Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller
Thomas Kelleris an American chef, restaurateur, and cookbook writer. 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 restaurant is a perennial winner in the annual Restaurant Magazine list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionChef
Date of Birth14 October 1955
CityPendleton, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Restaurants like the French Laundry can be very intimidating for a lot of people.
People love the idea of the chef coming to them. But it's an extraordinary undertaking to do these parties. To replicate what we do in the restaurants in someone's home - the precision, the perfection - is a huge challenge and extremely time-consuming.
I hope I'm retired by 2012. If force-feeding a duck is cruel, then packing chickens in a cage is cruel, and then the veal and the beef. We are all going to be vegetarians soon if they have their way. We should probably start converting now.
The final menu is printed at four o'clock. Up until that point, we can make changes.
And it just becomes like a little rack of lamb, ... A rack of rabbit.
This has suddenly become the thing that everybody wants.
When I go out to eat, it's usually something moderate in style.
I didnt want to be encumbered by what anyone elses abilities were, their equipment or environment or their ability to get certain products.
My favorite wines are Zinfandels.
I think every young cook wants to write a book.
The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.
My childhood wasn't full of wonderful culinary memories.
Historically in restaurants, the service staff is awarded significantly higher wages than cooks and other staff who prepare the food on which a restaurant's reputation is based. The gap in pay is so great that it is becoming increasingly difficult for young cooks to pursue their passion at the rate of pay restaurants are able to afford.
I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.