Five minutes with Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller’s restaurant The French Laundry, situated in Yountville in California’s Napa Valley, was built in 1900 as a saloon. It subsequently became a brothel and then a steam laundry. It was renovated as a restaurant in 1978 and purchased by Keller in 1994. In April, it achieved an impressive third in the world in a list of the “Top 50 places to eat”, selected by a panel of more than 600 chefs, food critics and restauranteurs. They rated culinary excellence, service and the overall dining experience. Keller also owns Bouchon, a restaurant housed in an historic Wells Fargo stagecoach stop in Yountville, and more recently has opened Bouchon Las Vegas. In 2004, he established Per Se in New York’s Time Warner Center (Per Se ranks seventh in the world on the Top 50). Keller’s peers afford his menus the kind of veneration mere mortals reserve for popes, saints and royalty. Everything in his kitchen has to be immaculate; every strip of tape used to label the cups that hold ingredients has to be cut with scissors, every edge kept perfectly straight, “because it’s all one thing to Thomas. You can’t be lax in one area and perfect in another”, says food writer Michael Ruhlman. Keller makes other so-called celebrity chefs look like the guys who flip patties at a burger joint, so we at NZBC were humbled when he agreed to answer our questions — if we’d had any bacon we’d have choked on our bacon and eggs, if we’d had any eggs. “We are not worthy! We are not worthy!”
Thomas, fellow-chef Anthony Bourdain has said “Keller is — hands down — the greatest living chef on the planet”. Who do you think is the greatest living chef on the planet?
“I don’t know — there are certainly many, many people I admire, like Michel Richard, Masa Takayama, Ferran Adria, Pierre Gagnaire. And I’ve had past and present cooks like Grant Achatz, Eric Ziebold, Corey Lee and Devin Knell, whom I also admire. The list continues and it’s difficult to choose one specific one. I think when you’re associated with an amazing group of people, that in itself is great enough.”
What’s the greatest meal you’ve ever eaten?
“Once again, I don’t think there is one specific one, but I have had many memorable meals. Like my first three-star Michelin restaurant experience at Michel Guérard’s… My first meal at Masa Takayama’s restaurant in Beverly Hills, Ginza Sushiko… My first meal at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles… my first In-n-Out Burger… my first pizza from Wolfgang Puck. There are many wonderful ways — it doesn’t always have to be an over-the-top gastronomic experience. It’s the memories of the table that stay with me.”
Can you explain the thought process that led you to create the Marlboro-infused coffee custard with seared foie gras topping for Anthony Bourdain when he and a group of top US chefs sampled your 21-course tasting menu at The French Laundry?
“It was a farce on Anthony — we knew he likes smoking cigarettes so we wanted to give him a cigarette break without him leaving the table.”
You specialise in putting an extraordinary new slant on commonplace-sounding dishes such as bacon and eggs; lemon tarts; chips and dip; and shrimp cocktail. How many hours of your average day are you able to spend on this sort of innovation?
“It’s not having to spend a specific number of hours to focus — it’s being aware of what’s going around you so you can be open to inspiration and be able to interpret them in a way that impacts your food.”
Can you explain how, in recent years, Las Vegas has become a Mecca of fine-dining?
“There’s such a large number of guests who go to Vegas for whatever reason. They’re exposed to so many different types of cuisines without having to travel all over the country to experience them. It’s a wonderful eye-opener. On the other hand, Las Vegas helps chefs because the investment of opening a restaurant these days is so extraordinarily expensive that it’s difficult to finance this individually. Casinos and hotels have given gifted chefs opportunities that they might not have had otherwise.”
The Napa Valley is often referred to as the United States’s Bordeaux region. What unique qualities does it have that make it such a haven of food, wine and fine-dining?
“The Napa Valley is the premier wine growing region in the United States, so it has that expectation and the ability to have people come here who are very knowledgeable about food and wine or would like to learn more about them.”
If visitors to NZBC only read one book this year, which book should it be?
“Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point.”
Cookery has long been a feature of TV. But in recent years it’s become the centrepiece of games, ‘reality’ shows and endurance contests. TV chefs are treated like pop stars. Does it harm or help cuisine to have millions of people sitting at home watching chefs but possibly never attempting to cook for themselves?
