Thomas Keller's World Domination Plans: Heavies Respond
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Bloomberg published a story yesterday, somewhatwidelylinked, which reported that chef Thomas Keller is planning on expanding his empire in several directions by opening the Inn at French Laundry, Bouchon Boucherie, Burgers and Bottles, and a line of frozen foods. Keller has been talking about many of these projects for months and years -- the inn especially -- and he's made no secret his desire to cook burgers (mentioned, for example, in Aspen). But the article has caused a handful of the food world's biggies to weigh in on Keller's plans. Most people are highly skeptical of the plan. Ed Levine isn't. Here's what the people are saying:
Ruth Reichl: "You have to expect that with your attention that diverted, you're not going to be able to keep the quality..."I just don't think that's possible.'' [Bloomberg]
Ed Levine: "So I for one am confident that Keller will be able to pull this juggling act off. As I said, there may be some bumps in the road along the way, but remember. We are talking Thomas Keller and not Tyler Florence here." [SE]
Jean-Luc Naret, Michelin Guides: "They have to be focused on their flagship...Otherwise they will lose all the other parts.'' [Bloomberg]
Michael Bauer: "Once you get into frozen food and pizzas, your fine dining brand gets a little fuzzed out." [Bloomberg]
People look at these sort of expansions in the wrong way. In a very real sense, the idea is to actually pay for all the free champagne and comp'd food items at the flagship. Stand along operators have to look at ways of actually financially funding a four star operation that uses extraordinary expensive glassware, linen, and china, pays large management salaries, and has a couple million tied up in wine inventory. To cross-reference France, where the cost of these concerns is actually passed on to the diner at the four-star restaurant, one sees comparable restaurants charging twice as much. To make it all wash in America, Chefs look for ways to brand and capitalize on their name. And the truth is that many consumers will jump at the chance to obtain a low priced food item (a cup of coffee, say, or a burger) that is associated with that famous Chef. Even if his branded cup of coffee costs a dollar more than the coffee at the nearby deli.
Wasn't Wolfgang Puck's frozen pizza line the sign he was officially out of the spotlight? I mean, once you do frozen dinners, can you really claim to be a high-class, ridiculously expensive gourmet?
I agree. I don't want to see a genius like Keller become another frozen food and soup-selling Wolfgang Puck just for money's sake. It's disappointing to read in the Bloomberg article that meals at the French Laundry are not what they used to be (and I haven't even been there yet!). I hope that he is able to do what he wants to do without sacrificing the legend that is the French Laundry (and Per Se).
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Bloomberg published a story yesterday, somewhat widely linked, which reported that chef Thomas Keller is planning on expanding his empire in several directions by opening the Inn at French Laundry, Bouchon Boucherie, Burgers and Bottles, and a line of frozen foods. Keller has been talking about many of these projects for months and years -- the inn especially -- and he's made no secret his desire to cook burgers (mentioned, for example, in Aspen). But the article has caused a handful of the food world's biggies to weigh in on Keller's plans. Most people are highly skeptical of the plan. Ed Levine isn't. Here's what the people are saying:
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