When Thomas Keller says he's stepping back from the kitchen to mentor young chefs, it's as if LeBron James says he's benching himself so younger teammates can get more time on the basketball court.
At 57, we have to take Keller at his word. But his announcement last year also signaled another advance in American cuisine: the emergence of chefs whose brilliance makes them sought-after mentors, and whose egos also grasp the responsibility of sharing what they know.
"I think you have to listen to your own gut," he said during a recent visit to Minneapolis. "It's very important — that feeling you have when faced with a challenge. It can be a blink, this moment, and it's a very important moment. But to analyze the situation, you need guidance."
Keller was here to promote his fifth cookbook, "Bouchon Bakery" (Artisan Books, $50), written with Sebastien Rouxel, who oversees pastry for the restaurants the French Laundry, the Bouchon Bakeries and Per Se. The duo explored all-American childhood treats as well as breads, cakes and classic French pastries. Suffice it to say, their version of the Oreo cookie is dialed up to 11, given notes such as: "For this recipe, we use Valrhona Ivoire 35% white chocolate and Guittard Cocoa Noir."
Yet the nuances of Keller's gut instincts may best be revealed in his recipe for chocolate chunk and chip cookies: The mix of chunks and chips works because the chunks melt, but the chips don't. Then, in an otherwise ordinary ingredient list, there lurks 1¾ teaspoons of unsulfured blackstrap molasses. Just that much, he said, deepens the flavors.
A little bit better, every day
Over Keller's career, American cuisine has grown from overlooked to highly respected. Part of that is due to him: He is the only American chef to have earned simultaneous three-star Michelin ratings for two different restaurants, the French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., and Per Se in New York City.
While not denying his due, Keller lauded a trio who inspired him: Julia Child, Chuck Williams of Williams-Sonoma and Robert Mondavi of the vineyard family. "One gave us the courage and confidence to cook, another everything to cook it with, and another the wine with which to enjoy it."
While home cooking has been revived, home baking still struggles. That's partly due to a lapse in generational legacies, but also because of how convenience foods are marketed for ease and expertise.
