Thomas Keller - Bouchon Bakery

Thomas Keller

Thomas Keller, author of The French Laundry Cookbook, Bouchon, Under Pressure, Ad Hoc at Home, and Bouchon Bakery, has thirteen restaurants and bakeries in the United States. He is the first and only American chef to have two Michelin Guide three-star-rated restaurants, The French Laundry and per se, both of which continue to rank among the best restaurants in America and the world. In 2011 he was designated a Chevalier of The French Legion of Honor, the first American male chef to be so honored.

Sebastien Rouxel

Sebastien Rouxel, co-author with Thomas Keller of Bouchon Bakery, oversees all aspects of the pastry department for Bouchon Bakery, The French Laundry, and per se. In 2005, he was named a Rising Star by StarChefs magazine. In 2006 and again in 2008, Pastry Art & Design magazine declared him one of the Top Ten Best Pastry Chefs in America.

sebastien

First and foremost, Matthew and I thank Thomas for all the opportunities he has given us, for how he has challenged us. Were forever grateful.

Id also like to thank:

Nick Bonamico, for doing a great job at the Time Warner Center, for his help on the book, and for coming to Napa to work with Susie, Amy, and Deborah.

Richard Capizzi for his friendship, for our work in opening per se and the first Bouchon in Manhattan, and mostly for being there during both the tough and the good times.

Matthew McDonald for his invaluable participation in this book and his knowledge about bread (and also his stories about tattoos and HD bikes!).

Alessandra Altieri for helping me open Bouchon Rockefeller and steering the ship while I left to work on this book.

Scott Wheatfill from Bouchon Bistro and Bakery in Las Vegas for checking on me every week.

Gerald San Jose for helping with photography and assisting Deborah Jones while shooting in New York.

matthew

My thanks go to:

Sebastien, for his limitless expertise.

Janine Weismann and Marie Betts from Bouchon Bistro and Bakery in Yountville for providing some of the last minute items we needed for the book, and for always going beyond what they needed to do.

Didier, Philippe, and Mitch for being great friends and mentors.

Derrick, Annarose, Maika, and Erik for helping me grow as a baker and a manager.

My parents for their impact on my life.

Our family of bakers in the company who make each other try harder every day.

And finally, we would like to thank our staffs at all the bakeries. They have been raising our expectations continually since the first day. We are enormously proud of this team.

thomas, sebastien, and matthew

Thanks to our team: Susie Heller for opening her home to us and for coordinating everything that was involved in the complex production of this book.

Amy Vogler for driving the bus and keeping us on our toes and on track. Her work, from overall conception of the book and its parts to her acute attention to detail in the recipes, is invaluable.

Deborah Jones for her care and for these amazing photos. We are grateful for the respect she gives to the food and to the chefs. Were also grateful to Josh Lewis, photo assistant and photo technician, who makes it possible for Deborah to do the work that she does.

Michael Ruhlman for listening to our stories and for bringing them to life with words only he can put together because of his knowledge about food. He makes you think twice before you answer him.

David and Joleen Hughes and their colleagues at Level for their extraordinary design work.

Special thanks to Ann Bramson and her team at Artisan, including Judith Sutton, who once again provided the copyediting that made the prose and the recipes a consistent and accurate whole; Sibylle Kazeroid, who brought all the elements together; and Nancy Murray, who got us to the end.