The ignorance allowed me to do it. 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. No problem. So we were always trying to fill the books in with his reservations. The other one was off on his career. Paul Bocuse said it very well. You know, working with a group of other young men in a line, in a high-stress environment where its very intense and youre cooking food. He had dinner at The French Laundry and he wrote three paragraphs about The French Laundry. His flagship restaurant, The French Laundry, has been called the best in the world (twice), he's created an empire but maintained his impermeable brand and he's the only American chef to have been simultaneously awarded three Michelin Stars at two different restaurants. So he has to be able to motivate them. 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. Simple is hard. So Per Se was in the forefront of that first launch in New York. We had Johnson and Wales. Of course his son went to school here in the Culinary Institute of America and now lives in America. He was tall, masculine, broad, a good-looking Frenchman who was the executive chef of this private club. I believe the book was called A Treasury of Great Recipes by Mary and Vincent Price. Thomas Keller: When my parents were married, my father was typically stationed somewhere else. In the American version he plays a cameo appearance as a restaurant patron (the part is played by one of Keller's mentors Guy Savoy in the French version, and Ferran Adri in the Spanish one). Chef Bios: Thomas Keller. Of course, when it tries to jump forward, Im holding a leg. Oysters and Pearls. You opened your own restaurant in New York in 1986. Philip Tessier, who was a young chef, our sous-chef at French Laundry, formed a team and made the challenge. Thats what really we want to be able to instill, to teach our young staff is that the person standing next to you is your colleague. You had your different areas for your knives, your forks, your spoons, things like that. Originally intended to be a temporary project while Keller planned his lifelong dream restaurant for the location, serving hamburgers and wine,[9] he decided to make ad hoc permanent and find a new location for the hamburger restaurant due to its popularity. Thomas Keller: I wish I could say there were, but no. I had left Checkers. Our second challenge was in 2011. One of the most moving little notes on your website is easy to miss, but its just the fact that The French Laundry has had three stars since 2007, and Per Se has had three stars since 2006. In 1986 he became co-owner and executive chef of the original Fleur de Lys in San Francisco. But it was such a wonderful moment that lasted for days afterwards, because you had all the leftovers. The specific details of the recipe do matter. Thomas Keller: Yes. Thomas Keller is the first American chef to receive consecutive three-star Michelin ratings for two restaurants. The first half of the book was a book of stories, a book about his restaurant, his experience, his guests, his wife, his team, his chef. So in 1980, I planted my first garden. Yes. And of course the chefs. And Jean-Louis Palladin came to this country in the early 70s, opened his restaurant at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C. And Jean-Louis was baffled because there were no farmers, fishermen, foragers or gardeners that really connected with chefs. So, for example, meats or fish or vegetables or garde manger which is cold preparation, or pastry. And I could have him pin the medal on my chest. I think one of my investors invested 500, and the one who invested the most I think was 80,000. Thomas Keller grew up in the restaurant business, in Palm Beach, Florida, working his way up from dishwasher to cook. And that training goes on not for two weeks or two months, but that training goes on the entire time that theyre with us. If I was going to make a career, if I was going to be successful in my chosen vocation, I needed to raise this money. 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. So I had a little bit of savings. In the next few years, Keller would pursue his interest in French cooking, developing close relationships with the cooks and proprietors of French restaurants in his own country while applying for jobs in France. So you can see there was a wide range of investment. Now Fernand Point was at his time in his era, which was the 30s and 40s he was the greatest chef in France, and therefore of course, the greatest chef in the world. I had been reading about this restaurant for years. I left because I was committed to fine dining and ultimately moved to L.A. And unfortunately Rakel failed or Caf Rakel failed two years later. And its up to that organization or that chef to define what youll do. But there is a lot of work being done certainly in the past 20, 25 years that has helped us as a profession to really have an impact. June 13, 2007 FOR someone who works in a restaurant, watching a rat try to become a chef might seem like just another day at work. And he said, Okay, this is how much this is going to cost you. And I said, You know, Bob, I really dont have any money, but I have this olive oil. I put this olive oil on his desk and I told him about this olive oil and what I was doing with it and The French Laundry and all this. And this olive oil was a small olive oil company I began to kind of keep me solvent in some ways, but also keep me motivated and keep me busy and have kind of I wouldnt even call it plan B. So now we increased our production from 40 items to 60 items. The first and most important thing, he said, was to make sure that when you reach into the cage, that you grab both the hind legs simultaneously. And I walked on the property. 