“As a form of entertainment, I think it’s fine — just as eating out is another form of entertainment. If it touches you in a different way, then even better. For example, if subliminally you can cook an egg better because you saw it on TV, then I feel watching these shows is of great value.”
How much do you know about New Zealand wine and food ingredients, and have you ever visited this country?
“No, I haven’t visited New Zealand and don’t know much about the country but I have a great desire to visit. We certainly have great respect for the New Zealand venison cooperative there, as well as the wines that have in recent years shown up in America. Some are extraordinary! And as everyone knows, the kiwis are great!”
Thomas, fellow-chef Anthony Bourdain has said “Keller is — hands down — the greatest living chef on the planet”. Who do you think is the greatest living chef on the planet?
“I don’t know — there are certainly many, many people I admire, like Michel Richard, Masa Takayama, Ferran Adria, Pierre Gagnaire. And I’ve had past and present cooks like Grant Achatz, Eric Ziebold, Corey Lee and Devin Knell, whom I also admire. The list continues and it’s difficult to choose one specific one. I think when you’re associated with an amazing group of people, that in itself is great enough.”
What’s the greatest meal you’ve ever eaten?
“Once again, I don’t think there is one specific one, but I have had many memorable meals. Like my first three-star Michelin restaurant experience at Michel Guérard’s… My first meal at Masa Takayama’s restaurant in Beverly Hills, Ginza Sushiko… My first meal at Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles… my first In-n-Out Burger… my first pizza from Wolfgang Puck. There are many wonderful ways — it doesn’t always have to be an over-the-top gastronomic experience. It’s the memories of the table that stay with me.”
Can you explain the thought process that led you to create the Marlboro-infused coffee custard with seared foie gras topping for Anthony Bourdain when he and a group of top US chefs sampled your 21-course tasting menu at The French Laundry?
“It was a farce on Anthony — we knew he likes smoking cigarettes so we wanted to give him a cigarette break without him leaving the table.”
You specialise in putting an extraordinary new slant on commonplace-sounding dishes such as bacon and eggs; lemon tarts; chips and dip; and shrimp cocktail. How many hours of your average day are you able to spend on this sort of innovation?
“It’s not having to spend a specific number of hours to focus — it’s being aware of what’s going around you so you can be open to inspiration and be able to interpret them in a way that impacts your food.”
Can you explain how, in recent years, Las Vegas has become a Mecca of fine-dining?
“There’s such a large number of guests who go to Vegas for whatever reason. They’re exposed to so many different types of cuisines without having to travel all over the country to experience them. It’s a wonderful eye-opener. On the other hand, Las Vegas helps chefs because the investment of opening a restaurant these days is so extraordinarily expensive that it’s difficult to finance this individually. Casinos and hotels have given gifted chefs opportunities that they might not have had otherwise.”
The Napa Valley is often referred to as the United States’s Bordeaux region. What unique qualities does it have that make it such a haven of food, wine and fine-dining?
“The Napa Valley is the premier wine growing region in the United States, so it has that expectation and the ability to have people come here who are very knowledgeable about food and wine or would like to learn more about them.”
If visitors to NZBC only read one book this year, which book should it be?
“Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point.”
Cookery has long been a feature of TV. But in recent years it’s become the centrepiece of games, ‘reality’ shows and endurance contests. TV chefs are treated like pop stars. Does it harm or help cuisine to have millions of people sitting at home watching chefs but possibly never attempting to cook for themselves?
“As a form of entertainment, I think it’s fine — just as eating out is another form of entertainment. If it touches you in a different way, then even better. For example, if subliminally you can cook an egg better because you saw it on TV, then I feel watching these shows is of great value.”
How much do you know about New Zealand wine and food ingredients, and have you ever visited this country?
“No, I haven’t visited New Zealand and don’t know much about the country but I have a great desire to visit. We certainly have great respect for the New Zealand venison cooperative there, as well as the wines that have in recent years shown up in America. Some are extraordinary! And as everyone knows, the kiwis are great!”
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