The French Laundry

The French Laundry
File:The French Laundry.jpg Exterior of The French Laundry
Restaurant information
Established	1978 (1978)
Current owner(s)	Thomas Keller
Head chef	Thomas Keller
Food type	French cuisine with American influences
Dress code	Jacket required
Rating	(Michelin Guide)
Street address	6640 Washington St
City	Yountville
State	California
Postal code/ZIP	94599
Country	United States
Coordinates
Seating capacity	60
Other information	Phone: 1.707.944.2380
Website	FrenchLaundry.com
French Laundry
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	6640 Washington St., Yountville, California
Coordinates
Area	0.4 acres (0.2 ha)
Built	1900
NRHP Reference #	78000728
Added to NRHP	April 19, 1978

The French Laundry is a French restaurant located in Yountville, California, in the Napa Valley. The chef and owner of the French Laundry is Thomas Keller. The restaurant building dates from 1900, and is in the National Register of Historic Places.

The French Laundry is frequently honored by inclusion in the annual Restaurant Magazine list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World (having been named "Best Restaurant in the World" in 2003 and 2004). Since 2006, it has been awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide to San Francisco. It received a favorable review in The New York Times and was called "the best restaurant in the world, period" by Anthony Bourdain. Since 2007, the restaurant has been the recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award.

In July 2014, the Napa Valley restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary with a "six-hour feast for friends, locals, and luminaries" and temporarily closed for renovations before the end of the year. The restaurant reopened on April 7, 2015 following demolition of a number of buildings on the site. During the remainder of the renovation project, the staff is working out of a temporary kitchen.

Building history

The building was built as a saloon in the 1900s by a Scottish stonesman for Pierre Guillaume. When a law was passed in 1906 prohibiting sale of alcohol within a mile of a veteran's home, Guillaume sold the building.

In the 1920s, the building was owned by John Lande who used it as a French steam laundry, which is the origin of the restaurant's name.

In 1978, the mayor of Yountville renovated the building into a restaurant. Don and Sally Schmitt owned the French Laundry for much of the 1980s, and the early 1990s. In 1994, Keller bought the restaurant.

In 2004, the restaurant installed a geothermal heating and air conditioning system.

Cuisine

File:French laundry carte.png

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, none of which uses the same ingredient more than once. During the holiday season, the restaurant may offer special dishes. The menu as of October 26, 2015 is $295 USD per person, including gratuity for the base meal, not including additional supplements such as Russian caviar and truffles.

The food is mainly French with contemporary American influences, giving rise to such unique specialties as Cuisse de grenouilles sur un bâton (frog's legs on a stick).

Staff

Notable alumni of the French Laundry's kitchen staff include Grant Achatz of Alinea, Eric Ziebold of CityZen, Corey Lee of Benu, Jonathan Benno of Lincoln Ristorante, René Redzepi of Noma in Copenhagen, Clay Miller of Trummer's on Main, Ron Siegel of The Dining Room at the Ritz Carlton, and Duff Goldman of Charm City Cakes. Previous Chef de Cuisine Timothy Hollingsworth won the Bocuse d'Or USA semi-finals in 2008, and represented the U.S. in the international finals in January 2009, placing sixth.

The restaurant is open for dinner every evening, and lunch is normally also served Friday through Sunday, although Friday lunch will not be offered during the current renovation project. They also typically close for 1–2 weeks each winter and summer.

Other locations

In February 2004, Thomas Keller opened the East Coast version of his Yountville restaurant, which he named Per Se. The kitchens of both restaurants are connected via a real-time video feed on a television screen.

Thomas Keller opened a pop-up restaurant in the Silverado Resort & Spa during the renovation of The French Laundry. The restaurant, which will serve American classics, is to be called Ad Lib. This is not the first pop up restaurant that Keller has helmed, previously popping up at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong and at Harrod's in London.

Awards and accolades

• 2012, Culinary Hall of Fame Induction
• 2007– Wine Spectator, Grand Award
• 2006– Michelin Guide, Three Stars
• 2005–2008, "Best Restaurant in the Americas," Restaurant magazine Top 50
• 2004–2006, 2008 Top 40 Restaurants in the US Andre Gayot Guide
• 2003–2004 "Best Restaurant in the World," Restaurant magazine Top 50
• 2003, "Outstanding Service Award," James Beard Foundation
• 2002, Awarded the honor of World Master of Culinary Arts 2001, a 1st annual award given by Wedgwood
• 2001, Outstanding Wine Service Award, James Beard Foundation
• 2000, "Favorite Restaurant in the U.S.," Food & Wine Restaurant Experts' Poll
• 2000, Inducted into "Who's Who in Food & Beverage," James Beard Foundation
• 1999–2009 Five-Star Award, Mobil Travel Guide

External links

• Official website
• Archive of French Laundry Menus