The French Laundry

The French Laundry
Exterior of The French Laundry
Map
Restaurant information
Established1978; 46 years ago (1978)
Owner(s)Thomas Keller
Head chefThomas Keller
ChefAra Jo
Pastry chefJamie Houghton
Food typeFrench with Californian cuisine influences
Dress codeNone
Rating3 Michelin stars (Michelin Guide)
*AAA Five Diamond Award (2005— )[1]
*Forbes Five Star Award (1999— )[2]
Street address6640 Washington St
CityYountville
StateCalifornia
Postal/ZIP Code94599
CountryUnited States
Coordinates38°24′16″N 122°21′54″W / 38.40444030°N 122.36497120°W / 38.40444030; -122.36497120
Seating capacity60
Websitewww.thomaskeller.com/tfl Edit this at Wikidata
French Laundry
The French Laundry is located in California
The French Laundry
The French Laundry is located in the United States
The French Laundry
Location6640 Washington St., Yountville, California
Coordinates38°24′16″N 122°21′50″W / 38.40444°N 122.36389°W / 38.40444; -122.36389
Area0.4 acres (0.16 ha; 17,000 sq ft; 1,600 m2)
Built1900
ArchitectClark, Alexander (Gus)
NRHP reference No.78000728[3]
Added to NRHPApril 19, 1978
(46 years ago) (1978-04-19)

The French Laundry is a three-Michelin star French and Californian cuisine restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. Sally Schmitt opened The French Laundry in 1978 and designed her menus around local, seasonal ingredients; she was a visionary chef and pioneer of California cuisine. Since 1994, the chef and owner of The French Laundry is Thomas Keller. The restaurant building dates from 1900 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.[3]

History

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French Laundry Restaurant Greenhouse

The building was constructed as a saloon in 1896 by a Scottish stonesman for Pierre Guillaume.[4] A 1906 law outlawed the sale and consumption of alcohol in the area around the Veterans Home of California Yountville,[5] and the building was bought in 1920 by John Lande who used it as a French steam laundry,[6] which is the origin of the restaurant's name.[4]

In 1978, Sally Schmitt and her husband Don, a former bank appraiser,[7] the then-mayor of Yountville,[8] purchased the building and renovated it into a restaurant. They kept the name, the French Laundry, because locals still referred to the building as such. The French Laundry was one of the first restaurants to offer what would become known as California cuisine.[9][10] The Schmitts ran the restaurant for 17 years before selling it to Thomas Keller in 1994.[11][12]

In 1999, Keller published The French Laundry Cookbook, which he considers his definitive book on cuisine. That year it won three International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) awards for Cookbook of the Year, Julia Child "First Cookbook" Award, and Design Award.[13]

In July 2014, the Napa Valley restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary with a six-hour feast for friends, locals, and luminaries[14] and temporarily closed for renovations before the end of the year.[15]

In December 2014, while being temporarily closed for renovations, The French Laundry wine cellar was robbed of an estimated $500,000 of wine. Most of the wine was subsequently recovered.[16][17]

On April 7, 2015, the restaurant reopened following demolition of a number of buildings on the site. During the remainder of the renovation project, the staff worked out of a temporary kitchen.[18]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, The French Laundry closed and re-opened several times, and faced restrictions such as limited seating.[19]

Cuisine

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This vegetable tasting menu was one of three menus available for Sunday December 4, 2005

Every day, The French Laundry serves two different nine-course tasting menus: the Chef's Tasting Menu and the vegetarian Tasting of Vegetables.[20] Each menu is US$390 per person (including gratuity) for the base meal, although not including additional supplements such as caviar and truffles.[21][22] During the winter holiday season, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and other holidays, the restaurant may offer special dishes.

The food is mainly French with contemporary American influences, for example specialties such as smoked salmon cornets,[23][24] which were inspired by a trip to Baskin-Robbins.

Staff

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Notable alumni of The French Laundry's kitchen staff have included Grant Achatz of Alinea, Eric Ziebold of Kinship and Métier, Corey Lee of Benu, Jonathan Benno of Lincoln Ristorante, René Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen, Ron Siegel of Madcap, and Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes. Previous Chef de Cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth[25] won the Bocuse d'Or USA semi-finals in 2008,[26][27] and represented the U.S. in the international finals in January 2009, placing sixth.[28]

Other locations

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In February 2004 in Manhattan, New York City, Thomas Keller opened Per Se, an East Coast version of his Yountville restaurant. It has also received three Michelin stars. The kitchens of both restaurants are connected via a real-time video feed on a television screen.[29]

Thomas Keller opened Ad Lib, a pop-up restaurant in the Silverado Resort & Spa during the renovation of The French Laundry. The restaurant serves American classics.[30] This is not the first pop-up restaurant that Keller has helmed. Previous iterations occurred at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong[31] and at Harrod's in London.[32]

