It was the Americans on the podium. In our country we had very few. And Michelin first launched in New York City. So I was shuffled between very loving, dedicated, committed women, and it was really a wonderful childhood, if you will. Ive had some extraordinary honors in my life. So I went to different banks, several banks. Fortunately, my persistence paid off and I had eight different stages in observation, permission to have observation at a restaurant. It was about three-and-a-half years of trying to find somebody in France that was actually going to commit to giving me a job before I actually left America. 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 . 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. After his second summer at La Rive, he decided to try his luck in New York City and was hired as chef at Raouls. And so it just didnt go with our proteins, it went with everything, because every ingredient that we receive in our restaurants or you receive at home as a consumer, somebody has spent part of their life producing that for us, and we have to be respectful of that and make sure that we are able to nourish ourselves with the food that they supply us. It was on West 45th Street in West Palm Beach, right next door to the jai-alai fronton. Its an extraordinary event, extraordinary undertaking. And it was just one of those magical moments. What did you learn working at Taillevent? The restaurant was Per Se, in New York. So we have to our expectations in our kitchen, in our restaurant, in our service. 1. So the schools that we did have were relatively new. All the men went to the war and the women went to work. A sports franchise kind of mentality as well as a militaristic kind of mentality, because we do have and the same in the military you have hierarchy. If you kept after it year after year after year, that dish evolved into something else. Theres two ways of looking at it, and I look at it both ways. A lot of other people might have said, Maybe I was too ambitious.. I learned the importance of ritual, doing things at specific times of the day and having them leading up to those times, and being prepared for those times. The chef was highly regarded, three Michelin stars. What gives you that idea? What are your core values? And it wasnt something I had thought about before, but within a half an hour, I defined what they were, just because thats how I felt, and thats how most people are. 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. Working on the film Spanglish, Keller designed and taught star Adam Sandler to cook what is often called "the world's greatest sandwich", as a plausible example of what a talented bachelor gourmet might cook for himself. And hell tell the story that he is part American because he has American blood running through his veins. Made him a strawberry shortcake for dessert. 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. In everything that we do, we have to understand that our expectations have to be of the highest. [17], In 2012 he announced he was at the point of his career when it was time to step away from the kitchen. In 2017, Keller and Team USA secured the ultimate victory, winningthe Gold Medal for the United States for the first timeinthecompetitions 30-yearhistory. 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. Oysters and Pearls. With Lena Kwak, the research and development chef of The French Laundry, Keller had developed Cup4Cup, a gluten-free flour. So you have chef electricians. Thomas Keller: I think thats just it. 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. But not only did I have to raise money from private partners, I had to buy the property. Its really, thats where I learned about the idea of being a team as it relates to a sports franchise. So you always had a bread and butter plate in one spot, a service plate in one spot. So, for example, meats or fish or vegetables or garde manger which is cold preparation, or pastry. He studied briefly at Palm Beach Junior College but knew his real education would come by working at the best restaurants he could find. [8], After the success of The French Laundry, Thomas and his brother, Joseph Keller (currently owner/chef of Josef's in Las Vegas), opened Bouchon in 1998. This was the year before I went to Caf du Parc. Thomas Keller: In the beginning, when Don and Sally Schmitt had the restaurant, there was one menu. Of course it became one of those stories that, if it was today, it would have gone viral, but back in those days we didnt have what we have today. Was it a restaurant that was progressive and contemporary? After three years at La Rive, unable to buy it from the owners, he left and moved to New York and then Paris, apprenticing at various Michelin-starred restaurants. 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. 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. Thomas Keller: Yeah. 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. In 1994, Keller closed the deal and set about renovating the facility. Forget about three. Its very much like going into somebodys home. TIME magazine named him Americas Best Chef in 2001. You come back at 5:30. And I shouldnt say my first job, my first job in a formal kitchen was as a commis. And still, it wasnt necessarily something that was recognized as a true profession. The two would work so closely together that within a year she had moved in with him in the house behind the restaurant, and the couple have become partners in life as well as business. And certainly receiving the Legion of Honor from President Sarkozy was beyond anything I could ever dream of. There were not that many great chefs recognized other than some of the great chefs of France. He was tall, masculine, broad, a good-looking Frenchman who was the executive chef of this private club. On your website theres actually a wonderfully rich list of philosophy and core values. Thomas Keller, who was named "America's Best Chef" in 2001 by TIME Magazine, among countless other accolades, has taught a generation of restaurateurs how to not only be like him, but to be even better. Raoul and Keller, R-A and K-E-L. Where were their parameters for that? Whats so great about that? Right? And then the second half of the book were recipes, but not recipes like we recognize today. In June 2019, Keller became the first U.S. inductee into The Master Chefs of France, the oldest savory chef association in the world. You had to have the silverware to the servers so they could set the tables. So Bill is then taking his expertise and skill to L.A., bought a hotel downtown, renamed it Checkers, and brought in me. Thomas Keller: Its pretty extraordinary when someone with the capacity, with the authority, with the attention that Ruth is able to get says that you are the most exciting place to eat in America. We changed every day. 