The Wall St. Journal profile's Thomas Keller, and mentions Keller's Raynaud hospitality tableware.
Wall St. Journal
March 8, 2012
By VIBHUTI PATEL
The only American chef to win three Michelin stars for two restaurants simultaneously, Thomas Keller is renaissance man of food. Owner of 13 restaurants on two coasts, including Napa Valley's landmark
French Laundry and Manhattan's Per Se, he has sold half a million copies of his "French Laundry Cookbook," designed porcelain and silver for renowned French firms, and cooked (and plated) the climactic title dish for Pixar's "Ratatouille"—an animated film.
Terrell Jones
Chef Thomas Keller in the kitchen at the French Laundry.
Mr. Keller's most recent venture is Finesse, a semi-annual glossy magazine and digital app. The summer 2011 issue, which is still available, centers on Per Se. The winter 2012 issue, due out this month, will focus on Mr. Keller's "casual dining" properties: Bouchon Bistro, Ad Hoc and Bouchon Bakery, which has two Manhattan locations.
Over his new gluten-free cookies, Mr. Keller, who is 56, recently spoke with The Wall Street Journal.
How did you get the idea to produce a magazine?
One of the most significant decisions I made was to change the menu every day. That opened up the opportunity for everyone to have an impact, so extending it out to not just culinary [staff] but to the entire organization. Everyone makes recommendations and suggestions, so they can make a difference. So one of our public-relations managers wanted to do a newsletter and I kept saying no. When she persisted, I said, why not do a magazine? I decided it would be a real magazine, not French Laundry propaganda, so it's written by all kinds of people—Ruth Reichl, Ed Levine, outside chefs, restaurant tourists, journalists, our staff.
You've also been working on gluten-free flour. What's the story there?
Lara Kastner
'A dishwasher does everything a cook does, only in different ways,' says Thomas Keller.
"C4C" [Cup for Cup] was invented so gluten-intolerant guests could experience the cornet, our signature dish. Lena Kwak, a young New York chef, developed it in our Research & Development kitchen next door [to the French Laundry], where we practice new techniques, new textures. We've installed a centrifuge and freeze-drying equipment to create different intensities of flavor. Chef Ferran Adria of El Bulli demonstrated what can be done if you have the resources. We're heightening recognizable flavors so they're more focused, more clean.
Is part of that a specialization in healthful gourmet food?
"Healthful" is relative. We source the cleanest, freshest ingredients from the finest producers, ensure that they're properly handled—"ingredients + execution" is the simple equation. Across the street [from the French Laundry], we have our vegetable garden and organic orchard. We support gardeners, farmers, fishermen. Our guests are willing to pay for this.
How did you start in the business?
I started as a dishwasher in the Florida restaurant my mother ran. Everything I learned at the dish machine became a lifelong asset. A dishwasher does everything a cook does, only in different ways. He must be organized and efficient, he gets immediate feedback. If you put the dishes in without cleaning them, they'll come out dirty—just as if you put fish in a pan that's not hot enough it won't come out right.
What led you to develop tasting menus?
I found three-course menus cumbersome. I wanted to do elegant plates, small portions. When I found the French Laundry, it had a five-course menu which we continued until it evolved into nine-course tasting menus. Diners wanted to experience what our kitchen produced. Chefs are nurturers, we give you what you want. I never understood how a chef could say "no" to a vegetarian.
How different is Per Se from the French Laundry?
Culturally and philosophically they're the same, but each evolves differently. They're in constant competition. Their menus change daily, guided by ingredients and products. Recently, we swapped the chefs to cross-pollinate them. The sous chefs move back and forth.
Is it true that a dancer trained the waiters at Per Se?
A famous dancer taught Per Se's wait staff to move elegantly, offering interesting insights into spatial elements, gestures, how to move around when coming into others' space.
Your kitchens have huge closed-circuit TV screens. Are you in control?
The kitchens share experiences: 2800 miles apart, they're focused on the same goals. If one needs "control," one hasn't hired, trained and mentored the right people to take ownership of what they do.
How has your job changed over the years?
What I do is like a sports franchise—I'm seen as a chef but I'm more coach-owner of my restaurants now. A chef is in the restaurant every day. A kitchen's energy revolves around those who are there. I make suggestions, but my job is to hire the right people, train them properly, mentor them. I expect much from them, and they from me. Much as I'd like to be back in the kitchen, physically, it's a young-person's game. I did it until I was 50. Once Per Se opened, I ceased being a chef de cuisine and became chef-owner—I worked myself out of a job.
A version of this article appeared Mar. 8, 2012, on page A24 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: A New Era of Delicacies.
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