Thats what he wanted. After his second summer at La Rive, he decided to try his luck in New York City and was hired as chef at Raouls. Theyre working on the same preparation, the same compositions, the same dishes, the same recipes day in and day out for that entire year period. Apart from his innovative restaurants, ThomasKellers books and above all his dedication and imagination have brought his informed and inventive cookery intohomes from coast to coast and around the world. 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 . All these great restaurants were defined by that and so they became the La Le restaurants. I dont want to say the art of repetition, but the ability to respect repetition and embrace it. 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. So we were one of the first restaurants to kind of fail. Thomas Keller was born in Oceanside, California. And now Im left, because now I have to without his help or his guidance is butcher these other 11 rabbits. You know, this is truly an extraordinary moment in American culinary history. And then going to France and in a five-and-a-half hour period producing those two proteins and serving it to 24 international judges. One of the first employees to sign on was a young woman named Laura Cunningham, a Berkeley graduate with some experience in the Napa restaurant scene. The French Laundry was open almost at the same time that Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse. So, we werent away from it for too long, but long enough that so many of us forgot how important it was. Even though I hadnt spent a lot of time with my father growing up, in my early 20s I made a reconnection with him and certainly we rekindled our relationship and he was very supportive, even though he didnt understand what I did. He and his landmark Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry in Yountville, California, have won multiple awards from the James Beard Foundation, notably the Best California Chef in 1996, and the Best Chef in America in 1997. The following year he added two additional locations of Bouchon Bakery at The Venetian in Las Vegas while continuing to vary his commercial ventures. In a few years, Kellers restaurants would collectively receive seven stars in a single years Michelin Guide. And his house was right next door to The French Laundry, where he lived and it was a common thing to go over there after work in the afternoon, at four or five oclock when the morning team would be finishing up, and theyd be over there on his front porch drinking beer out of cans, because he really liked canned beer as opposed to bottled beer. So he wrote a check to the New York tax authorities to clear us up, which allowed me to get a bank loan. Chefs understand how cutting, heating and cooling food change its composition. After the failure of Rakel, you persisted with haute cuisine but you moved to Los Angeles. Born to a marine drill sergeant and a restaurant manager . Of course we want to make our restaurants better, but our overarching goal is to elevate the standards of our profession, and we do that by training, by mentoring, by giving the skills and knowledge to those next generations, so that they can not only help us in our restaurants but then go out and be impactful in other restaurants, and of course hopefully one day open their own restaurants. And of course he was the one who took the medal out of the box and pinned it on my chest, and it was one of the most it was the most I think extraordinary moment of my life to receive that kind of recognition from a country that has defined for me what great cuisine is. His book, which was extraordinarily inspiring, was a book of stories. So we have to our expectations in our kitchen, in our restaurant, in our service. As you mentioned earlier, the 1980s and 90s were a fascinating time for great food in California. So at the time I was born he was stationed in Camp Pendleton, which is right near Oceanside in California. I needed to commit myself to doing something I had never done before. By 1986, he felt ready to try his hand again at opening a restaurant of his own. I had left Checkers. We had a beautiful foie gras to start, and we had I forget the dessert. It changed, whatever the seasons brought, whatever the vegetables were. It was in the era of Chez Panisse, you know. 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. Teaches Cooking Techniques I: Vegetables, Pasta, and Eggs. The chef has recently come under fire for praising a major Donald Trump donor. It changes your life of course. So your mom raised all six children by herself? You opened your own restaurant in New York in 1986. And I think thats very important, certainly in a kitchen as well as other places in many professions where theres this instant command response. Thomas Keller: I know from a personal experience how your expectations can actually diminish an experience. We did so many different things. Oh, what difference does it make? Theres a chef de partie in every different station thats in a kitchen. In my lifetime, in my career, Ive watched it grow from its infancy to where it is today, for good and for bad. Kellers mother managed a restaurant in the area, and both Thomas and his older brother Joseph worked in the restaurant kitchen from an early age. Thomas Keller: Herb Caen was a great writer. 