The French Laundry in Napa Valley with Thomas Keller

[NapaValleyEstates]

Great video can't wait to return.

[Lifeyard]

I wanna work here...!!

[seattle448]

What's with the video response with Veritas? What the heck does this have to do with this video? Veritas is a nice "smart-casual" restaurant with 1 Michelin star. This video response is insignificant. They are in NYC too, what is the meaning of this video response?

[sourcetags]

@midnightblusky when your at the french laundry, its very relaxing and the staff try go out of their way to make you feel comfortable and not stuffy

[carsanookdotcom]

look c'est kool!

[MasterMakeupArtist]

Hi Tom! Its Marissa from next door!

just looking @ all your videos, Ill be coming up to FL in March

[MasterMakeupArtist]

Tom lives next door to me... hes great

[futballa10]

id rather go spend 5 dollars at McDonalds!!! fucking waste

[GCLU]

@futballa10

enjoy your fat lardass.

[themetalchef]

@futballa10 It is obvious that you lack the elegance for anything better than McDonald's BK and Denny's.

[i0hate0this0place]

hes real tall

[milapostol]

I like how Chef Keller tells us that he makes food that represents who he is. That is the best kind of food, when it comes from the heart.

[intelplatoon]

they dont hire high school students. many culinary students in the area are lucky if they can get a stage there (work for free). if you get hired there its because, you are a clean person, they like you and they see potential in you. id rather work at chez panisse personally. the laundry is a little too hoity toity for me

[drewwig]

@intelplatoon i have a friend that was working there as a highschool student

[40950999]

I love how at the end it says "jacked required"...how very upper-class! =)

[doggieGZ]

restaurant is heavily overrated

[wailonskydog9286]

you're nuts

[chrsunderwood4]

I would do anything to be able to work under this man one day. Unfortunately, I am only 15, so I think he'll be retired.

[cabbageandturnips]

He's still young enough that you could achieve this dream. Congratulations on your passion for cooking.

[dershed]

Check out a chef named Grant Achatz, who was a student of Thomas Keller and is now the owner/chef at Alinea in Chicago. He's carried on Keller's tradition of extreme innovation in the kitchen, and is now recognized as one of the best chefs in the country.

[happyandeuphoric]

me too

i learned about Thomas Keller when i started my apprenticeship

he really got me into cooking

my idol

[Tybalt114]

I would love to dine there one day...Only problem, as with most restaurants of this caliber, is a pricey wine list that could take your bill to 1k per person if you have a good size group...

[clitomaniac]

Great place, but the available time for dinner (< 2 hours) is far too short for European habits...

[tokugawa14]

what happened to this guy? why does he look so old and frail in this video?? does he have cancer? hope he dies from it.

[UCLASeraph]

Wow, what the fuck is your problem kid? Thomas Keller is one of the most famous and brilliant American Chefs... ever. Do you hope everyone with wrinkles and signs of age should die of cancer? lmao... fucking prick

[rennyminou]

Keller's approach to food seems to be a very successful balancing act-very yin/yang principles in his creations.

[hibryd15]

have u gone to the french laundry ..??

[rennyminou]

No, at least not yet!

I'd love to eat there one day.

[dcaretaker71]

Well atleast we know where the place is.

[tpcrb]

3 Michelin Stars = 3 Superbowl Rings

[wailonskydog9286]

and he has 6! lol

[sampsondog04]

This is why America's economy is broke wasting money on crap like this.

[irow88]

@sampsondog04 dude you're an idiot. people spending money in places like this is what drives our economy. he employs 100 people in that restaurant....at least half of which earn 80k+

[bigcowboybuilder]

what a load of bolloks! went to yountville in july, lovely place. tried to book in to this place months before, couldnt get in,the woman taking bookings couldnt give a shit, said she would be in touch with a reservation, never has!they can keep their pretentious, over priced slop!

incidently, we ate at a very nice place up the road called redd, pricey but very nice food none the less. the staff were very helpful and pleasent, id recommend it 200 per cent

[ChristedReborn2]

yumsters

[tylertyler82]

Why are Asians cooking French food?

[mastyrufus]

art Yes it is but people these dayz dont have the time to wonder what chefs can do !!!!! sad but trure

[smalldive]

In 1989, Thomas Keller allowed me to work a short "stage" at his New York restaurant Rakel. Contrary to what I have read since, Keller was extremely courteous to his staff, and his kitchen was the cleanest I have ever seen, a challenge considering much of it was in a basement. As a line cook, he was superb -- exacting, quick, and consistent -- and I had worked with some pretty talented line cooks at Le Bernardin and Bouley. From my experience, his tremendous success is justified. Nice guy too!

