I wanted to write about what we were doing at the French Laundry, the recipes and the stories. Thomas Keller More Quotes by Thomas Keller More Quotes From Thomas Keller When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy, that is what cooking is all about. Thomas Keller real people ideas A recipe has no soul. You, as the cook, must bring soul to the recipe. Thomas Keller soul home-cooking food Its not about passion. Passion is something that we tend to overemphasize, that we certainly place too much importance on. Passion ebbs and flows. To me, it's about desire. If you have constant, unwavering desire to be a cook, then u'll be a great cook. Thomas Keller ebb-and-flow passion desire This is the great challenge: to maintain passion for the everyday routine and the endlessly repeated act, to derive deep gratification from the mundane. Thomas Keller everyday-routine passion challenges Any job worth doing is worth doing well. But to be able to do that, you have to do it over and over again. Thomas Keller wells able jobs Success is measured by the memories you create. Thomas Keller success-is-measured success-is-measured-by memories Food is such an important part of our lives, and sometimes we tend to diminish the importance of that, because we rely on conveniences or because our lives are so complicated. We forget about those moments that we can actually share around the table with our family, with our friends, with our loved ones. Thomas Keller important tables forget It's not about perfection; it's about the joy of striving. Thomas Keller strive perfection joy Respect for food is respect for life, for who we are and what we do. Thomas Keller who-we-are Cooking is not about convenience and it's not about shortcuts. Our hunger for the twenty-minute gourmet meal, for one-pot ease and prewashed, precut ingredients has severed our lifeline to the satisfactions of cooking. Take your time. Take a long time. Move slowly and deliberately and with great attention. Thomas Keller cooking long moving Let's face it: if you and I have the same capabilities, the same energy, the same staff, if the only thing that's different between you and me is the products we can get, and I can get a better product than you, I'm going to be a better chef. Thomas Keller different energy faces Repetition is the mother of perfection. If there is true perfection, it's about doing something over and over again. I truly think that if somebody does a recipe they've never done before and gets it right, they're probably more lucky than they are talented. Thomas Keller perfection mother thinking A cookbook must have recipes, but it shouldn't be a blueprint. It should be more inspirational; it should be a guide. Thomas Keller guides recipes should For me, thats one of the important things about cooking. What was good enough yesterday may not be good enough today. Thomas Keller cooking important yesterday You have to be driven. You have to be focused. You have to be aware. Thomas Keller focused driven ambition You don't know when inspiration is going to come. But you have to be aware of what's going on around you, so that at any moment, when inspiration happens, you're ready for it and you interpret it. Thomas Keller ready moments inspiration And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient! Thomas Keller kitchen essentials food I think that's the important thing - being aware of that inspiration and being able to interpret it into something that's meaningful for you. Thomas Keller inspiration meaningful thinking You're getting to know who the great chefs are through their books. Thomas Keller fundraising book chef I can make dough in a machine faster than I can make it by hand, but I want to make it by hand, because I want to remember the way it feels. It's so important for me to make it by hand - whether it's a pasta dough or a pâte brisée. You become involved in it. You become personal with it. For me it's such a wonderful way to get satisfaction and gratification when I'm cooking. Thomas Keller cooking important hands
