Thomas Keller’s ten favorite books

Thomas Keller is chef and proprietor of The French Laundry, Per Se, Bouchon, Bar Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery, Ad Hoc, and TAK Room. He has authored five cookbooks.

One of Keller’s ten favorite books, as shared at Vulture.com:

Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point

I cite this book as the cookbook that most influenced me as a young cook. First published in the United States in 1974, but long out of print, Fernand Point’s page-turner cookbook was republished in 2008, and I was honored to contribute a foreword to that edition. The book is half recipes, half stories, and the stories about Point himself are remarkable and beautifully told. I recall the day I learned about this book very clearly. I was working at the Dunes Club in Narragansett, Rhode Island, when my mentor Roland Henin loaned me his copy. He said it was a special book — his favorite. I found it extraordinary. I took it everywhere with me for two years throughout France, and read it whenever I had a moment to spare.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue