the french laundry

• A panel of wine experts puts $12 and under wine to the test. — Boston Globe
• Try one of these taste-tested cornbread mixes to go with your chili. — San Francisco Chronicle
• What kitchen essentials are worth investing in, and which ones you should pass up. — Los Angeles Times
• Time-strapped? Here are some tips for conjuring up homemade soup flavor. — Chicago Tribune
• Lots of doors open for producers who sell to the exclusive French Laundry. — Washington Post
• Famed rancher Bill Niman is back with a new venture: raising goats. — New York Times
• If you've got 15 minutes, then you've got time to throw together Jamaican chicken. — StarTribune

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Over the weekend, eight semi-finalists competed to see who would represent the United States at the Bocuse d'Or, a prestigious international culinary competition. Timothy Hollingsworth, a sous chef at the French Laundry, was selected as the winner. Hollingsworth now has three months to prepare for the French showdown in January. He'll train at a special facility created by Thomas Keller in Yountville, California with head coach Roland Henin.

No American chef has ever won the final competition and the closest one has come to seeing gold was sixth place in 2003.

The chefs and their assistants had to prepare two dishes — one fish and one beef — in front of a live audience. The dishes were judged on a variety of factors including presentation, texture, harmony of flavor, sophistication, and creativity. In the end, Hollingsworth's elaborately garnished Atlantic cod with Hawaiian blue prawns and sea scallops and equally complex beef tenderloin roasted in bacon with beef cheeks and oxtail won.

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Last week the world-renowned, award-winning chef Thomas Keller left his Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry, to speak at a panel discussion in San Francisco. The symposium celebrated the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of the fifth taste, umami. After the day-long event, Keller took some time out to speak with us.

The food industry's Yoda, Keller is a humble and wise chef devoted to the culinary arts. He prefers the quiet hills of Napa to the glittering nights of New York and when I asked where he would be dining that evening, he selflessly replied, "I have to get back to my kitchen to cook the dinner service." To see what else the inspiring chef had to say and find out why he's never gotten into television, check out our exclusive video!

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The man behind the Best Restaurant in America is surprising everyone with a new frozen food line. The folks at Bloomberg are reporting that Thomas Keller — owner of The French Laundry and Per Se — has designed and placed his name on two frozen dishes for FiveLeaf, a unit of Cuisine Solutions Inc. The first one, Mac and Cheese Lobster with Orzo will be pitched to retail stores soon.

In addition to his new frozen food line and two fancy pants fine dining establishments, Keller has two bistros, an American family-style spot, two bakeries and a catering operation. If this sounds like too much for one man to control, I might mention that Keller is also planning to open a meat shop, an inn at the French Laundry and a hamburger and wine restaurant.

When asked why he's willing to spread out his empire, Keller explained that it was mostly due to his staff. By creating advanced placement possibilities for his current employees.

"To maintain the consistency and quality of the staff, you have to give them opportunities."

However, all of this Keller leaves some food critics skeptical. San Francisco Chronicle editor Michael Bauer made comparisons to Wolfgang Puck and wondered if the fine dining brand could work with frozen food.

"Once you get into frozen food and pizzas, your fine dining brand gets a little fuzzed out."

Either way, I know I can't wait to try Keller's fancy mac and cheese, how about you?

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The first thing I ate at The French Laundry was a delectable cornet. If you want to try and make it at home, here's the recipe. Oh and can I just say, this one is possibly even more beautiful than the one I ate while there. - Chubby Hubby

• I'm not sure I would consider fresh sugarcane juice is the original lemonade, but it is really delicious. - Serious Eats



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