He hasn't starred in popular cooking shows, and his books are too thoughtful and attention to detail to gain widespread fame. So it may very well be that the name of Thomas Keller does not mean anything to you. Nevertheless, some of the creations of this American culinary specialist are probably well known to you, and you have seen them more than once. Intrigued? Read on.
Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller is one of America's finest chefs and one of only two chefs in the world to have two restaurants win the highest award at the same time. Michelin. His forte is classic French cuisine, the basics of which he learned back in America, and then brought to perfection, working in famous restaurants in Paris. The result was his own signature style, embodied by Keller in several restaurants - The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon and others, the first two of which received three Michelin stars. The focus of these restaurants, of course, is different.
The French Laundry— modern restaurant american cuisine with a strong French influence, which is located in the town of Yountville, California. In this restaurant, instead of serving a la carte, each visitor is offered a choice of several options at a fixed price of $240 - a tasting or vegetarian menu, each of which includes a certain set of dishes that changes every day. For example, the menu for September 10, 2008 includes dishes such as Crispy mediterranean sea bream fillet with artichokes, sweet peppers, nicoise olives and pudding or Figs with mascarpone and pine nuts ice cream and balsamic vinegar centenary aging. Sometimes for a fee you can order additional dishes - foie gras, marble beef, white and black truffles, etc.
Restaurant The French Laundry
Another Keller restaurant, Bouchon, professes a different concept. The word bouchon itself means a type of eatery in the city of Lyon, in France. These bistro eateries serve homemade, rustic food instead of haute cuisine, and Keller's Bouchon has followed suit. In his restaurant, the visitor can order classic French cuisine - onion soup, baked leg of lamb, cream caramel and so on. Each recipe Keller perfects, turning it into a work of art.
Well, now about how and when you could get acquainted with what Thomas Keller is doing. All of you, of course, remember "Ratatouille" - a wonderful cartoon by Pixar (however, it does not make others) about a gourmet rat. The dish that the protagonist managed to win over the heart and stomach of a picky culinary critic was “cooked” by Keller. The producer of the film was allowed into the kitchen of The French Laundry restaurant in order to practice as a cook and understand how restaurants work "from the inside", where he chose the confit bialdi - version classic dish ratatouille - as one of the culinary masterpieces tailed cartoon chef. Unlike the traditional French dish, Keller's version consists of vegetable circles of the same size, which makes it very pretty. In addition, in the cartoon "Ratatouille" Keller played an episodic role as a restaurant visitor (by the way, one of Keller's teachers, Guy Sava, plays the same role in the French translation, and Ferran Adria, the genius of Spanish cooking, in the Spanish translation).
Caesar salad by Thomas Keller
A few years earlier, Keller had been involved in the production of the film Spanglish, where he taught Adam Sandler how to make "the best sandwich in the world." In addition, Keller has published two books, The French Laundry and Bouchon, which, as can be easily understood from the titles, include detailed instructions on the preparation of dishes served in its restaurants. Given that Keller has more than two restaurants, I hope his creative impulse has not dried up on this.
Special dishes from the chef
Thomas Keller
Thomas Keller: From Dishwasher to Legendary Chef Thomas Keller is a man of exceptional ability who doesn't need to be introduced - amazing taste and recognizable handwriting of a Michelin chef speak for themselves.First steps to success.
Keller was born in 1955 in a simple, poor American family. Subtleties restaurant business he knew as a teenager, when his mother, as a restaurant manager in Palm Beach, hired Keller to work as a dishwasher. Thomas did not last long in this position, and a few years later he moved to France. It was in France that he had the chance to work in such Michelin-starred restaurants as Guy Savoy, Le Pr Catalan and Taillevent. Having gained experience from the best culinary masters, Thomas made a decision that changed his life once and for all - in 1994 he opened the French restaurant "French Laundry" in Yountville (California). Translated from English, the name of his restaurant means “French Laundry”, since earlier a laundry was located on this place. The success of the restaurant was not long in coming - very soon it received three Michelin stars, as well as the love and devotion of true gourmets. The same consideration befell his next restaurant in New York called "Per Se", which offers French-American cuisine. Since then, Thomas Keller has been the only American chef to own two Michelin 3-star restaurants. A flight of culinary imagination French Laundry offers its visitors a daily degustation menu of 9 dishes, the ingredients of which are never used more than once a day. Restaurant "Per Se" has a slightly different focus: the client chooses either a vegetarian menu or special dishes from the chef, that is, Keller. Thomas Keller recruited talented chefs to his team who fully share his philosophy and culinary vision. He became the first chef to include a tasting menu of 19 dishes at once in one serving, and also to offer visitors soup in a coffee cup. Keller is known for his passion for naming dear and fine dining the most “uncreative” names, such as “Coffee with Donuts”, “Soup with Sandwich”, “Fish with fried potatoes” and other names borrowed from eateries. Fortunately, Keller's clients know what they pay three-figure amounts for, and what skill really lies in his creations. Take, for example, his signature truffle, which requires a team of 5 chefs to prepare each serving. Today, Thomas Keller owns two bakeries and eight restaurants in the US, one of which, Bouchon, also received one Michelin star. The total number of awards and achievements of Keller simply cannot be counted, but he willingly shares his recipes with all gourmets, publishing the best cookbooks.
