Food should be fun.
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.
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.
My childhood wasn't full of wonderful culinary memories.
I wanted to learn everything I could about what it takes to be a great chef. It was a turning point for me.
Then, as the day progresses, depending on how the product is coming in - for instance, the fish man will fax us and say black bass is great - throughout the day, we'll also make judgment calls and adapt to what's available.
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.
The law of diminishing returns is something I really believe in.
I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories.
Whether it's destiny or fate or whatever, I don't think I could do a French Laundry anywhere else.
We rely on our purveyors to tell us what's available and what's good.
It's one thing you aspire to: someday, you'll be able to write a book.
They know what my standards are. They know what I need and how to get it to me, and they know how to communicate with me if for some reason they can't get it.
We go through our careers and things happen to us. Those experiences made me what I am.
The book is there for inspiration and as a foundation, the fundamentals on which to build.
I think every young cook wants to write a book.
I drank more wine when I wasn't working as much, to be honest.
I hope the cooks who are working for me now are getting that kind of experience so they can use what they're learning now as a foundation for a great career.
You're getting to know who the great chefs are through their books.
In any restaurant of this caliber, the chefs are in the same position, building relationships.
Some of the recipes in the book have evolved for us. Many haven't.
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.
Now the restaurants have begun to catch up with the wine-making; there are numerous great restaurants in Napa Valley, and it's wonderful because the people are there for just that: great food and great wine.
My favorite wines are Zinfandels.
I like to drink young wines, wines which are robust and have a lot of forward fruit to them.
I have no formal culinary training, right.
A kaiseki meal is like that, very small courses over a long period of time.
No, it's funny, when I eat out it's not typically in the kind of restaurants people might imagine.
But once in a while you might see me at In and Out Burger; they make the best fast food hamburgers around.
When I go out to eat, it's usually something moderate in style.
Your idea of that dish has evolved, and if you're a cook, you can start thinking in different ways about it, maybe even a different way than I think about it.
