in New York and now is opening a restaurant here in Napa Valley. So that organizational aspect allowed you to be more efficient, which was kind of the second discipline that I learned is efficiency was really, really key in doing things well. In a few years, Kellers restaurants would collectively receive seven stars in a single years Michelin Guide. Youre supporting the chef de partie. She became a restaurant manager. And of course if you were successful, then it was positive feedback and you knew that you did a good job. I mean its actually performing, and its a function, and its physical. And certainly receiving the Legion of Honor from President Sarkozy was beyond anything I could ever dream of. I became the first American chef to be at one of the great La Le restaurants in New York City. Were cooks. Otherwise it wasnt going to be good. He later opened a gourmet Burger Bar in Las Vegas, Nevada, which features a $60 "Rossini Burger" made of American Kobe beef, sauted foie gras, and shaved truffles. It was something that made him really comfortable. Forget about three. Mr. Keller is 61, an age when other. Its extraordinary what we have available to us and how important our farmers have become. But more than any of that, we realized a great burden of responsibility, because Ruth, who is an expert in her field, somebody who we all look to, somebody who we all respect, has now called us, literally, the best place or the most exciting place to eat in America. The French government named him a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in recognition of his lifelong commitment to the traditions of French cuisine and his role in elevating culinary art in America. He thought that would be the perfect kind of place for me, small, manageable, in a beautiful community here in Napa Valley. Why was it produced in that part of Italy? But you know, just standing there watching this beautiful, elegant, ferocious animal was something that was very captivating. So sure enough, Paul calls me ten minutes later and asks me to be the president. Thomas Keller: There was a recipe in there, and I cant remember the name of the recipe, but it was a recipe from a very famous restaurant in Italy and it was, I believe, spinach pasta with prosciutto di Parma, parmesan cheese and butter. It was my generation that kind of missed that. It takes a village to build a great restaurant. Im not sure which one. And thats how we define success, thats giving people those memories. Every day after school hed come home and watch Graham Kerr or Julia Child. But Gourmet magazine picked it up and they thought it was very important. Why Do His Michelin Stars Make Him Unique? What was school like for you? 1996 - 2023 American AcademyofAchievement. Those things. I dont know why, I guess because of the age difference, my brother Joseph was allowed to handle a knife, therefore he was allowed to work with the cooks. Right. The recipe called for a double boiler. It was because of the excitement of working with a team of peers and that physical activity of being on a team. I had committed myself since 1977 to make this my career. And so that was over 400 people I called during that period of time. I believe in you, but I need something. He said, No matter how good of a cook you are, unless theres people in your seats, youre going to fail. Of course I read that after we failed. That rabbit, which gave up its life, I had to make sure that I utilized it in the best way I could and every bit of it. And again, a coincidence that Paul Bocuse was going to be in America that March or that April. So, for example, meats or fish or vegetables or garde manger which is cold preparation, or pastry. Somebody will hire you. I wanted to make sure that I had somewhere to go to. In 1986, he opened his first restaurant in New York City, but the Wall Street crash of that year hit his business hard and he headed west. Thomas Keller: Well, by the time they were divorced, my two oldest brothers were already out of the house. And if we do that, if we do that every day, then thats the best we can do, and we can feel comfortable that we have given you the best. Many residents and visitors to the area were lovers of fine wine and well-versed in contemporary trends in fine dining. Rakel was in an area called Hudson Square in Manhattan, not too far from SoHo, not too far from the Village, but an area which was unheard of, and so we found a space there. Expectations do get in the way. In 1996, the James Beard Foundation named Keller the Best Chef in America. A 1997 article by the influential New York Times critic Ruth Reichl pronounced The French Laundry the most exciting place to eat in the United States, and soon lovers of fine food from all over the world were making the pilgrimage to Yountville to sample Kellers fare. His New York friend Serge Raoul allowed Keller to stay in his Paris apartment. Weve reached an interesting crossroads in the stagiaire program because the labor departments need to get involved, and if you have somebody in your kitchen, its not a learning experience, theyre actually working. So when I was doing my research and asking people in the Valley what they thought about The French Laundry, they all loved it. You have received the highest rating in Michelin, three stars. And I was just It was emotional. Its the stamina, the commitment, the dedication to the craft is unparalleled. So I gave them some and I took some. So it just became a natural evolution for us to do away with the five-course menu because 80 percent of our guests were choosing the nine courses, and 20 percent were choosing the 40 others. And it was just one of those magical moments. You started to see the little sparks here and there of interest in not just cuisine but in those who produced it. Because cooking wasnt really something that was popular at the time that I became interested. So at that right moment, in that right period of time, I was able to put my application in and be approved for an SBA loan.
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