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. Thomas Keller: My father was a Marine. He actually was my first mentor in this profession. 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. We changed every day. So I went to different banks, several banks. It was the Americans on the podium. I got in contact with the owners, Don and Sally Schmitt. And I could have him pin the medal on my chest. Theres two ways of looking at it, and I look at it both ways. She served me one of the best sandwiches I ever had, which was beef tongue. The peas were just so perfect. And he sat us down right at the first table. They feel the responsibility to them. I was also developing my relationship with farmers, with foragers, with gardeners, with fishermen from around the area. I have to say that period of my life and that period of my career in France was so, so important to who I am today and really helped me understand a lot of things about running a restaurant that have supported my career and my success. I went to work at another restaurant in New York called Raphael, and this was theres a lot of Rs in my restaurant history. Theyre going to drive right by our restaurant and stop. When the hotel was sold, Keller clashed with the new owners and found himself again at liberty. Michelin came in 2006. I wasnt convinced that I was just going to travel to France and knock on somebodys door, but in reality thats actually what happened. 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. Thomas Keller: It was a junior college. We were open Monday through Friday. My saving grace when I moved to Paris was my friend Serge Raoul, who allowed me to stay at his apartment. Armed with his investors contributions, Keller secured a bank loan and a federal small business loan. In 2017, Keller and Team USA secured the ultimate victory, winningthe Gold Medal for the United States for the first timeinthecompetitions 30-yearhistory. In past interviews youve speculated that perhaps some people are born with a gene for hospitality. You prepare for lunch. And the last, not any more important than the others, was the idea of teamwork and embracing that. Returning to Florida, he opened his first restaurant, the Cobbley Nob, with two partners in West Palm Beach. I wonder where that ambition came from to be the best, and why didnt you decide to go to school for that? 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. Raoul and Keller, R-A and K-E-L. We got on a plane the next day and came back to New York and of course celebrated again. And they would just be, you know, they were 50 years younger than he was, and he would just be telling them stories and theyd just be like listening on the edge of their seats, and that was one of the favorite things that he did. He became a cook. At that time Serge and I started to talk about opening our own restaurant and that became Rakel. We have to be that much more determined, that much more committed to what we do every day. When I wrote The French Laundry Cookbook, it was an important story for me to tell. The important thing, he said, is to make sure to give to young chefs the right things, the right mentoring because "if we're not truly working to raise the standards of our profession, then we're not really doing our job. Thomas Keller: I dont know if its a hospitality gene as much as its a nurturing gene. Did your mother or father support your culinary ambitions? Prove that you can by acting on it and youll be successful. [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. "At some point you want to say, 'I gave, I gave, I gave now it's time for us,'" he said. We all learned a great deal from it. So during the Korean War he was there for two and a half years. Certainly the profession that I chose, cooking, allowed me to do all that. What do you say to any chef? So the morning sous-chef is a very, very important position, somebody that typically has had great experience in the restaurant that hes working in. So he called his son, who then called his best friend, Daniel Boulud, who called me, and said the three of us are going to form a foundation to support the competition, to support a U.S. team in competing in France. In the introduction to Bouchon (2004), Keller writes, "Bistro cooking is my favourite food to eat. Could you tell us that story? Why Do His Michelin Stars Make Him Unique? It was a restaurant that was extraordinarily consistent. So in 1980, I planted my first garden. Located down the street from The French Laundry, it serves moderately priced French bistro fare, with Bouchon Bakery