12.03The Best of Celebrity Chef Thomas Keller
Chef Thomas Keller has helped change the landscape of cooking in the US. Keller has received so many culinary accolades, from “Best Chef” and “Outstanding Restauranteur” award from the James Beard Foundation, to “Chef of the Year” by the Culinary Institute, 3 Michelin stars for Per Se in New York and 5 Mobil stars for the French Laundry in Yountville, that is is hard to list them all . Suffice it to say that Keller is a great chef.
Good food, coupled with a memorable social and sensual experience, has always been Thomas’ focus. Keller’s commitment to fresh ingredients is second to none. His restaurant, The French Laundry, is one of the most acclaimed in the US.
I remember savoring every course and feeling fortunate to have secured a reservation, which often needs to be made a year in advance. Keller also owns several other fine dining restaurants, including Bouchon in Las Vegas and Per Se in New York. The dining experience at any of his restaurants is guaranteed to be extraordinary.
In 1998 Chef Thomas Keller opened his bistro, Bouchon, in the town of Yountville, in the Napa Valley, and Bouchon Bakery opened its doors five years later. Boxes of his fabulous chocolate cookie mix from William Sonoma landed under my Christmas tree last year. The Blue Baker and I can attest that the cookies were easy to bake and lasted a nanosecond warm from the oven.
Chef Thomas Keller has written many gorgeous cook books. “French Laundry” and “Bouchon” are among my favorites, but “Ad Hoc” brings comfort food to your home. If you love food photography, as well as inspirational recipes, these are a must for your kitchen library. Keller was just awarded the 2010 James Beard Foundation Media and Book award in the General Cooking category for “Ad Hoc”.
Keller goes to great length to spotlight his vendors and the fresh ingredients they provide. This Celebrity Chef is quick to share the accolades that come his way, even highlighting the stories of vendors on his web site. If you appreciate fresh ingredients, you will love the story about Diane St. Claire. She owns Animal Farm Dairy, which is the smallest licensed creamery in Vermont, and perhaps the only one in the US producing farmstead butter.
Diane refers to her jersey cows as her seven “girls.” “I know what my cows are doing every minute of the day,” she says. Now that’s commitment!
All the butter made from the “girl’s” milk is sent to the French Laundry and Per Se for diners to savor. Undoubtedly, Thomas Keller’s attention to detail is what makes dining at his restaurants an extraordinary experience.
NOTE
Try two of my favorite recipes from Thomas Keller. Try Keller’s absolutely delicious chocolate TKO Cookies. Most of all my inspiration for adding multiple fresh herbs in all my salads now and forever will be Keller’s bibb lettuce salad, his “Salade De Laitue, which I just reran on this blog. Enjoy!
– The Gourmet Review
June 7th, 2012 at 12:11 am
[…] Thomas Keller explains, “The word laitue comes from the Latin word for milk, from the milky juices some […]