The famous chef from America, Thomas Keller, recently turned 60 years old. Everyone calls his cuisine original. He strives to make only the most unusual dishes. Or the roots of this phenomenon come from childhood. Keller's parents already owned a small establishment. In each of his Meals, Thomas tries to pay maximum attention to detail.
Let's start from the start
Work in the mother's institution was the first serious for Keller. It was in this place that the future chef comprehended the classical culinary art. After some time, he decided to expand the experience. And he went to seek his fortune in France. In the period between 83-86 years he managed to work in such establishments as GuySavoy, Taillevent.
Now Thomas owns two bakeries, 8 restaurants. The main place of work is the USA.
Many of his dishes are inspired by French cuisine. But, at the same time, they are distinguished by modernity. And he himself managed to become a tough teacher. When a meal is being prepared, he insists that recipes must be followed with the utmost precision. He believes that real chefs should have a minimum of waste. Cooking a dish must be perfected to perfection, repeating the same actions many times.
About small nuances of skill
All the rich experience of the culinary specialist is reflected in the books that he managed to publish. The first book is devoted to rather difficult moments of French cuisine. "Bouchon" - with recipes for bistros. Thomas himself has favorite books. For example, AdHocatHome. It contains recipes from cuisines from around the world, but the form of presentation remains simple and accessible to everyone.
BouchonBakery tells you how to bake baguette muffins, which are essential for a French breakfast. The same book describes recipes for eclairs and bread on many pages. The chef's attitude to salt also causes a lot of surprise. According to Keller, it is not enough to know how much salt will be in the dish. You need to know at what moments this is done, at what intervals. Only in this case, the output will be a culinary masterpiece.
About original restaurants
Each of Keller's restaurants is different and different from each other. For example, take TheFrenchLaundry. There are several menus in a fixed form, they include only certain dishes. And each of these menus costs up to $240. At the same time, changes are made to the lists of products every day. But the number remains unchanged - there are always nine dishes.
Thomas Keller is my number one culinary idol. His attention to detail, passion for cooking, sensuality in culinary process inspire and enchant.
He's not one of those kitchen chefs who spends more time flaunting himself on television than in the kitchen. He does not praise himself at every turn, as many star chefs do, and does not try to get into the media in any way. For all these reasons, you may not even have heard of this self-taught cook.
His cooking style, culinary philosophy is what made me buy all of his books. Since these are not just books with recipes, they are history, instructions, reasoning and, of course, very accurate, but not easy recipes.
Thomas Keller (born October 14, 1955) is an American chef, restaurateur, and author of five incomparable cookbooks. In 1997, Thomas Keller was named the best chef in America for the first time. Many more awards and high-profile titles followed. His No. 1 restaurant "The French Laundry" (French Laundry) is a long-term winner in the magazine's annual Restaurant 50 list. the best restaurants peace. His two restaurants "The French Laundry" and "Per Se" each have 3 Michelin stars.
Keller began his culinary career at a young age, working at a restaurant in Palm Beach where he managed ahis mother. He did not attend culinary schools, was not a student of prestigious academies, he taught himself everything, diligently practicing classic cooking techniques again and again. In 1983 he moved to France to gain experience. There he worked at several Michelin-starred restaurants, including the famous Guy Savoy and Taillevent. He opened his first restaurant, Raquel, in New York in 1986 and then moved west to California to work as a chef at Checker's hotel in Los Angeles.
In 1994, Keller opened his restaurant "French Laundry" in Napa, which quickly became popular among gourmets from all over the world. His French bistro, Bouchon, opened in 1998, followed five years later by Bouchon Bakery. He now has eight restaurants and two bakeries in the US.
Thomas Keller is a man of exceptionally high personal values and standards, h
This is very felt in the text of his books. His recipes are not simple, but the dishes always turn outideal.
There is a very strong French influence and inexhaustible perfectionism in his cooking.character. It's like a breath of fresh air!
What Thomas Keller teaches in his books:
1) Repeat, repeat and repeat again! Only constant practice, honing skills bring the desired result.
2) Attention to detail. A few little mistakes, a few little omissions, make a meal a failure.
