We’ve All Been In Thomas Keller’s Courtyard

Yes, TK stepped in it.

Well first off, MacKenzie Chung Fegan deserves the first words here. What a fine piece of criticism, her writing in the San Francisco Chronicle that everybody is talking about. Thomas Keller asked me to leave the French Laundry. It turned into my most extraordinary night as a critic. What a headline – smart, and the sentence case looks pretty great there.

You should read it, but in general here’s the deal (and I talk about this more with Eater’s Jaya Saxena on an episode of This Is TASTE’s Food Writers Talking About Food Writing, landing next week): MacKenzie, as part of her job as the paper’s restaurant critic, pays a visit to the French Laundry. Not with the intention of reviewing, but for just a visit. A check-in. She’s a thorough reporter and I had MacKenzie on This Is TASTE in April to talk about the publication’s first Top 100 Restaurant list in a number of years—and all the work that goes into reporting the list. MacKenzie’s work has apparently started now, thus her visit to the French Laundry. Again, not a review. Just a visit. The action moves to the restaurant’s courtyard where she’s summoned by Keller himself. They exchange words. Ok, I don’t know why I’m summarizing the piece. Read it and you will see how it plays out. I texted MacKenzie after reading that I needed to take a shower. It’s really good stuff.

Clearly, Keller steps in it by confronting a critic and asking her to first leave, then switching gears to then “cook for” the critic while splashing her party with truffles and good bottles of wine (I stopped reading and Googled the 2011 Ridge Zinfandel selection mentioned and couldn’t figure out the current market value—maybe it’s $88? With the restaurant upcharge, a nice gift from TK). The check arrives and there is no check. It’s clearly a power play—a kind of forced hospitality that puts MacKenzie in a tough spot. She tips the original full amount ($1,830.75) and leaves the restaurant after midnight. I wonder if she started writing the piece in the Uber on the way back to San Francisco. I kind of think she did.

Here are my thoughts. What did Thomas Keller think was going to happen from this exchange? Did he believe the awkward chat (at best) or intimidation technique (at likely) was going to change the French Laundry’s current spotty reputation among food writers, critics, industry gossips, and those who consume the reviews and the gossip? The tone-deafness was furthered by Keller’s rep writing a response. Per the article: “Keller’s publicist said the chef found our conversation ‘thoughtful and engaging, and MacKenzie did as well.’” Wild stuff from the Keller PR team.

If I were to guess, this is not the first time a writer (or editor, producer, awards judge) has been taken to that courtyard for a chat. Some may have had a similar reaction to MacKenzie—puzzlement, sadness, cringe. (I can only speculate). Others, though, may have fully taken the bait. Been seduced. Taken those free mushrooms and ignored the cuisine “stuck in a bubble of complacency” (Melissa Clark, New York Times, November 26, 2024).

I can’t say what my reaction would have been. I’m not currently a restaurant critic, though I had a fun time 15 years ago reviewing restaurants for a long-dead website. I have a great Eddie Huang story about my review of Xiao Ye; love Eddie and his response to our instructive feedback. Chefs can do the right thing when interacting with critics. Restaurant reviewing is tough. Bill Addison always says that nobody wants to hear a restaurant critic complain about being a critic, so I will do it here. It’s really, really hard, with the constant deadlines, endless consumption, and all that planning—plus who wants to spend 15-20 hours a week listening to muffled restaurant soundtracks???

I’m no restaurant critic. But I’ve been in that courtyard MacKenzie writes about. Not the literal one in Yountville, though I was there last January while the restaurant was closed for a renovation and took selfies with my mom in front of the garden. I’ve been to many chef’s courtyards. It’s the privilege of a non-critic (public-facing?) food writer to meet chefs on their turf, hear their stories, drink their version of 2011 Ridge Zinfandel and sometimes not pay for any of it (though always tipping big). I’m a devout optimist when it comes to restaurants and am easily charmed by a great story and genuine hospitality. Would I have spotted that signed plate from Woody Allen on the tour? Probably not, when staring into the eyes of a chef taking the time to show me their Pacojet.

I love that this terrific piece has been read wide and far. I heard a clumsy summary on a popular TV podcast—though we all know that all good podcasts are actually sneaky food podcasts. I love that a conversation has been started about the hard work of restaurant critics. I don’t love that this might end up in Keller’s obit. He’s a true pioneer and has inspired so many professional chefs in the industry, and has over the years mentored thousands. His cookbooks are in the hall of fame. We don’t know Keller’s intention (yet). If he was having a bad night, or simply took a big gamble and lost even bigger. But I mostly love that MacKenzie Chung Fegan is writing about restaurants right now. No free link needed, I’m a subscriber.

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Illustration: Nick Hensley / TASTE

Related to Keller, I encourage you to read Jon Bonné’s terrific writing in TASTE from September 2019. The Great Regression is Jon’s assessment of the then-new (and open) TAK Room at New York’s Hudson Yards, and how a menu of nostalgic comfort classics for the 1% was also possibly something a little too finely engineered for the era of Trump 1. In purely speculating Keller’s intent, Jon offers a real gem of a line: “Keep your Noma sensibilities and edible flowers, stick them into the part of a cow not served on a silver trolley, and let us dine in a time before tofu and Title IX.”

Thanks for reading. I transferred over an old Substack sub list that some may have forgotten about. That project eventually launched on another platform, but I’m sticking with this—and with Substack.