[abonawas]

@smalldive keller is a rip off artist......plates have only one biite at most and u pay a lot......gimme a big mac and fries anyday......real mean with the pasta....not even a bite......and a few drops of sauce on the meat.....i would send it back and ask it to be smothered in thta sauce.....

[susan8one]

Overrated, yes, indeed, but still worth the experience; I had to know. I don't regret it whatsoever, but, as previously stated, it's no longer Thomas Keller cooking, although there is an influence. It took us months to get in, and I stated, no regrets, but to return? Nope. Sadly, these chefs go corporate and no one, save very few, will experience the chef's own cooking; what a treat that would be!!! Love his books; they are works of art.

[wailonskydog9286]

Which is why Blumenthal and Adria are the kings of cuisine right now. Or Achatz...

[doggieGZ]

it's overrated. but most people just are spoonfed by what they hear from anthony bourdaine.

Thomas Keller hasn't actually worked in that kitchen in years. It's basically Corey Lee's food now.

I've been to the FL several times over the past decade, and you can notice how drastically the cuisine has changed when Keller left and Chef Lee took over.

It's the sad and ugly truth.

[mindrunfree]

Wonderful.

[foodofgod]

hell I am lucky if I get one prep cook. The best food is food enjoyed with great people!

[zohar5150]

i mean how many ambitious cooks will be fortunate to have an army to do prep work ,normally,u might be lucky to have 5 cooks,u gotta work with what u got,,

[zohar5150]

for example,the people staging may not operate a restaurant like french laundy per se , they may not have a 35 course tasting menu ,thats ok, the plating may be more natural and rustic,but will that take away from the taste,,,so they can come exceptionally close to their mentors, it can be more of a casual feel,, no jacket requierd,,to me that would still be a success

[zohar5150]

they most likley will run smaller simpler,simple ingridents restaurants,, they can come close to the tastes of their resume but the overall production of a restaurant in that level(wine ,ambience,service, silverware and china,,if the want 3 michelins which will get the press then the resevations to pay back the financial backers ,then break even,if u dont go under first

[zohar5150]

but these grunts staging for the resume,,,they have a 5% chance of replicating ,similar to grunts stageing under chef ferran,,cmon they have 2% chance of reaching that level

[georges240]

Will a painter ever as you what colors he should use? No!! And should he listen to a bystander thats "GIVING ADVICE ON HOW TO PAINT" I cant believe that you would try and tell him on how to run his kitchen, its like telling him he needs to know how to raise his VERY SUCCESSFUL POLITE FRIENDLY CARING KID!!!!

[unclealand]

And the next day when you poop, think of how much those turds cost.

[justgonnastay]

LOL!!!

[shaikhportaltube]

@unclealand lol yeah for real. I am going to save the turd and keep it as decoration piece! lol

[aanraku]

We dined with a party of ten in Sept. 2006 and 2007. At our 2007 seating they forgot the promised birthday cake and 5 of the 9 dishes were the same as the previous year. When we emailed and asked them to vary the menu, Thomas Keller called us personally and said, "If you don't like what I serve, don't come." We cancelled and will now dine at Gary Danko's in S.F., a much better restaurant. French Laundry is SO not worth what they charge you.

[sicayan001]

just keep asking chefs to change their menus, just for you and your group of ten. you should be a food critic, you really sound like you know what you are talking about.

[sourcetags]

HA, like Thomas Keller is going to do what you want. Thats a good one. I guess you'll be going to Bouchon to tell him how to roaqst chicken then.

[lovelysprinkles]

ahh...will i ever get to go?

[Popeluvumyoung1st]

Cost of ingredients-$35.00

Cost of Labor per patron-$50.00

Look on patrons face when check comes-Priceless

I Love good food...and i will pay for it...but places like French Laundry are not about food, they are about bragging rights. You see catering to ego allows for much higher margins than simply serving good food. No lunch is worth $225.00 not counting wine and gratuity. You want good French food? Try a restaurant in a small village anywhere away from Paris, delicious without the ego.

[KingAcosta28]

Not true

[sicayan001]

yeah, i'm sure that small village will know how to serve a tasting menu.

cost of french laundry cookbook, available at amazon and barnes noble - $32

its worth reading as the items are in the book, and also so you don't look like a complete idiot when posting about villages away from paris. just a thought

[sourcetags]

What are you talking about. Have you seen the food that comes in from some of his purveyors? Things are grown to his standards. Everything is picked and flown in the day of service. Trsut me, the chefs that work at the french laundy make little to nothing.