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. I mean all these that are part of that repetition was what I learned as a dishwasher. So we had to have a commercial bank loan. So I was focused on that. And really, they are the true superstars of our profession. I have five siblings: four older brothers and one younger sister. And the level of the success or the result of the recipe was based on your current ability. I had already closed two restaurants. At the height of this you had La Cte Basque, La Caravelle, Le Cirque, La Grenouille, La Reserve, Le Perigord. My saving grace when I moved to Paris was my friend Serge Raoul, who allowed me to stay at his apartment. Its going into someone elses kitchen and actually becoming part of that kitchen. My mother passed away in 1982 so I had gone to France in 1983 but my father was, I have to say. I was a year-and-a-half younger, therefore I had to be set in front of the dishwasher. So thats what we do. In France, Keller formed a friendship with the legendary chef Paul Bocuse, sponsor of the Bocuse dOr competition, the Olympics of international cooking. Keller served as a consultant on the feature film Spanglish, and in collaboration with restaurant designer Adam D. Tihany, created K + T, a collection of silver hardware and cocktail ware for Christofle Silversmiths. Keller spent the next three summers at La Rive in Catskill, where he learned to source produce locally, growing many of his own vegetables, and even trying to kill and dress small game, an experience that gave him greater respect for those who produce the food we eat. You had to empty the garbage can three times a day. So I became the chef, the second chef there. This was my first three-star restaurant, and I walked in there thinking that I dont know what I was thinking. Lets face it, if youre with friends and family, or your partner, and youre having a wonderful time, your experience is going to be elevated because of the time that youre having with the people that youre with. When you won your first three Michelin stars, you celebrated at Taillevent in Paris. [12], Keller is the president of the Bocuse d'Or U.S. team and was responsible for recruiting and training the 2009 candidates. You had to change the water in the dish machine every two hours. It was a new restaurant with a chef named Pierre Latuberne and Pierres wife, Anne-Marie. Double boiler, single boiler? It was not very appetizing, but you already made the commitment to do it, right, so you had to follow through and you had to serve it and you had to take kind of the feedback, the critical feedback, and just say, Okay, yeah, I made a mistake. And really mistakes are such important building blocks for success. 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. The highest priority for us is that we are able to reach our own expectations. I mean an extraordinary chef. And you know what, it was okay, either one. Is there a connection between the fact that you got a book of recipes from the worlds great restaurants and then decided to go and apprentice in France, in the worlds great restaurants? In 2011, Keller opened branches of Bouchon Bakery in Beverly Hills and in New Yorks Rockefeller Center. What better way to start a celebration than that? 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. So I gave them some and I took some. People walking around town, he would just chat people up and, Oh, you know, my son owns The French Laundry. And they would say, Oh, can you get me a reservation? Oh yeah. Keller is the first and only American-born chef to hold multiple three-star ratings from the prestigious Michelin Guide and is the first American male chef to be designated a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, Frances paramount honorary order. And not only that, Ive got to do the other ten. Best Restaurant in the Americas (French Laundry), Best New Restaurant (Per Se), James Beard Foundation, 2005, Outstanding Restaurant (French Laundry), James Beard Foundation, 2006, Michelin Guide Bay Area, 3 Stars for The French Laundry, 2006 Current, Michelin Guide Bay Area, 1 Star for Bouchon, 2007 Current, Michelin Guide Bay Area, 1 Star for The Surf Club Restaurant, 2022 Current, Gayot Top 40 Restaurants in the US (French Laundry) 2004 2010, Gayot Top 40 Restaurants in the US (Per Se) 2010, Chevalier in the French Legion of Honor, presented by Chef Paul Bocuse on March 29, 2011, in NYC, Lifetime Achievement Award (French Laundry), This page was last edited on 4 March 2023, at 18:37. In the same way that our U.S. Olympic athletes represent our country, we feel the same way in our profession. A beautiful time in my life. Why Do His Michelin Stars Make Him Unique? Thomas Keller: Not really. I remember him watching you know, you would have the Graham Kerr series. Today, Thomas Keller and Laura Cunningham make their home in a house behind The FrenchLaundry, while they operate fine dining establishmentsas well as casual bistros, cafs and bakeriesin New York, Las Vegas, Beverly Hills and the Napa Valley. It was a daunting task for us every day to produce this menu. You know, Everybody wants casual food now. It wasnt so much casual food that they wanted, it was more of a casual price that they really wanted. I needed to commit myself to doing something I had never done before. I learned that organization was really important. It was an emotional moment. You have chef plumbers. And I think thats what made the difference for me is not having to focus on the foundation of cooking, but be able to understand what made these restaurants great and understanding that Taillevent, which was probably the single most influential for me, a great restaurant. What is the chef cooking today? 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. And I really have to thank those who nominated me: Daniel Boulud, Paul Bocuse, Jerome. And he agreed to do it. Thomas Keller, the master chef behind the Michelin-starred restaurant The French Laundry, is an unlikely champion for business and organizational excellence. And of course the chefs. No reality TV shows. And those are his two chefs. Kon Tiki, things like that. In 2013 we raised to ninth. When he was seven his parents separated, and Thomas moved with his mother and two older brothers to Palm Beach, Florida, where his grandmother and great aunts helped raise him and his brothers. My first job in the kitchen was as a commis. 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. It was a young chef from The French Laundry, Timothy Hollingsworth. You prepare for lunch. Youve mentioned the value of consistency, but nothing says it like that. We live by them day to day, not necessarily having written them down. 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. 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. The recipe called for a double boiler. Keller and Cunningham opened a more casual establishment, Bistro Bouchon, in Yountville in 1998. [10], Prior to the opening of The French Laundry, Thomas Keller started a small olive oil company called EVO, Inc. in 1992, with his girlfriend of the time, to distribute Provenal-style olive oil and red wine vinegar. And that training goes on not for two weeks or two months, but that training goes on the entire time that theyre with us.