opening next door a few years later (in 2006 Keller opened a branch of the bakery in the Time Warner Center in Manhattan). We had Johnson and Wales. It could be as short as two paragraphs. Thomas Keller: Yeah. But not only did I have to raise money from private partners, I had to buy the property. Thomas Keller: It was. Thomas Keller: Interpretation is a very, very important word. And Herb always wrote maybe two or three sentences about an experience he had that he wanted to share. And he was always the one who was out there getting reservations for the restaurant. Well, I could choose, you know, you go to a hotel and you had six pillows to choose from. Now remember, a chef in France doesnt necessarily relate to the kitchen. Traditionally, in France, is that an unpaid position? And I realized that thats not why I came to France. 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. The chef was highly regarded, three Michelin stars. 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. He joined forces with his friend Serge Raoul to open a restaurant whose name combined the first letters of the partners last names: Rakel. I took a shower like I normally did and I came back to the restaurant. It was a Frenchman, and he would bring me 12 rabbits beautifully dressed every week. Talk about Rakel. He enjoyed the teamwork of a restaurant kitchen and resolved to become a professional cook. Of course we had the Culinary Institute of America, which began in the mid-40s after World War II. It was really about price points. So on Thanksgiving day at Bouchon, thats what we do. And as time went on we realized that we started selling more and more tasting menus. He wanted to have chicken, barbeque chicken. On its list of 50 Best Restaurants in the World, Restaurant magazine named The French Laundry Best Restaurant in the World for two years running. Each time you made it it was yours, it was not necessarily his. Because cooking wasnt really something that was popular at the time that I became interested. French kitchens are very delineated, arent they? Thomas Keller stands in front of the original exterior wall of the French Laundry in Yountville. This was the year before I went to Caf du Parc. That sounds wonderful. It was a narrative. Again, we dont know what to expect. And that was the moment, July 1977, that I decided to make this my career and pursued that with determination, with commitment. Of course you had your glass racks or specific racks. Its not just about going out to dinner. And I thought that was just brilliant in the way he wrote that book. Its really refreshing to see how much thats changed in a short period of time, in 35, 40 years. We fell to tenth. In the same way that our U.S. Olympic athletes represent our country, we feel the same way in our profession. My mother passed away in 1982 so I had gone to France in 1983 but my father was, I have to say. He studied briefly at Palm Beach Junior College but knew his real education would come by working at the best restaurants he could find. America had competed since the beginning but never even came close to the podium. Was it a restaurant that was breaking new ground? I think that kind of sums up my life and what Ive been doing. And he would always tell me he would save me a dollar on a basket of strawberries, or he would be able to get an extra couple quarts of milk. So at that time, cooking wasnt as recognized or as popular as it is today. Roasted chicken, thats a simple thing to do, but its very hard. They had saved their money and they opened a restaurant called the Cobbley Nob. I came up. So we lasted about 12 months. And I thought, Wow, this may be a great opportunity for me. Every day after school hed come home and watch Graham Kerr or Julia Child. We were of course very flattered. In 1994, he set his heart on a converted laundry building in Yountville, in the heart of Californias Napa Valley wine country. So its not just we relate to chef as somebody thats only in the kitchen, but remember, its chef de cuisine, chef of the kitchen, chef of the electricians, chef of the plumbers. And although I was very young, one of the things I do remember about Camp Pendleton is one of the regiments had for a mascot a tiger. And so you have a pastry chef who is responsible for the entire pastry station, right? Right. Oysters and Pearls. We sat in their kitchen in their house next door. He told me. Our job as chefs and as restaurant owners today is not just about our restaurants. Thomas Keller: Mentor is its interesting because, again, these things have happened in my life kind of by coincidence or by some divine plan. Theyll pick up the food guides. What did you learn working at Taillevent? Theres also the idea of a restaurant meal as a special event, rather than just getting something to eat. So thats where I chose to go. And I realized that my window wasnt covered with dust. And all you have to do is believe in yourself, be patient, be persistent. It was unprecedented in this country for a restaurant to get three stars from Michelin. Chef Keller began his career in the kitchen of the Palm Beach club managed by his mother, before traveling to France and working at Guy Savoy and Taillevent, among other similarly lauded places. So Bill is then taking his expertise and skill to L.A., bought a hotel downtown, renamed it Checkers, and brought in me. 