[mminer58]

For me, my wife, and our two friends, it was a once in a lifetime experience. It was most fabulous meal I've ever had in my life and I know nothing will top it. We had a wonderful time in this special place on our very special vacation. I would tell everyone to try it once. We are just average folks, so don't be intimidated, as I was at first. Just enjoy.

[4evermmalz]

I wonder if his kitchen really is as calm as it seems.

I would love to go to the French Laundry, but I heard he's not there much anymore and that Per Se is where he's residing for the most part...

[reelrussell]

I have eaten there possibly a half dozen times and each time was very special. I do not think another restaurant in this country has maintained its #1 ranking for some long in the history of restaurants. Consistent top notch quality is difficult to maintain!

[booksbooks]

I never thought French food looked that good. But after seeing this I think it looks delicious

Some of it looks like artwork. 5/5

[jermromancito]

is it true that you have to pay to work there? or is that just a rumor i heard.?

[savorycities]

Total rumor.

[jermromancito]

thanks!

[hemmygrant]

no but most of the grunts are doing stages 15 hours a day seven days a week. work for free but with the french laundry on your resume you immedeately have a foot in the door at any restaurant in the world. much prefer this style to alinea.

[sourcetags]

Well its two different styles but Grant Alchatz has the same amount of passion as Keller does. If you eve talk to Alchatz he will tell you to this day he so the most fortunate person in the world for getting to work at tfl and even getting that meal even before he worked there.

[zpdngl]

@savorycities LOL wtf?? why would anyone believe that?? i mean it is the best restaurant in the world but i mean its not like they are some fucking students working there

[FoolitsBubba42]

@zpdngl lulz.. there are students working there though. maybe not as a chef but they have hired high school students.

[Rodnox]

Why should people do that? There are over 300 to class restaurants in this world and before somebody pays to work, he'd rather to get payed somewhere else for the same work.

[hemmygrant]

any chef who turns down a chance to put the f.l. on a resume is a complete moron. this is how it works in the highest end restaurants. you might get paid but you would probobly make more in the jail canteen. Plus, everyone starts as a veg prepper.

[Rodnox]

Nobody starts as Veg prepper. In that class you start in the wash! Once you have proofen that you not only there to steal recipes, can place yourself in the team and stay motivated, you will get in the team and than you also get paid humanly. You wont become a millionair, but surely get the minimum wages set by law. Those chefs also pay you with knowledge, which (in the long term) might make you a millionair one day.

[chefkoo]

@jermromancito But they pay you so little that it feels like you're paying out of your own pocket.

[CHillinchives]

@jermromancito You don't have to pay to work there but most chefs that get a job at this or any high end restaurant, work there for the experience with no pay. Out of the 25 employees it may have, only about 6 actually get paid.

[mikebasil1]

The wife took to the FL for my birthday. Amazing!!! Keller, you are the man!

[inkaput]

We attended a wedding there yesterday. It was out of this world.

[ChefStedman]

Beautiful plate presentations!

God, I want to do that.

-Chef Stedman

[reelrussell]

tell me if you want to practice - I have a good palate.

[KURTNSTRAUSS]

Off the Hook G.P.

[liuwenjie6678]

mini food！

[pescatarian09]

Eating somewhere like this is a bit like visiting the Louvre or the Grand Canyon. You may only do it once, but you'll never forget it!

[jeffsstuff]

We were there last week and it was stellar!

[wysiwyg248]

With El Bulli in Catalunya and Pierre Gagnaire's Restaurant, I think they are the 3 best consistently for Western Food.

[hemmygrant]

el bulli is western food?

[wysiwyg248]

hemmygrant,

El Bulli has no label in my opinion. It is experimental food. See a video with Anthony Jordain (sp?) interviewing Jordi (the restaurant owner). I ment Western to differentiate them from Oriental.

[leduck20]

El Bulli is owned by Ferran Adria, and he's a fucking genius. He even closes his restaurant for 6 months of the year to spend the time creating new dishes with his team. I agree that the food could be termed experimental, and certainly western if you look at the ingredients he uses

[pstchaseki]

Yup, he is like the Albert Einstein of food.

[shadowsbode]

Not Einstein but maybe Tesla

[LOLONO666]

so how much it would be if i go with my gf there?

[elrushbo]

Expect to pay $300pp

[reelrussell]

That $300 depends on wine but their wine is not of the inexpensive variety in general but is of good value. There are a lot of outstanding wines on the carte du vin, that will not break the bank. However said this, the French Laundry is not inexpensive, but compared to the priciest in the world is one of the least expensive...but it ranks with the top in the world in food quality. It is much more casual than say the top in places in Paris.

[bigfilmhat]

Voted the best restuarant in the world in 2003.