Interviews

Thomas Keller Rejects Celebrity Chefdom

Photo: Deborah Jones

Thomas Keller has no time for the celebrity that’s been heaped on him and his peers in our currently food-obsessed culture. The Journal grabbed a few words with him at the Pebble Beach Food & Wine fest last weekend, and he lamented, “What Americans do the best is to elevate things to unrealistic platforms without a lot of foundation behind it. We fall into this trap of having to have celebrities.”

Are the needs of diners in the varied locales of Chef Keller’s fine dining empire different depending on which coast you’re on? Nope. “When you’re dealing at that high-end level,” he says, “It’s the same type of client. It’s the person that appreciates the quality.” Go figure. The people who drop thousands at Per Se, The French Laundry, and Bouchon share a similar appreciation for “quality.”

Thomas Keller on Running a Culinary Empire [WSJ]

Thomas Keller Rejects Celebrity Chefdom