Reception

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Since 2006, it has been awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide to San Francisco.[33] It received a favorable review in The New York Times[34] and was called "the best restaurant in the world, period" in 2005 by restaurateur and celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.[35]

Since 2007, the restaurant has been the recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award.[36]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Five Diamond Restaurants" (PDF). AAA.com. American Automobile Association. April 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "The French Laundry". Forbes Travel Guide. 2024. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "The French Laundry". npgallery.nps.gov. US: National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service. July 9, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Alexander, Pat (2009). Yountville. Arcadia Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 9780738569659. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  5. ^ Prah-Perochon, Anne (October 8, 2015). "The Saga of French Laundries in California". France-Amérique. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  6. ^ "The French Laundry - Napa Restaurants - Yountville, United States". Forbes Travel Guide. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  7. ^ Paulsen, Sasha (March 28, 2022). "Sally Schmitt: Napa Valley's culinary pioneer shares her legacy in "Six California Kitchens"". The Napa Valley Register. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  8. ^ "The French Laundry". Yountville.com. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Goldstein, Joyce; Brown, Dore (September 6, 2013). Inside the California Food Revolution: Thirty Years That Changed Our Culinary Consciousness. University of California Press. pp. 4–6. ISBN 9780520956704.
  10. ^ Proudfoot, Ben (September 13, 2022). "Before Thomas Keller, It Was Her French Laundry". New York Times.
  11. ^ "The French Laundry: Thomas Keller". Los Angeles Magazine. 45 (8): 136. August 2000. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  12. ^ Woolever, Laurie. "Chef Talk: Thomas Keller". Wine Spectator Online. M. Shanken Communications, Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  13. ^ "French Laundry chef talks about celebrity life". MSN. May 22, 2007.[permanent dead link‍]
  14. ^ Robinson, Joanna (July 8, 2014). "Truffled Grilled Cheese and In-N-Out Burgers: Celebrating the French Laundry's 20th Anniversary". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 6, 2016.
  15. ^ Carson, L. Pierce (April 7, 2014). "French Laundry will close temporarily for expansion". Napa Valley Register. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  16. ^ "Man admits stealing $500,000 worth of wine from famed French Laundry restaurant". Los Angeles Times. December 21, 2016.
  17. ^ Mejia, Paula (April 16, 2018). "How a Gang of Thirsty Thieves Stole Over $500,000 Worth of Wine". Atlas Obscura.
  18. ^ "French Laundry reopens, reveals renovation plans". Napa Valley Register. April 7, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  19. ^ Edmonds, Lauren. "Michelin-starred restaurant where Gov. Newsom dined during COVID-19 surge got over $2.4 million in PPP loans". Insider. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  20. ^ "Today's Menus". thomaskeller.com. Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  21. ^ "Chef's Tasting Menu" (PDF). thomaskeller.com. Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  22. ^ "Tasting of Vegetables" (PDF). thomaskeller.com. Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.[permanent dead link‍]
  23. ^ "Thomas Keller". finedininglovers.com. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  24. ^ "The Easy Way to Make Thomas Keller's Signature Salmon Cornets". Food & Wine. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  25. ^ Forbes, Paula (November 26, 2012). "Timothy Hollingsworth Is Out at French Laundry; Per Se's David Breeden Is In". Eater.com. Vox Media Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  26. ^ Wells, Pete, The New York Times (September 28, 2008). French Laundry Sous Chef Will Represent U.S. in Bocuse d’Or
  27. ^ Cowin, Diana, Food & Wine (February 2009). Competing at the Bocuse d’Or: Team USA's Unbeatable Recipes
  28. ^ Sciolino, Elaine, The New York Times: Diner's Journal (January 28, 2009). The American Chef Comes in Sixth
  29. ^ Zimmer, Erin (May 29, 2009). "Per Se's Kitchen, Still Well-Stocked and Watching the French Laundry on Flat-Screen TV". newyork.seriouseats.com. Retrieved February 6, 2012.
  30. ^ Lucchessi, Paolo (January 12, 2015). "Thomas Keller to launch temporary restaurant at Silverado: Ad Lib". insidescoopsf.sfgate.com. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  31. ^ Stolerman, William (November 2, 2010). "Mandarin Oriental HK Welcoming Chef Thomas Keller". luxury-insider.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2021. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  32. ^ O'Ceallaigh, John (September 1, 2011). "The French Laundry at Harrods: Thomas Keller interview". telegraph.co.uk. Archived from the original on September 2, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2024.
  33. ^ "San Francisco 2013 Michelin Guide; Michelin Travel & Lifestyle". Michelinguide.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  34. ^ "The French Laundry – Reviews and Ratings of Restaurants in Napa Valley – New York Times Travel". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 21, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  35. ^ "Las Vegas". Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. Season 1. Episode 7. October 17, 2005. 7 minutes in. His Napa Valley restaurant, The French Laundry, is in my opinion, the best restaurant in the world. Period.
  36. ^ "The French Laundry". Wine Spectator. January 1, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
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