Keller teamed up with Snohetta, an architecture and design firm that spearheaded the recent three-year renovation of the San Francisco’s Museum of Modern Art. Pei and one after - to capture the essence of his vision. And the French Laundry kind of represented that for me,” said Keller, who even presented his architect with two pictures of the Louvre - one pre-I.M. Pei’s 1989 addition of the glass pyramid added a modern statement to a historical site. But when the issue is raised, he feels “an enormous amount of responsibility, that burden of responsibility on my shoulders to make sure that I’m trying to exemplify what that chef would be like.”Īs a measure of his ambition, Keller compares the French Laundry’s remodel to the renovation at one of the world’s great museums, the Louvre in Paris, citing how I.M. “I don’t wake up in the morning and look in the mirror and go, ‘I’m looking at the greatest chef in America.’ It very seldom comes up for me personally,” he says. He is also gracious, and humble, when asked about his significance to the culinary world. On a tour of the new kitchen and the French Laundry’s lush culinary garden, Keller is vocally enthusiastic about the upgrades. The distinctions make Keller the only American chef, past or present, with two sets of three-star Michelin ratings. “For weeks, I would wake up in the middle of the night and think, ‘Oh my God, I ruined the French Laundry,’” said Keller, who holds three coveted Michelin stars for the restaurant, and another three for its New York counterpart Per Se. The renovation took more than two years and was not stress-free. Aside from the new kitchen, there’s a 16,000-bottle wine cellar, extensive solar paneling, a new office annex and 9,000 square feet of new landscape design. It also helps your family, friends and Berkeley neighbors have access to reliable, independent reporting.Keller says he embarked on the French Laundry’s renovation to ensure it thrives for the next 20 years. Your donation goes beyond supporting our journalism.
#French laundry michelin stars free#
Thank you.īerkeleyside relies on reader support to remain free for everyone in our community. Your donation makes this and all our other local reporting possible. Three Stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.One always eats extremely well here, sometimes superbly. Two Stars: Excellent cooking, worth a detour. One Star: A very good restaurant in its own category.
In addition to the menu and cuisine, we also scrutinize the beverage program asking ourselves if the wine, cocktail, and/or sake selection enhances the experience and moreover offers something special. Here’s the skinny, from Michelin itself:Įstablishments under “star consideration” serve cuisine that is prepared from excellent quality ingredients, display impressive technical skill, and present a balanced menu of clear flavors with a distinct personality and it is imperative that they do so consistently. Update, 20.50: Berkeleysider Antoinette Baranov asks the more than valid question about what criteria Michelin uses to award, and hence to also remove, its stars.
Three local restaurants are deemed worthy of two stars - they are Coi in San Francisco, Cyrus in Healdsburg and Manresa in Los Gatos. Waters respects the traditions upon which the Michelin Guide bases its awards, she acknowledges that they aren’t the same traditions upon which Chez Panisse has built its reputation and success over the years.”įurther afield in the region, Napa restaurant The Restaurant at Meadowood has gained one star to join the only other greater Bay Area restaurant with three stars: Thomas Keller’s French Laundry in Yountville. “To this day, that is the restaurant’s highest priority. “When Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse almost 40 years ago, she intended to create a place where people could come together with friends and family to eat a delicious, thoughtfully prepared meal in beautiful surroundings,” said Mia Morgenstern from the Chez Panisse Foundation.
Photo: Flickr commons/Emptyhighwayīerkeley’s most famous restaurant, Chez Panisse, commonly referred to as one of the best restaurants in the country, if not the world, has lost its single Michelin star - unwelcome news for the Alice Waters-owned destination eatery which has held a star since the 2006 launch of the San Francisco Bay Area & Wine Country edition of the esteemed Michelin guide. Chez Panisse, no longer a one-star Michelin restaurant.
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