The first thing I heard about Thomas Keller was that he had decided not to invent. Instead, he had focused on making the classic and traditional into something much better. From his creativity he has recreated and surpassed what we all know, such as french fries or rotisserie chicken.
Born in the United States, Keller is one of thosecelebrity chefs now so famous. His books are best-sellers and his legend is accentuated by restaurants that are relaxed, busy and always with waiting lists to get in. The first was called The French Laundry, and today the best known of all, Bouchon, which means “tapa” in Spanish, remains the flagship of his exquisite cuisine.
I have tried some of Keller’s recipes, and I can confirm that his proposal is a delicious reality. The French toast he makes is better than anyone else and the foie grais is unforgivable. His recipes turn convention into novelty, defining his culinary genius with elegance and personal confidence.
He reminded me of Ray Kroc when he said that at McDonald’s “we take the hamburger business more seriously than anyone else,” for with few exceptions, it’s not about innovating to reinvent the warm water, but about surpassing what’s already been done. It is almost always better to avoid falling into acute creativitis that borders on the ridiculous, and to do better what has been done, redefining, reinventing and recreating. It is virtually impossible to start from scratch, while it is much more powerful to adopt, adapt and then create.
Thomas Keller is a famous chef, like Jöel Robuchon and so many others, who manage to innovate even in the traditional. Jean Claude does it at L’Ile de France on Avenida Escazú. All of them are talented people who can remind us in every dish that we can do it too. They are one more demonstration of influence, which we can find in every moment, even in a simple yogurt parfait with fruit and granola.
On another scale and in another world, in our small group of companies we take our business more seriously than anyone else. And of course, we demand to innovate even in the conventional, adopting, adapting and creating. At the end of the day, that’s how our clients and the brands they trust us with end up being the big winners. It all adds up: we win more if we all win.
It’s 10 minutes to 10 am. So without another keystroke, I fly off to try the very traditional Croque Madame, which is nothing more than a base of bread, Swiss cheese and egg. I go intrigued, although I’m sure it will be in its category, the bouchon of peroles.
Enjoy your meal!
