The French Laundry offers BMW concierge service

Yountville, CA  – Chef Thomas Keller today announced a partnership with BMW of North America, creating a concierge service at his acclaimed restaurant, The French Laundry, featuring the BMW ActiveHybrid 7. 

The partnership announcement was made from the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club in Lemont, IL.  Chef Keller was a guest at the tournament, played yesterday in the BMW Championship Pro-Am Tournament, which pairs 70 of the world’s top professional golfers with amateurs.

To celebrate partnership, Keller crafted a seasonal, BMW-inspired recipe for The French Laundry dinner menu the evening of the announcement. The dish is Four Story Hill Farm Apple Fed Pork Loin with Bratwurst, Braised Red Cabbage, Apple Dumplings and Grain Mustard Sauce.

Keller and his staff were inspired by BMW’s Bavarian roots and wanted to create a delicious dish reminiscent of the foods from this area.

 “As a BMW owner for more than 32 years, I’ve always appreciated the brand’s attention to precision and detail because my very first vehicle was a BMW 320i,” said Keller.  “At The French Laundry, we’re always seeking out ways to heighten our guests’ experience."

The new BMW concierge service at The French Laundry will be offered to restaurant guests on a limited basis as available.

“The number one hobby and interest of BMW customers is fine dining, which makes a partnership with Thomas Keller and The French Laundry a natural fit,” said Tom Kowaleski, Vice President Corporate Communications, BMW of North America.

Thomas Keller to open Bouchon at Rockefeller Plaza

It's official.

The press release is out.  Thomas Keller's Bouchon Bakery is opening Spring 2011 in the space occupied by high end grocer Dean & DeLuca  

The NY Times' Florence Fabricant reported last week on Keller's venture at 1 Rockefeller Plaza,  slated to open in March. 

Keller’s newest Bouchon Bakery in NYC will offer classic French-Boulangerie fare but without the restaurant component. There will be no table service.

"Rockefeller Center is such an iconic area of Manhattan, full of history and one of the great epicenters of the city," Keller said. "The team and I are very excited to make Bouchon Bakery a part of this dynamic locale, giving us the ability to share our work with even more New Yorkers and visitors.”

Sebastien Rouxel, Executive Pastry Chef of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group, will oversee the bakery’s pastry menu while Tiffany Jones, Chef de Cuisine of the Time Warner Center Bouchon Bakery Café, will supervise the execution of savory selections.

Bouchon Bakery Rockefeller Center menu options will include a wide variety of sandwiches, soups and salads along with a selection of viennoiseries or yeasted pastries. On the sweeter side, a variety of both classic and seasonal tarts, cookies and traditional French confections will be offered. All items will be available for take away for guests on-the-go or to be enjoyed on premise.

Keller's other Bouchon Bakery locations are in Yountville, CA,  and Las Vegas.  

Halloween: No tricks, just treats at Bouchon Bakery NYC

Bouchon Bakery New York (10 Columbus Circle, NY, NY, 212.823-9364) is serious when it comes to dessert.  

But the busy bakers know how to have fun too and they're dreaming up  new holiday goodies to add to their delicious favorites.

Inspired by the boulangeries and patisseries of Paris, restaurateur Thomas Keller created his Bouchon bakeries to provide bread for his restaurants and add a "layer of cafe life" to the communities they serve. The bakeries are perfect for a relaxed cafe lunch, to pick up a sumptuous dessert for your next celebration or simply to soothe a sweet craving.

Doughnuts are their newest delight to bite on weekends - a best kept secret no more - and, of course, the bakers have taken the tricks out of trick or treat.

With Halloween just around the corner, we're sure you'll be 'batty' about at least one of these whimsical treats!

Bat TKOs – A Bouchon Bakery Halloween favorite; crisp, bat-shaped chocolate cookies filled with sweet white chocolate ganache   

Spider Cookies – Homemade shortbread cookies festively decorated with fondant

Pumpkin Brittle – This classic brittle is fused  with pumpkin seeds to highlight the flavors of the season

Hours: 

Retail

Monday - Saturday, 8am to 9pm

Sunday, 8am to 7pm

Cafe

Monday - Saturday,
11:30am to 9pm

Sunday, 11:30am to 7pm

Happy Birthday to The French Laundry

There are restaurants that star in my recurring gastronomic fantasies. Among them is Thomas Keller's The French Laundry.

This month marks the 15th anniversary of Chef Keller's Napa Valley culinary vision and the 10th anniversary of  The French Laundry Cookbook, a compendium that tells the stories behind the menus created at his Yountville restaurant.

The wit and the whimsy behind these beautifully focused small plates bring food enthusiasts out for tasting menus which never replicate a food or flavor at a cost of $240 per person.

Beginning with a signature amuse-bouche of Salmon Tartare Cornets with Sweet Red Onion Creme Fraiche and ending with mignardises, the menu is famous for its Oysters and Pearls, Sabayon of Pearl Tapioca with Island Creek Oysters and White Sturgeon Caviar - among others. There are websites dedicated to cooking their way through this gorgeously photographed tome.

Each night's variation just a bit different from the last, Chef de cuisine Corey Lee collaborates with staff and purveyors to produce nightly menus from what is fresh, local and seasonal. The result is magical. 

The one word that is a recurring theme in Keller's restaurants: finesse. And if rumors are true, NYers will be treated to a new Keller restaurant this fall.