Thomas Keller, his father, and his cooking

edmorel · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by Manton

I have the book and, to be honest, you sound rather naive.

so the the threak on him handing a bunch of cash to some Pakistani for an Iphone and the other threak on him feeding his date and her boyfriend didn't expose you to his naivete?

Manton · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by edmorel

so the the threak on him handing a bunch of cash to some Pakistani for an Iphone and the other threak on him feeding his date didn't expose you to his naivete?

I didn't read it.

edmorel · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by Manton

I didn't read it.

when you have a free moment:

http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...ghlight=iphone

Roikins · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by Manton

He is apparently very high strung and unpleasant. I've never met him but I have seen him at the FL. He is so intensly concetrated on whatever he is doing that he radiates a vibe of "Don't you dare talk to me."

I think he's like that in the kitchen; supposedly he fired someone from TFL for wearing black jeans to work after a few warnings. I've met and talked to the guy for a bit when he was out in DC, and he seems quite personable, although, maybe it helped that I mentioned I was from the town where his favorite sushi place is, and we spent some time talking about it, as well as his love of In-N-Out. He could be one of those people that only opens up when he thinks you have something in common.

GQgeek · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by edmorel

so the the threak on him handing a bunch of cash to some Pakistani for an Iphone and the other threak on him feeding his date and her boyfriend didn't expose you to his naivete?

Remember the well wishes I sent you in PM? I take them back!

And Manton, why do you want so much to believe that he's a jerk? I never checked if anyone ghostwrote the book, but it's entirely possible that he has a totally different personality at work and outside of work. I really don't think it's uncommon in his field. He needs everything to be perfect so he sets very high standards for the people that work for him and doesn't put up with any ****.

My parents owned a restaurant at one time and some of the chefs were very hard on staff in the kitchen but showed totally different personalities when interacting with people other than staff. It's entirely common for people show different sides of themselves to different audiences at different times. For example, Ed is a total dick to me on the public forums but he's a total sweetheart in PMs.

Manton · Oct 28, 2009

I don't "want" to believe it. I am merely reporting what I have seen, and what his reputation is.

The idea that you can tell a person is a nice guy from reading his auto-bio is frankly absurd, and an embarassing thing to say or thing. It really doesn't matter if the book is ghostwritten or not.

A Y · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by Roikins

supposedly he fired someone from TFL for wearing black jeans to work after a few warnings.

That doesn't seem unreasonable to me. Firing the guy on the spot without warnings not so much, but repeated warnings before firing doesn't seem inappropriate.

--Andre

GQgeek · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by Manton

I don't "want" to believe it. I am merely reporting what I have seen, and what his reputation is.

The idea that you can tell a person is a nice guy from reading his auto-bio is frankly absurd, and an embarassing thing to say or thing. It really doesn't matter if the book is ghostwritten or not.

Ok whatever. My opinion is just an opinion and it was formed at a very superficial level. Whether it reflects the reality or not is irrelevant to me. Keller is a chef. I liked his books. He's had a significant influence on my approach to cooking. When I read a book about a chef, my mind isn't thinking in the background "I wonder if this is just a big propaganda piece to make everyone think he's an awesome guy and increase sales?" It's a cookbook, not the glowing autobiography of a fascist dictator. I approach the two differently.

Manton · Oct 28, 2009

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Ok whatever.
+1.

imageWIS · Oct 29, 2009

Originally Posted by Roikins

I think he's like that in the kitchen; supposedly he fired someone from TFL for wearing black jeans to work after a few warnings. I've met and talked to the guy for a bit when he was out in DC, and he seems quite personable, although, maybe it helped that I mentioned I was from the town where his favorite sushi place is, and we spent some time talking about it, as well as his love of In-N-Out. He could be one of those people that only opens up when he thinks you have something in common.

I hate those people.

Douglas · Oct 29, 2009

I've never been to the French Laundry and I'm sure that Keller is a genius and everything - I mean that without any sarcasm - but... and I've been meaning to get this off my chest for a while now...

That a bunch of you guys started calling plain old, unadorned, baked chicken "Keller's Way" is like something out of a Seinfeld episode. It's a chicken about nothing!

Lowndes · Oct 29, 2009

I actually met Thomas Keller a while back and found him extremely friendly. Considering the fact that I just walked up to him and mentioned how the best meal I ever had was at Per Se. He was glad to hear it and then we talked a little bit about Berkeley (where I live) and its food scene.

I would imagine that he is pretty intense in the kitchen considering how perfectly his food comes out. He's not back there trying to be best friends with everybody he is working with.

GQgeek · Oct 29, 2009

Originally Posted by Manton

+1.

Originally Posted by Lowndes

I actually met Thomas Keller a while back and found him extremely friendly. Considering the fact that I just walked up to him and mentioned how the best meal I ever had was at Per Se. He was glad to hear it and then we talked a little bit about Berkeley (where I live) and its food scene.

I would imagine that he is pretty intense in the kitchen considering how perfectly his food comes out. He's not back there trying to be best friends with everybody he is working with.

Victory! (just to goad Manton)

kwilkinson · Oct 29, 2009

Originally Posted by Douglas

That a bunch of you guys started calling plain old, unadorned, baked chicken "Keller's Way" is like something out of a Seinfeld episode. It's a chicken about nothing!

A hearty plus one.

Anyway, I work with a few alum from the Keller factory, some of them from the Laundry. I've heard some stories, both on the good side and the bad side, as any Chef will have both. Let's just say I'm glad I work in Healdsburg and not Yountville.

HORNS · Oct 31, 2009

I would think that anyone putting out such an excellent "product", one on the West Coast and one on the East Coast, has a degree of obsessive/compulsive behavior and is extremely focused and driven - especially when they are working. A person like this has a vision, reputation, and business to uphold, and if someone jeopardizes these things, he's just not going to compromise. I mean, those restaurants are his world he created and the people working there choose to be in that world and thus must abide by the rules and vision he established.

Thomas Keller, his father, and his cooking

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