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. Armed with his investors contributions, Keller secured a bank loan and a federal small business loan. I was at work so I didnt have to spend any money entertaining myself. The owner was more like the owner of the restaurant that I worked at when I was in the Catskill at La Rive. You work through service. 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. So at La Rive, which was a beautiful old farm on the side of a small creek, I planted my first garden. I mean all these that are part of that repetition was what I learned as a dishwasher. The restaurant was Per Se, in New York. So the lobster Bohemian came out the way you interpreted it at that time. And I realized that my window wasnt covered with dust. You knew when you did a bad job and you knew when you did a good job. I wasnt doing anything. Favorite Restaurant Restaurant Experts' Poll, Outstanding Wine Service Award, James Beard Foundation, 2001, Outstanding Service Award, James Beard Foundation, 2003. 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. You had to get the glassware to the bartenders so they could do their job. And it was one of those things that you try. It comes out in a beautiful pan. The Schmitts wanted $1.2 million for their business, and Keller had nothing resembling that kind of money, but they agreed to take $5,000 from Keller to hold in escrow while he returned to Los Angeles to raise the money he needed. It was the first American restaurant to receive this honor. And three days later I packed my bag early in the morning and I snuck out the door and caught the train and went to Paris and ended up staying at a friends apartment for almost two years and literally knocking on peoples doors for a job. Roast chicken and a salad of fresh lettuces with a simple vinaigrette. And the kitchen that I was in was nothing like any kitchens that I had been in in America. So when I went to see Bob Sutcliffe, I had a 300-page business plan and a bottle of olive oil. Thomas Keller: We opened Bouchon. It was such a moment for us because we represented our country. That sounds wonderful. Cook it by the numbers, following every instruction. It was fascinating, and again certainly we were very proud and honored. He has received countless accolades, including The Culinary Institute of Americas Chef of the Year Award and the James Beard Foundations Outstanding Chef and Outstanding Restaurateur Awards. To cook something and overcook it, and then just throw it away would be just a waste of life. Well, it was covered with dust, but it was covered with soot, with coal dust. On the other hand, we look at it as a sports franchise as well. 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. But in retrospect it was beautiful. Testosterone is raging and youre with all these its a group. Never let anybody tell you that you cant do something. The new restaurant got off to a good start, but the stock market crash of 1987 cut deeply into their business. Its so repetitive. So typically, artisanal work or work that youre doing with your hands, manual labor, would have a chef. Entertainment was going to the Beaubourg and taking a French lesson in the audio class downstairs, or going to the museums or walking around Paris. Everybody became more frugal during that time, as they do always in times of uneasiness and disruption in our economic climate. Thomas Keller: I dont know if its a hospitality gene as much as its a nurturing gene. As a customer, you come in and you put yourself in the hands of a chef. The job in Arbois turned out be far less promising than he had imagined, and he headed for Paris. [25][26][27], This article is about the chef. That was going to be something that was maybe decades away. Not everybody has that much awareness of it, but for our point of view, the sense of national pride that we have in what we do, the commitment that we have during that two-year process of training, choosing and training those young chefs because it takes a year to train them. All of them loved the idea but turned me down. Thomas Keller: The Schmitts, lovely people, had agreed to sell me their restaurant for $1.2 million. And the kitchen downstairs at 5:30, my first job was to shovel coal into the ovens. Well, I could choose, you know, you go to a hotel and you had six pillows to choose from. His father, a United States Marine, was stationed nearby at Camp Pendleton. In everything that we do, we have to understand that our expectations have to be of the highest. In our kitchen, for example, we have a sous-chef that would be what we call the A.M. We built our new kitchen. What was school like for you? I mean youre in Paris. Jean-Luc Naret was coming to San Francisco himself because he wanted to have an after party to celebrate to introduce the Michelin Guide in 2007. We finally achieved what we promised, to reach the podium. The second cookbook that I received, which was from my mentor Roland Henin, was Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point. It creates