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. An executive chef would be somebody that would be in a position in a hotel for example, or where there are many different restaurants, and he would be the executive chef over all of the chef de cuisines from each different food and beverage outlet for example. You work through service. A typical person who wants to be a chef might think, Im going to go study with a really good person in Chicago or New York, or even a really good person in Paris. And to keep herself busy, and of course to supply some income for the family, she worked in restaurants. I wanted to travel. You know, where did the dish come from? My first culinary disaster was a recipe from this book, and it just goes to show you the lack of availability of ingredients in our country at the time. Jonathan Benno was our chef at the time. Which one do I want? [6], Following the split with his partner at Rakel, Keller took various consultant and chef positions in New York and Los Angeles. And really, they are the true superstars of our profession. Thomas Keller is a man who needs no introduction. It would seem Chef Thomas Keller would have reason to be satisfied. And that was a wonderful environment, very familiar, very small. And there was another friend of mine in Los Angeles who taught me how to use a computer. But I think his favorite thing to do was really to share time, share moments with the young staff and just tell stories. My first job in the kitchen was as a commis. Paul Bocuse was a commis at his restaurant. Made him a strawberry shortcake for dessert. We all have our own core values, and I think that we can identify them when pressed to find them. Trailer. To expand his knowledge, he joined Compagnons du Devoir, an artisans' organization that offers technical education through tours and apprenticeships with masters. So thats what we do. She and her husband Don purchased the building in 1978 and converted it into a restaurant. And of course then to finish the meal was the famous marquise au chocolat, the chocolate marquise with pistachio sauce, something that I made almost every night during my time at Taillevent. Im the first owner. It takes a village to build a great restaurant. Thomas Keller: No. So that was a mistake I made that I never made again, and I learned from that. There was jubilation. Sixth place. As I grew older, I realized the benefit of a good education, and I continue to try to educate myself today. No problem. So we were always trying to fill the books in with his reservations. And if theyre not better than you, then you havent done a very good job. What was school like for you? So five days a week, my meals were paid for. And that was my room. Its reaction is to jump. With the porcelain manufacturer Raynaud and the design firm Level, Keller created the Hommage collection of white porcelain dinnerware. I could feel I have the ability to learn and to kind of expand. Im looking at this rabbit hanging on the side of the barn, and 11 rabbits in the cage. I remember she served me on that day. Cooking and food preparation are applied sciences, and chefs understand them fully to succeed at their job. But in retrospect it was beautiful. You learn a lot from your mistakes. And yet you have risen to the highest of stature of culinary greatness. The chef's central focus these days are the final touches on what he envisions as the physical representation of the Keller legacy: a nearly $11 million renovation of the kitchen and property at . And of course if you were successful, then it was positive feedback and you knew that you did a good job. What college did you attend for that short while? [20] Other cookbooks that he has written or contributed are The Food Lover's Companion to the Napa Valley, Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide, Ad Hoc at Home (2009) and Bouchon Bakery (2012). Keller has written five bestselling cookbooks, starting with The French Laundry Cookbook, and has received Best Chef honors from TIME magazine, the James Beard Foundation and the Culinary Institute of America. So there was just the three of us and then along came my younger sister when she remarried. Tell us about the Thanksgiving dinner you do at Bouchon. Mr. Keller thinks, at least for him, a change may be in order. He was very, very fascinated with cooking. And so as a young person, my brother and I my brother Joseph, who is 18 months older than I would spend a lot of time in the restaurant and in the kitchen. Theres many ways to entertain yourself without spending a lot of