The quote, to the left, is from Thomas keller and is posted at several positions within TFL kitchen.
"...To Make People Happy..." Well, it worked on me. The efforts of The French Laundry kitchen and the service staff totally exceeded my expectations of what a dinner there would be like. I am now totally humbled and in awe of what top-notch food is and what it could be. I have laid bare my soul in these blogs and now - now my understanding of why I am here is really clarified. I feel as though I've been stripped naked of all that I have accomplished to be wrapped within a new cloak of understanding about my industry and with a new standard and game plan. If "Good Cooking is the Accumulation of Small Details Done to Perfection" than my dinner last evening was perfect in all of the small details. Subtle and explosive, the clear flavors of food produced by people who love to make others happy. I drove home to Santa Rosa with a multitude of thoughts in my head and I cried from the experience. Best meal ever? It doesn't qualify so much as a best meal but a best food & wine experience - ever. Twenty-four times I was served food (small bites and small courses to follow along the doctrine of "The Law of Diminishing Returns"), often with an appropriate wine, and twenty-four times I was turned inside out in appreciation of what a cook can do with food for an appreciative audience. Six and one-half hours...
How does a stagier repay the chefs and cooks that he's worked side by side with for five and one-half weeks...? By giving all of what is left in this body and mind to show appreciation for a lifetime of lessons re-learned and re-emphasized in just two months time. Every bit of insight gleaned from my observation of TFL needs to be passed on. Passed on to the students and faculty at the culinary school and passed on to my clients who deserve to be made happy. There is not enough time or space to adequately display my thanks and appreciation to everyone that I have learned from or to acknowledge the lessons and direction that I have recieved. I am truly humbled at the torch which has been lit for me and feel honored to pass along that light to others.
I asked that the kitchen "give me their best shot" and thus, received no menu. I was like putty in their hands and course after course was delivered and announced on point. Wines were produced, poured and savored. Plate presentations and profiles of flavor at every turn were familiar, as I see this everyday in the kitchen, but the dining experience brought all of my other senses into play, of which taste and flavor reigned supreme. I may receive a printed menu in the future but I will try my best to remember the sequence of courses, here twelve hours since I last put my fork down, not in surrender but in sublime supplication. Each course was delivered with grace and exactitude by a well-trained staff, a staff that I encounter everyday in the kitchen and now have a greater appreciation for. I should have taken better notes, but in the moment of food ectasy and anticipation I forgot my pictures and my notes. I was carried away in the moment... Here is a quick synopsis of the meal. I will embellish the descriptions of the menu, as well as the wine, at a later time as I probe the staff for more imformation over the next few days.
A Tasting Menu - 27 February 2009
A flute of Roederer Champagne
Oven-Warm Gruyere Gougeres
"Oysters & Pearls"
Scottish Salmon Tuile "Cone" with Red Onion and Creme Fraiche
Egg Custard with Chive Potato Chips and Truffled Mushroom Ragout, served in its shell, with Madeira
A puree of Onion Soup Foam with Dates (poured tableside)
An Ocean Mackerel Sushi with Rice, Perilla and Uni Roe
Braised Green Cabbage & Smoked Trout Roe
Foie Gras Torchon with Brioche Toast
Maine Lobster Tail with Melba Toast & Shrimp Sauce
Baguette with Andante Butter & Diane St. Clair Butter
Braised Pork Belly
Sturgeon Confit "a la minute"
Black Trumpet Ravioli with Mushroom Truffle Broth
Deep-Fried Cod Reproductive Gland (it has a better name for it - can't recall)
Pan-Seared Calotte
Salad of Asparagus, Tomato, carrot, Cucumber, Orange, Grapefruit and Watercress
Green Hills Cheese Quenelle atop Bacon & Spinach Gratin
Strawberry Sorbet with Frangipane and Rhubarb Gelee
Chocolate-Coated Chocolate Mousse
Coffee & Doughnuts (Coffee Semifreddo topped with Milk-Foam and Fried Brioche)
Buddha Hand Parfait with Lemon Cream
Tower of Assorted Mignardise
Chocolate Truffles and TFL Shortbread-in-a-bag, tied with French Laundry Ribbon (for take-home)
I am exhausted just remembering the finest meal that I have ever dined upon. Indeed, I was made happy. Wish you were there... Peace.
~R