an anxiety in you actually. [1], In April 2009, Keller became engaged to longtime girlfriend and former general manager at the French Laundry, Laura Cunningham. In 2004 he published "The Bouchon Cookbook," although he gives most of the credit to Bouchon chef Jeffrey Cerciello. Every dish, we have to be thinking about in a way that, when someone comes in, its going to relate that experience to what Ruth said, because now your expectations as a guest have become greater. Especially in California. Famous Restaurants Chef Thomas Keller is renowned for his famous California and New York restaurants, including The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon, and Ad Hoc. The kitchen was my comfort zone, and I was very successful in the kitchen, but outside of that I wasnt so much so. Somebody will hire you. I wanted to make sure that I had somewhere to go to. During summers, he worked as a cook in Rhode Island. I mean caviar and blini. Its always been an important part of our culture, that consistency. And great restaurants have to be consistent. He is also featured in "My Last Supper" by Melanie Dunea. When I was in South Florida, I was working in a restaurant called the Caf du Parc. Yountville, CA: ad hoc, addendum, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, New York: Bouchon Bakery, Per Se, TAK Room (closed), Outstanding Chef: America, James Beard Foundation, 1997. Its not just about getting something to eat. We made an instant connection, and we agreed on a price, and I was going to buy The French Laundry. The following year Michelin was going to launch in San Francisco. And we thought, Wow, theres 2,000 people there every night. Thomas Keller: I think people take it for granted that were just cooks in a kitchen, or youre just servers serving food, or youre just a sommelier serving wine. So on Thanksgiving day at Bouchon, thats what we do. He wanted to have chicken, barbeque chicken. I had moved to a new community, didnt really know anything about the community, felt very uncomfortable again trying to find a home, trying to find a place I could really embrace and be the chef. In school, were there particular teachers you remember who had an impact on you? Michelin came in 2006. Thomas Keller: My mother passed away, unfortunately, by the time I went to France. And he looks at me with a smirk in his eye and says, Gold. So hes still pushing. The commitment they make to doing the same talk about doing the same thing every day. So I became the chef, the second chef there. Thomas worked alone with the couple's grandmother as prep cook. There was a friend here in Napa Valley who was a banker turned vintner who helped me with finance, and who helped me with putting together the financial component of the business plan. So between the two of them, they ignited what I believe we have, the resurgence of the farmer, the fisherman, the gardener and the forager. In 2017, Keller and Team USA secured the ultimate victory, winningthe Gold Medal for the United States for the first timeinthecompetitions 30-yearhistory. Its always, Oui, chef. Yes. I knew I could cook. It was in watching his. They invited me up to meet them. He has established a collection of restaurants that sets a new paradigm within the hospitality profession, including The French Laundry, in Napa Valley, and Per Se, in New York, among others. And thats something that comes very much from military. [6], Following the split with his partner at Rakel, Keller took various consultant and chef positions in New York and Los Angeles. And that became part of our and it changed, not every day. 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. 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. He is the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious Michelin Guide, as well as the first American male chef to be designated a Chevalier of The French Legion of Honor. And you know, waste became a really important part of that learning experience, making sure that you know what? And we thought this location was just like the perfect location. And I arrived at the front door and a large matronly woman met me and she was very harsh, and she took me up to my room, which was this small cubicle with a window, but the window was covered with dust, which I thought was dust. Right. Following the failure of the Cobbley Nob, Keller became sous-chef at Caf du Parc in West Palm Beach. And yes, there are some restaurants around the world that would use a stage in an inappropriate way by making him stand in the corner and peel potatoes for three months, but a true stage in a restaurant that has integrity and understands their responsibility and the purpose of a stage gives you a great opportunity to learn. Keller was full of new ideas he was eager to implement, but he and the owner did not agree, and Keller moved to a smaller restaurant, Raphael, which he found far more congenial. He grew up in the Depression, was a Marine for 23 years of his life. And he was always the one who was out there getting reservations for the restaurant. And of course the lunch and dinner in the same day, it really worked for me. And all you have to do is believe in yourself, be patient, be persistent. He loved chefs. Iconic Dishes So I stayed in New York for about a year looking for something to do, never really finding anything.
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