money. Keller has joked in the past that the motivation for Bouchon's opening was to give him somewhere to eat after work at The French Laundry. It was really only on Saturday and Sunday that I kind of had to support myself through eating and/or entertaining myself. The fourth discipline I learned was the repetition, right? [1], In 2005, he was awarded the three-star rating in the inaugural Michelin Guide for New York City for his restaurant Per Se, and in 2006, he was awarded three stars in the inaugural Michelin Guide to the San Francisco Bay Area for The French Laundry. The following year Michelin was going to launch in San Francisco. He was the first hotelier to really bring in a great restaurant with a great chef and that was Bradley Ogden. And again, a coincidence that Paul Bocuse was going to be in America that March or that April. Today we have executive chefs as well. Thomas Keller: In 1992 I visited the Napa Valley from Los Angeles. Thomas Keller: Rakel. On the other hand, we look at it as a sports franchise as well. You never say no to the chef, right? They had enjoyed several years of modest success but were now looking to sell their business. You have chef plumbers. 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. 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. Not necessarily. A community college in Palm Beach. Were they going to be Americans? I caught my breath and I said of course I thanked him very much and I said, One of the things that I want to assure you of is, again, its great to achieve this recognition, but now its our responsibility to make sure that the guests that come to our restaurant have that experience. Friends urged him to try his hand on the West Coast, and he accepted an offer to become executive chef of the dining facilities at the Los Angeles hotel Checkers. I spent three summers there. It was about Pauls dream realized, America reaches the podium. 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. An American mega-chef, he is as renowned for his culinary skills as he is for his ability to establish a restaurant that is relaxed, yet refined and exciting. Never let anybody tell you that you cant do something. I mean caviar and blini. 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. From there, he honed his skills at the heart of Thomas Keller's Restaurant Group, rising from a sous chef at Per Se to the executive pastry chef at both Per Se and Bouchon Bakery within a mere two years. Thomas Keller: This was a time in my life when I started to embrace the idea of doing things myself outside of the kitchen, having a garden. If you dont, then weve only failed you, we havent failed ourselves, and thats an important thing for us to remember. And rituals are very, very, very important. The throwback restaurant had been opened in March 2019, and had been his first New York restaurant in 15 years.[19]. From the beginning, did you have the idea of doing a tasting menu, rather than a long menu of choices? 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. If youre with somebody you dont really want to be with, or theres a problem going on, your experience is diminished regardless of what I do. She became a restaurant manager. Jerry Della Femina moved down there, opened his offices. Theyll pick up Bon Appetit magazine or Gourmet or Saveur or any of the magazines. I didnt have a job. Thomas Keller: It was a very difficult time in New York City. Culinary Skills & High Standards He is known for his meticulous attention to detail, which he says is necessary for creating a memorable dining experience. Everybody was doing casual dining. And if we do those three things right, what happens? His employers there, Pierre and Anne-Marie Latuberne, recommended him to Ren and Paulette Macary, who operated a restaurant of their own, La Rive, in Catskill, New York during the summer season. So we added a vegetable menu, which was seven courses, and we added a tasting menu, which was nine courses. For other people named Thomas Keller, see, Restaurant Magazine list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World, International Association of Culinary Professionals, Restaurant Magazine's Top 50 Restaurants of the World, "Thomas Keller and The French Laundry Awards", "Le chef amricain Thomas Keller reoit la Lgion dhonneur", "MICHELIN Guide Reveals Inaugural Florida Selection", "The Thomas Keller Interview, II: On Benno, Bouchon and Brooklyn", "Prix fixe to the people: Thomas Keller goes populist with his new restaurant, Ad Hoc", "TK SET - Thomas Keller Limited Edition Set", Competing at the Bocuse dOr: Team USAs Unbeatable Recipes, Chef Timothy Hollingsworth Wants to Bring American Pressure to the Bocuse dOr, High Hopes for American Team in Bocuse dOr Cooking Competition, "Chef Thomas Keller:'Preparing myself to let go', "75 notable NYC restaurants and bars that permanently closed since 2020", "French Laundry chef talks about celebrity life", "Who cooked that up?