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
I can make dough in a machine faster than I can make it by hand, but I want to make it by hand, because I want to remember the way it feels. It's so important for me to make it by hand - whether it's a pasta dough or a pâte brisée. You become involved in it. You become personal with it. For me it's such a wonderful way to get satisfaction and gratification when I'm cooking.
Good food is a good trend.
Larousse is an invaluable tool for any cook. I've used this great resource all throughout my cooking career, and of course I look forward to the new edition. New information and knowledge are always welcome.
The media builds you up, and then it tears you down.
Anyone can make a good roast chicken.
Whether it's destiny or fate or whatever, I don't think I could do a French Laundry anywhere else.
One of the problems with writing a cookbook is that recipes exist in the moment.
In any restaurant of this caliber, the chefs are in the same position, building relationships.
But once in a while you might see me at In and Out Burger; they make the best fast food hamburgers around.
I wanted to learn everything I could about what it takes to be a great chef. It was a turning point for me.
I drank more wine when I wasn't working as much, to be honest.
Vegetables to me are - I don't want to say the most exciting part of cooking, but certainly a very exciting part of cooking, because they continue to change. They come into season and they go through different phases.
I think if you can take one or two things from a cookbook, it's successful.
I didnt want to be encumbered by what anyone elses abilities were, their equipment or environment or their ability to get certain products.