The kitchen at The Bristol was packed; so were the dining rooms on both floors. The reason: Thomas Keller was in the house. Chris Pandel’s informal, charcuterie and odd bits-focused place might not seem like the obvious equivalent of Keller’s French Laundry or Per Se among Chicago’s restaurants, but Keller has apparently admired the place since Grant Achatz took him there on an earlier Chicago visit, and he seemed to be having a good time watching Pandel, his staff and a few ringers like Greg Biggers (Cafe des Architectes) and Jason Vincent (Nightwood) preparing his food. Meanwhile Keller himself moved from table to table, a gentle, approachable figure who gave off nothing of the imperious great chef to guests. (In fact, early on he requested “an onslaught of food” so that he could comfortably roam the room without people worrying about whether they were missing something by talking to him.) Our man Huge Galdones was there observing it all; check out his slideshow below.
What brings Thomas Keller here: his new book.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Maestro Pandel prepares for the onslaught. Nothing to get nervous about, cooking Thomas Keller’s food in front of him, right?
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Jason Vincent (left) and crew at work.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Bacalao fritter.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Rillettes.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
A salmon appetizer.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Cocktails and appetizers.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Keller signing for fans.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
The Bristol usually has about five cooks on the line; tonight it was packed with an even dozen cooking for Keller and guests.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Chef Josiah wipes the jar to make it “extra soigné” for the guest of honor.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Beef tongue en gelee, horseradish, crème fraiche.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Fall squash agnolotti, eastern spices, farmers cheese.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Mackerel en croute with lemon, caper, piquillo peppers.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Assiette of lamb, choux farci, black truffle.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Keller at the dinner table.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Full house.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Rabbit pressé with liver mousse, grapes and pistachio being plated.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Amanda Rockman and her team of pastry chefs wait for their turn in the busy kitchen.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Pate de fruit.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
Dessert with Thomas Keller.
Photo: Eugene (Huge) Galdones/? 2012 Galdones Photography LLC
