masterclass Chef Thomas Keller Chapter One a letter from chef thomas keller Welcome to my MasterClass. I’m honored to be here with you. It’s an opportunity to share some of the knowledge and experience that so many others have shared with me throughout the years. Like anyone who ever learned to cook, I started from In that way, cooking is deeply personal, too. We put scratch. My first job was as a dishwasher in a Florida something of ourselves into everything we make. restaurant that my mother managed. It wasn’t glam- orous work, but it taught me the importance of disci- As we move through this MasterClass, keep that in pline and repetition, and of treating even the smallest mind. The concepts we discuss are meant to provide details with the greatest care. Those lessons became the you with a foundation. But I encourage you to make grounding principles of my work. They still are today. them your own. Taste as you go. Adjust to your prefer- ences. Practice the techniques and get comfortable with As my career progressed, and I improved as a cook, I repetition. was also guided by invaluable mentors, their numbers too many and their influence too profound for me to Embrace the learning process. Enjoy the experience. possibly do full justice to them here. One small way for Above all, have some fun! me to give back is to try to serve as a mentor, too. Cooking, after all, is about sharing. Anytime we prepare food, we aren’t just making a meal. We’re nurturing one another and making memories that are best enjoyed with others. masterclass 2 Chef Thomas Keller Chapter One about chef thomas keller Thomas Keller’s name is synonymous with quality and overhaul to the historic site in over two decades, high standards. The chef and proprietor of The French doubling the size of the existing landscape, while Laundry, in Yountville in the Napa Valley, and Per Se, providing a world-class working environment in New York, among other restaurants, he is the first for Keller and his team to innovate their craft and only American-born chef to hold multiple three- and service. star ratings from the prestigious Michelin Guide, as well as the firstAmerican male chef to be designated a Chef Keller’s French bistro, Bouchon, debuted in chevalier of The French Legion of Honor, the highest 1998, followed by Bouchon Bakery five years later. decoration in France. Both are within walking distance of The French Laundry. Since then, Keller has opened outposts of Chef Keller has earned countless accolades, including Bouchon and Bouchon Bakery in New York City and The Culinary Institute of America’s “Chef of the Year” Las Vegas. Another of his restaurants is familystyle Award and the James Beard Foundation’s “Outstanding Ad Hoc + Addendum, also in Yountville, as well as Chef” and “Outstanding Restaurateur” Awards. In La Calenda, a Mexican restaurant with Chef Kaelin 2001, Time Magazine named him America’s Best Ulrich Trilling leading the culinary program. In 2017, Chef. In 2017, Chef Keller led a team from the United Chef Keller opened Bouchon Bakeries in the Middle States to its first-ever gold medal in the Bocuse d’Or, East with partner M.H. Alshaya Co. and continues to a prestigious biannual competition that is regarded as introduce a new dining experience to guests in that the Olympics of the culinary world. For embodying the region. Celebrating Continental cuisine, The Surf Club state’s spirit of innovation, he was inducted into the Restaurant opened the summer of 2018 located in 2018 California Hall of Fame, as selected by Governor Surfside, Florida and now TAK Room in New York Jerry Brown and First Lady Anne Gust Brown. In June City, which debuted in March 2019. He is the author 2019, Chef Keller became the first USA inductee into of five cookbooks, with more than 1.3 million copies the oldest savory chef association in the world, The in circulation. Master Chefs of France. Known for his leadership, Chef Keller has assembled Keller began his culinary career in his teens as a a team that shares his philosophy in his restaurants, dishwasher in the Palm Beach restaurant managed by enabling him to concentrate on interests outside the his mother. In 1983, he moved to France, where he kitchen, including his and Laura Cunningham’s Napa apprenticed in several Michelin-starred restaurants. He Valley wine label Modicum, as well as a magazine and opened his first restaurant, Rakel, in New York City a retail outpost in Yountville, both titled Finesse. He in 1986, before relocating to California to serve as has embarked on several innovative partnerships. In Executive Chef at the Checkers Hotel in Los Angeles. his newest collaboration, Chef Keller partnered with In 1994, Chef Keller took ownership of The