The French Laundry

If you follow American chefs at all you probably know the name. If you do not, but wish to learn more about chefs and cookery you need to know this name. Thomas Keller.

It is hard to gauge the total impact that Thomas Keller has had on the the restaurant industry, specificaly on chefs, over the past decade. One thing is for sure, it has been profound. 

His restaurant in Napa Valley, The French Laundry, and namesake cookbook, The French Laundry Cookbook, have inspired countless chefs to take there cooking to the next level. Through his perseved diligence and unwillingness to compromise he has single handedly raised the bar for standards in American cookery. Admired by most and envied by some, he is undoubtedly the biggest and most recognized American chef world wide. Forget Mario or Emeril, ask anybody, from a young aspiring chef to Anthony Bourdain and you will get the same answer. "Thomas Keller? He's the MAN!"

 

Inside the pages of The French Laundry Cookbook you will find Keller at his core. Very refined Classical French cuisine that uses and celebrates American ingredients. You will salvate over pictures and recipes including It is a collection of recipes obviously, but at a closer glance so much more. Filled with stories and insight, it conveys a level of desire and determination that is unparalleled. It can be a bit intemidating but I will assure you that after leafing through it just once you will put it down inspired to cook the best food of your life. 

Since the inseption of The French Laundry, Keller's fame has grown and with it a small empire. He has opened several other restaurants as well as authoring more cookbooks. His second venture was Bouchon. Again tottaly French inspired but scaled down fro The French Laundry. You might call it Thomas Keller's Bistro. You can emerse yourself in all that is French bistro cooking in Bouchon, or you can get both books in The Complete Keller: The French Laundry Cookbook & Bouchon.

Perfect recipes for dishes like Cod Brandade, and Duck Confit will make Bouchon an indespesable addition to your cookbook library. It is most certainly my favorite of Thomas Keller's books. 

Ad Hoc, Is another restaurant in the Keller empire, this time focusing on family style comfort food. The principle again is French technique, only applied to classic American recipes. Ad Hoc at Home is this restaurant's companion cookbook, and it is great. In it you will find a much lighter side to Thomas Keller. The side that craves cheeseburgers and mac n' cheese just as much as the rest of us. Recipes like, Beef Stroganoff and Fried Chicken will have you coming back repeatedly for simple everyday dinner ideas. 

The last subject that Keller covers in his line of books is not the menus of his restaurants but a cutting edge technique. Sous Vide, is French for "under vacuum" and also refers to a cooking technique that has taken the world by storm. It is basically food packed into vacuum pack bag then submerged into water set at a prises temperature. It allows chefs to cook with precision never before possible, and of coarse Thomas Keller is an expert on the subject. Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide is a book considered by many to be a professionals manual. It is also full of beautiful pictures and  trademark Keller insight. If you are curious about cutting edge cooking techniques is is a most own.

One more great book is The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection. Written by Michael Rhulman, the co-author of all of Keller's cookbooks it chronicles Keller's Career and rise to fame. You will see what I mean about this man when you read about all that it took to realize his dream.  

All of these books will help you understand what drives chefs today. The name has trancended that of just a man, and become a way to think, a way to cook, and a way of life. Thomas Keller is a real life Culinary Hero!