Thomas Keller Quotes

I hope the cooks who are working for me now are getting that kind of experience so they can use what they`re learning now as a foundation for a great career.

I like to drink young wines, wines which are robust and have a lot of forward fruit to them.

It`s one thing you aspire to: someday, you`ll be able to write a book.

A kaiseki meal is like that, very small courses over a long period of time.

Your idea of that dish has evolved, and if you`re a cook, you can start thinking in different ways about it, maybe even a different way than I think about it.

I think every young cook wants to write a book.

But once in a while you might see me at In and Out Burger; they make the best fast food hamburgers around.

When I go out to eat, it`s usually something moderate in style.

You`re getting to know who the great chefs are through their books.

Then, as the day progresses, depending on how the product is coming in - for instance, the fish man will fax us and say black bass is great - throughout the day, we`ll also make judgment calls and adapt to what`s available.

You think about it in an abstract way, but as a young cook, you`re looking at other books for recipes, for inspiration, and for ideas.

Hopefully, imparting what`s important to me, respect for the food and that information about the purveyors, people will realize that for a restaurant to be good, so many pieces have to come together.

Now the restaurants have begun to catch up with the wine-making; there are numerous great restaurants in Napa Valley, and it`s wonderful because the people are there for just that: great food and great wine.

We`re always trying to make it better.

No, it`s funny, when I eat out it`s not typically in the kind of restaurants people might imagine.

I have no formal culinary training, right.

The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.

I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.

They know what my standards are. They know what I need and how to get it to me, and they know how to communicate with me if for some reason they can`t get it.

Food should be fun.

The law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.

Once you understand the foundations of cooking - whatever kind you like, whether it`s French or Italian or Japanese - you really don`t need a cookbook anymore.

It wasn`t about mechanics; it was about a feeling, wanting to give someone something, which in turn was really gratifying. That really resonated for me.

I wanted to learn everything I could about what it takes to be a great chef. It was a turning point for me.

The lemon tart, for instance: I`ve been doing the same lemon tart for fifteen years. I can`t make it any better. To me, it`s perfect.

In any restaurant of this caliber, the chefs are in the same position, building relationships.

I drank more wine when I wasn`t working as much, to be honest.

Let`s face it: if you and I have the same capabilities, the same energy, the same staff, if the only thing that`s different between you and me is the products we can get, and I can get a better product than you, I`m going to be a better chef.

We go through our careers and things happen to us. Those experiences made me what I am.

Whether it`s destiny or fate or whatever, I don`t think I could do a French Laundry anywhere else.

Some of the recipes in the book have evolved for us. Many haven`t.

My favorite wines are Zinfandels.

We rely on our purveyors to tell us what`s available and what`s good.

I didn`t want to be encumbered by what anyone else`s abilities were, their equipment or environment or their ability to get certain products.

My childhood wasn`t full of wonderful culinary memories.