French Armando Manni, an acclaimed olive oil producer, Laundry, and soon brought it to national and world- to develop a line of chocolates, K+M Extravirgin wide acclaim. With Snøhetta, a completed new kitchen Chocolate, that is revolutionizing bean-to-bar and courtyard renovation was recently unveiled at chocolate production with its proprietary method of The French Laundry. The redesign is the first major boosting antioxidant levels. masterclass 3 Chef Thomas Keller Chapter One about chef thomas keller Chef Keller also co-founded Cup4Cup, a line of Together with restaurant designer Adam D. Tihany, gluten-free flour blends and mixes that substitutes he created K+T, a collection of silver hardware and for all-purpose flour in home recipes. Chef Keller cocktail ware for Christofle Silversmiths. Chef Keller’s has formed a culinary partnership with Seabourn to collaboration with Raynaud and design firm Level help elevate the guest experience through the opening has led to a sophisticated collection of white porce- of The Grill restaurant and advising on menu items lain dinnerware called “Hommage.” Chef Keller also throughout the fleet. He is a Brand Ambassador for consulted on the films Spanglish and Ratatouille, the Hestan Commercial and Hestan Indoor. His newest latter winning for best animated feature film at both partnership is with Cangshan knives. the Academy Awards and Golden Globes in 2008. masterclass 4 seafood masterclass Chef Thomas Keller Chapter One introduction “There’s so much more variety of fish than there is meat.” Many home cooks find seafood intimidating. Chef side and cover it with ice, the weight and pressure of Thomas Keller says it doesn’t need to be. In this class, the ice can damage the flesh. he dives into the bounty of our rivers, oceans, and seas to help get you comfortable with round fish, flat fish, lobsters lobsters, shrimp, mussels, clams, and more. He’ll teach Always purchase live lobsters. Select lobsters that you how to identify fresh seafood and demonstrate the weigh 1½ pounds or less, such as 1¼-pound lobsters, techniques you’ll need to prepare many of his favorite also known as “chicks.” Look for lobsters that are fish and shellfish dishes. Because great cooking calls strong and lively. One way to tell is to hold the upon all the senses, Chef Keller will also show you lobster’s carapace and make sure the lobster holds how to work by sight, sound, smell, and feel to get the its claws above its head (i.e., claws should not best possible results, whether you’re crisping the skin be drooping). on sautéed King salmon or checking for doneness on butter-poached lobster. Along the way, you’re bound to Chef Keller demonstrated the difference between male make mistakes—everybody does, Chef Keller included. and female lobsters. For cooking purposes, the differ- Don’t let them stop you; treat them as opportunities ences are negligible, with the main advantage being to learn. that the female lobsters have roe, which can be used for making coral oil or as a garnish for dishes. For One of Chef Keller’s first restaurant jobs was as a the Lobster Mac and Cheese that Chef Keller demon- poissonier, or fish cook, a position that deepened his strates in this MasterClass, both male and female appreciation for the delicious and diverse bounty of lobsters work equally well. our oceans, rivers, and seas. When selecting seafood, always check for freshness: clams & mussels It is best to purchase clams and mussels close to their fish source. Their shells should be closed. Store them on Look for clear and bulging eyes and flesh that top of ice in a perforated container set over a deeper rebounds quickly to the touch. The gills should be container to allow the melting ice to drain into and to uniformly pink and slightly slimy. avoid immersing the shellfish in water. Store fish on top of ice in a perforated container set wild-caught vs. farm-raised over a deeper container to allow the melting ice to There are advantages and disadvantages to both drain and avoid immersing the fish in water. Chef wild-caught and farm-raised fish. When sourced Keller recommends storing round fish in the same responsibly, wild-caught fish is the paradigm, and position in which it swims; when you store fish on its they are usually harvested in less polluted waters. masterclass 6 Chef Thomas Keller Chapter One introduction Unfortunately, the demand for wild-caught sh has learn more caused overharvesting and sometimes unsustainable Our oceans may seem innite, but their resources are practices. Farm-raised sh can yield excellent quality not. Chef Keller urges you to educate yourself on issues when farmed correctly and responsibly, resulting in surrounding sustainability and seafood.