Thomas Keller, chef/owner of the famed French Laundry in Napa Valley and Per Se in New York City, is stretching his talents to include frozen food and a burger joint. In addition to his two flagship restaurants, he also owns and runs two bakeries and two bistros. He is also wants to open a butcher shop and an Inn next to the French Laundry from reports in Bloomberg, the New York Times and Eater.com.
Keller's reputation rests on an obsessive focus on the highest quality of preparation and service. I've had three meals at the French Laundry - all were superlative, but a visit to Bouchon in Yountville (just down the street from the F.L.) last spring was good, very passable, but not excellent. The service was ragged and rushed in spots; the host, though very friendly, made us wait 35 minutes for our reservation; and the room, bustling and charming, is really loud. When finally brought to our table we had a great corner spot and the staff was so friendly that it made up for a lot of the initial irritation. The food was well-executed Paris bistro fare - this is not cuisine where one should expect fireworks, in any case - but I would have liked to see more zip in the preparations. Everything was correct and delicious, but some je ne sais quoi was missing. Also, our waiter tended to forget about us for long stretches of the meal - a lot of smoke breaks, judging by the aromas he brought back. Good thing the busboys picked up the slack.
I haven't had the opportunity to eat at the French Laundry for three years, so I can't intelligently comment on what it is like there since Per Se opened.
The Bouchon bakeries, in both New York (Time Warner Center) and Yountville (next door to Bouchon restaurant) were excellent. The baking was superb - I haven't had a croissant as good since my last visit to Paris. Obviously, this is not food executed a-la-minute, but it is well-executed and tasty. Logically, one could say that a frozen-food line is no different from this; it's essentially just a question of quantity and quality control, but I wonder. What really happens when chefs stretch themselves too thin?
Think of all the outposts in Vegas that, in the name of branding (and deifying chefs, I suspect), have convinced chefs to decamp there - are these really as good as the original establishments that secured their reputations? Can a chef who has learned his or her craft over years of work, getting to know the suppliers and distributors and the seasonality of ingredients in a particular place, like, say, New York (Charlie Palmer) or San Francisco (Michael Mina), simply transport an operation and knowledge into the middle of the Nevada desert, no matter how good the supply chain, and be consistently successful? I have my doubts - even Palmer's Dry Creek Kitchen restaurant at the Healdsburg Hotel (and California has wondrous produce and meats) was at best a pale imitation of his New York restaurant Aureole (Aureole has built its reputation for local ingredients - upstate New York, New England, Pennsylvania ... What gives? How can this be translated into the southwestern desert? How good can Aureole Las Vegas really be?).
And frozen food? Doesn't this seem to go against everything that Keller has ever pronounced about the food he wants to make? I suppose it's possible that this line might even be edible, or at least better-tasting that its competitors in the supermarket freezer - but c'mon, Tommy - do you really want to be the next Wofgang Puck? Think about it!
Frankly, I'm worried. I'll try to get a meal in at the FL in the next year, before it might lose its soul. Next time in NY - Per Se, just to see how it compares. I hope he can keep the heart of these restaurants beating.
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