3) Passion for cooking. Cooking should be approached with love, not in a hurry, enjoy the process, focusing on the process.
4) Respect for the products from which dishes are prepared. Using everything that nature gives us and preparing this product in the best possible way so that there is as little waste as possible.
its pretty famous story about rabbits really makes you think and change your approach to products. Briefly, one day, Keller asked his butcher to teach him how to butcher rabbits. He wanted to put them on the menu and ordered 12 of them. The butcher brought 12 beautiful rabbits. The butcher showed how to kill the first one, where to make an incision, how to remove the skin and how to butcher the carcass, and left. Keller has 11 rabbits left to do the same. He learned that rabbits also scream. Doing the job was not easy. 
But through this experience, Thomas Keller decided that he would put all his skill into cooking these rabbits. in the best possible way, which uses every possible part of the carcass, for throwing away poorly cooked meat, or offal, would indicate that the death of these rabbits was in vain.
This is such a sad but inspiring story...
5) The most important skill in cooking is the ability to salt. Without salt, the dish does not show itself in the best light, and an excessive amount of salt kills the taste. It is important not only how much salt to add, but also how and when to add salt. Without this mastery, all other skills are no longer so important.
Since I have collected all the books of Thomas Keller in my modest library, in the "Books" section, I will talk about each in detail and initially present 3 recipes from each. (Over time, there may be more recipes from books).
What are these books by Thomas Keller:
"The French Laundry Cookbook" "The French Laundry Cookbook". book with 
flawless, but complicated recipes, recipes for those dishes that are served in the pearl of Thomas Keller's restaurants "French Laundry" in California. Thomas Keller is one of the few chefs who is not afraid to reveal his secrets and recipes. He is simply convinced that there is nothing to hide, his practice and skill will create a different dish than those who cook it according to the book will succeed.
"Bouchon" A cookbook of recipes from his chain of French-style bistros (there are now three). The recipes are simpler, but also flawless. As always, the book not only detailed recipes but also parting words, stories and beautiful photos. Mainly classic recipes French cuisine worked to perfection.
"Ad Hoc at Home" Probably the most interesting book for a home cook. Recipes of American, French, Spanish cuisine with many detailed descriptions, disclosure of the main cooking techniques, bright mouth-watering photos and a lot of fun!
"Bouchon Bakery" Thomas Keller's American bakery chain recipe book (now there are 5). Just amazing recipes pastries, both classic French and American. From perfect muffins and eclairs, to sourdough bread and baguettes. As always, very high-quality recipes, with a detailed description and precise cooking technology.
"Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide" The most unusual book by Thomas Keller, dedicated to the cooking technology called sous vide. This is the process of cooking food in a vacuum sealed bag at very low temperatures. This method allows you to get a very delicate texture and rich taste of familiar products, since the food does not directly come into contact with a hot surface, and cooking takes place at relatively low temperatures, for a long time, which completely kills harmful bacteria, but does not overdry the product. Keller pioneered this new culinary field and this book is the first of its kind.
Thomas Keller
Biography
American chef, restaurateur and food writer
Thomas Keller was born on October 14, 1955 in Camp Pendleton, California, USA, to Edward and Betty Keller. He was the youngest of five children. Thomas's father worked as an instructor for offshore drilling rigs, his mother was the owner of a small cafe.
When his parents divorced, the children and their mother moved to Florida, where four years later Thomas had to get a job, initially as a dishwasher.
At the restaurant of the Yacht Club, in Palm Beach, young Thomas quickly mastered the culinary arts, especially dishes with hollandaise sauce.
Two years later, when Thomas Keller met Ronan Henin, a French restaurant chef. It was Henin who taught Thomas all the secrets of French cooking. After - Thomas worked in several restaurants in Florida, and, in the end, became the head chef at the La Rive restaurant - on the Hudson River, not far from New York.
After three years of work 
You're at La Rive, Thomas Keller moved to New York and then to Paris, where he took cooking lessons at several Michelin restaurants. In 1984, he returned to New York, worked at the La Reserve restaurant, then at one of the open-air cafes of the Raquel network. Thomas soon left Raquel's chain, as he wanted to make his own personal concept of cooking French dishes a reality.
For some time he worked as a consultant in various French restaurants in New York and Los Angeles. In 1992, Thomas Keller took out a bank loan, purchased a French steam laundry building built in 1890 in Yountville, California, and converted it into a restaurant. The French Laundry opened in 1994. In 1998, Thomas' second restaurant, Bouchon, opened.
By 2004, Thomas Keller already had a chain of restaurants all over the West Coast, as well as a restaurant and casino in Las Vegas. His classic French dishes and original restaurant interiors have won several culinary awards and became the best in the Michelin system.
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