the joy of striving.

“A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe.”
-- Thomas Keller

“This is the great challenge: to maintain passion for the everyday routine and the endlessly repeated act, to derive deep gratification from the mundane.”
-- Thomas Keller

“Its not about passion. Passion is something that we tend to overemphasize, that we certainly place too much importance on. Passion ebbs and flows. To me, it's about desire. If you have constant, unwavering desire to be a cook, then u'll be a great cook.”
-- Thomas Keller

“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.”
-- Thomas Keller

“A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn't be a blueprint. It should be more inspirational; it should be a guide.”
-- Thomas Keller

“For me, that's one of the important things about cooking. What was good enough yesterday may not be good enough today.”
-- Thomas Keller

“It's not about perfection; it's about the joy of striving.”
-- Thomas Keller

“And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!”
-- Thomas Keller

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

“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.”
-- Thomas Keller


“You're getting to know who the great chefs are through their books.”
-- Thomas Keller

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

“We rely on our purveyors to tell us what's available and what's good.”
-- Thomas Keller

“We go through our careers and things happen to us. Those experiences made me what I am.”
-- Thomas Keller

“I wonder if I love the communal act of eating so much because throughout my childhood, with four older brothers and a mom who worked in the restaurant business, I spent a lot of time fending for myself, eating alone - and recognizing how eating together made all the difference.”
-- Thomas Keller

“Even the most astute chefs seek out the assistance of Celine Labaune, owner of Gourmet Attitude, because they know they can rely on her keen senses and deep understanding of the truffle trade.”
-- Thomas Keller

“I came to understand that the words executive and corporate never belong next to the word chef.”
-- Thomas Keller

“In any restaurant of this caliber, the chefs are in the same position, building relationships.”
-- Thomas Keller

“Whether it's destiny or fate or whatever, I don't think I could do a French Laundry anywhere else.”
-- Thomas Keller

“I guess the main source of stress for me is the stress I put on myself.”
-- Thomas Keller

“You have to be driven. You have to be focused. You have to be aware.”
-- Thomas Keller

“One of the problems with writing a cookbook is that recipes exist in the moment.”
-- Thomas Keller

“Some of the recipes in the book have evolved for us. Many haven't.”
-- Thomas Keller

“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.”
-- Thomas Keller

“The media builds you up, and then it tears you down.”
-- Thomas Keller

“I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.”
-- Thomas Keller

“When I go out to eat, it's usually something moderate in style.”
-- Thomas Keller

“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.”
-- Thomas Keller